The Believers (1987)

I was expecting some horror to be sure, I just was not expecting a full blown horror movie with some supernatural stuff thrown in to boot. I was more expecting a serious thriller dealing with cults or something. The movie seems to have a plot device similar to a Dean Koontz book I have heard about in that a cult is out to get the child of a man whose wife dies in a rather unpleasant way right at the beginning of the movie. The cult is sort of on the voodoo side of things and the movie has them doing things in their power to not only to sacrifice the guy's son, but to get him to do it. Add a bit more to it and you have yourself a really good horror movie. There still is a bit to much thriller and drama in it to be a really good horror movie though and I have never been wild about Martin Sheen. I actually always enjoyed watching his son's movies more. So in the end you get a movie that seems to not quite know what it really wants to be, but it had enough horror elements in it for me to overall enjoy.

Police psychiatrist Cal Jamison (an excellent and sympathetic performance by Martin Sheen) and his son Chris (a remarkably fine and mature portrayal by Harley Cross) move to New York City after Cal's wife gets killed in a freak kitchen accident. Cal assists in the investigation of a series of brutal child murders and uncovers a sinister age-old religious cult that practices ritualistic child sacrifices. Naturally, both Cal and Chris find themselves in considerable jeopardy from said cult. Director John Schlesinger, working from a bold, smart and gripping script by Mark Frost, relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, expertly maintains a potently eerie and upsetting tone which becomes more increasingly scary and unnerving as the narrative unfolds towards its chilling conclusion, creates real credibility by grounding the premise in a thoroughly plausible everyday world, makes inspired and effective use of the gritty Big Apple locations, and even delivers stinging spot-on commentary on the darker aspects of religious faith and the ruthless measures some folks will go to in order to ensure wealth and success (the cult members are business people who sacrificed their own kids to obtain tremendous fiscal gain and prosperity). The bang-up acting from the uniformly sterling cast rates as another substantial asset, with especially stand-out work from Helen Shaver as Cal's feisty landlady Jessica Halliday, the always great Robert Loggia as hard-nosed homicide detective Lieutenant Sean McTaggert, Richard Masur as Cal's jolly lawyer buddy Marty Wertheimer, a marvelously twitchy Jimmy Smits as edgy, paranoid undercover cop Tom Lopez, Harris Yulin as prominent self-made business tycoon Robert Calder, and Malick Bowens as frightening powerful high priest Palo. Moreover, this movie scores bonus points for tackling the disturbing subject of child sacrifice in an uncompromisingly grim and straightforward way; the brief shots of mutilated murdered children's' bodies in particular are truly shocking. Robert Muller's slick cinematography gives the picture an attractive glossy look. J. Peter Robinson's spooky'n'shivery score also does the spine-tingling trick. A superior fright film.

I read the complaints from some of the reviews for this film on this web site and they are absolutely and completely ignorant. I'm sure these are the same people that gave "Independence Day" nine stars. Do any of these critics know how difficult it is to write screenplays let alone adapt a novel into one. This film is a wonderfully done artistic creation that relies on true acting, wonderful cinematography, excellent direction, and great screen writing. This is a quality voodoo horror film for intelligent viewers that need more than pointless deaths and nudity. Wonderfully done creation.

THE BELIEVERS is one of the scariest and most intelligent supernatural horror films ever made. Its shocking premise- an African-based witchcraft/voodoo cult operating within the confines of Manhattan's upper class high society and trading in ritual child murder, delivers a blend of suspense and terror that compels the viewer to believe the unbelievable. This is a rich, handsome production which boasts an excellent cast of actors, beautiful on-location photography in New York City, a fine script, and pre-CGI special effects that will leave you a nervous wreck when you see them. After the untimely death of his wife by electrocution caused by a defective coffee maker, Minneapolis psychologist Cal Jamison(MARTIN SHEEN) moves to New York City with his young son Chris(HARLEY CROSS). Hired by the New York City Police Department as a crisis counselor with the Psychological Services Division, Cal soon finds himself drawn into the dark underside of the city and the horrors it can hold when he's called in to try and help a police detective who appears to have suffered a complete psychotic breakdown. As Detective Tom Lopez, actor JIMMY SMITS, pre-NYPD Blue, gives a standout performance so real and believable that you will feel what he is feeling. His fear and terror leap right off the screen at the viewer. And he has very good reason to be afraid. Stumbling onto the site of one of the ritual child sacrifices, he is knocked out and, when he recovers, discovers that his police shield is missing. Like the stage actor in ROSEMARY'S BABY, whose act of loaning out his necktie suddenly results in his going blind, the taking of Lopez's badge seals his fate. He knows the cult is going to kill him- he just doesn't know how. And when he realizes in his torment and agony what they've done to him, the viewer will be reaching for the tranquilizer bottle. Except for a couple of quick shots showing the eviscerated child victims, there is very little gore in this movie. Instead, it derives its emotional power from a framework that builds character development and suspense little by little until you accept what you're seeing as real. You will accept that an evil shaman priest from the Sudan, in this instance, can harm others if he comes into contact with an item belonging to them- be it a detective's gold shield, an NYPD business card, or a powder puff. And what's even worse- that no power in Heaven or on Earth can stop it. That's what makes this movie really frightening- the victims of the cult's wrath and supernatural power are at the mercy of people who have none.