Alondro Ok, I'm currently watching this on Comet Channel... I don't know what's supposed to be scary about this. I'm about half-way through and finding it very hard to force myself to watch any further. It's slow-paced, exaggerated, with too may scenes of just people blabbering on about things we don't see. Plot points just jump around, the tone is inconsistent as hell. It's often silly and the overacting is the only thing that elicited any emotion from me aside from boredom. It often throws in symbolism no one outside of whatever this belief system is would understand in the least. As such, there's no impact. There's no dread or tension when we have no clue why spooky music plays in response to a kid dropping a cowrie shell. What the heck? I suppose people who believe in this nonsense in reality find it frightening. For those who live in the 'real' world, it's just dull and dumb.

philip-davies31 The most unbelievable thing about this farrago of absolute nonsense is that it is the work of the great John Schlesinger. Beautifully filmed and edited, the story is nonsense from start to finish, and no amount of flashy style can rescue it. I don't think the director himself can have believed in this, because nothing here is believably disturbing. All we see is sick and criminal behaviour inexplicably involving nice rational metropolitan types. The film's lame procession of empty, contrived sensations just doesn't convince us of anything except the film's own total lack of conviction.Plenty of style on show - just the wrong cool style for the daft subject. Polanski was dark and middle-European enough to disturb us with his chilling horror Rosemary's Baby. Schlesinger does not inhabit this bonkers realm at all, and his film falls flat. It is contrived, boring and unconvincing throughout. Utter tosh.

videorama-759-859391 By it's shock start, involving horrific misfortune, in which Martin Sheen's wife is electrocuted due to a faulty appliance, in which the little son, Chris (Cross) horribly witnesses it, it has you thinking, could this be linked to the rest of what about is to ensue. Or is it, just a family tragedy. I'm not really into supernatural thriller horrors, with religious themes, though I did love Angel Heart, and I didn't mind The Seventh Sign too much, and I did love The First Power. The Believers though, I did take a liking too, though initially, I wouldn't go out of my way to see in it's showing. Of course child murder isn't something to be taken lightly, but when it's child sacrifice, it's much worse. It's disturbing, and nasty and The Believers oozes out a lot of creepy and in some cases, some truly disturbing and bloody moments. You can see, a lot has been poured into it, to make it so, including a lot of witchcraft/voodoo paraphernalia. In other words, an enthusiastic effort. Cal Jameson, (Sheen) a psychiatrist, and son, (Cross) make a new knife in a new city. It doesn't take long for Sheen to find a new love either, (hot Helen Shaver) who provides the final twist frame moment, in this pic, that never makes you lose interest. Sheen gets called in after a child sacrifice murder, where an irrational crazed suspect, and cop (L.A Laws's Jimmy Smits) is taken in. Days later, another worse child murder, involving ritual sacrifice surfaces. What's disappointing I guess, in what is an otherwise good supernatural thriller/horror with religious themes, is the story behind this particular practice/sacrifice known as Santeria (hope I've spelt that right) is that it doesn't delve enough into it, as it should, which is a quite a shame, but the flipside of that coin, that less is more approach, what have you, makes it more intriguing amidst some murky plot points. The movie succeeds in it's attempt to creep and disturb, mostly throughout, where Sheen too with his role, gives a less is more realistic performance that pays off to an extent, where Cross, just a gifted young actor, as his son, Chris, displays so many different and genuine emotions, it's like he really isn't acting. He's a natural. Helen Shaver lends fine support, while Sheen's initial wife in it's starting, does briefly. The black guy with the eye whites who creep out security baggage handlers, will remain a haunting memory, should you watch this thriller a couple of times. The third act is really good, intensifying when Chris, becomes the new one up for sacrifice, with the help of trusted/possessed parties, an old trick in these sort of films, this one, I recommend to you.

FlashCallahan After the death of his wife, police psychiatrist Cal Jamison moves to New York.There he has to help in the investigation of the murder of two youths, who seem to have been immolated during a cult ritual.Jamison believes it's been Voodoo and, ignoring the warnings of his housekeeper, enters the scenery and soon gets under their influence.They try to get him to sacrifice his own son....A very worthy and sometimes very unsettling thriller, that has to be seen to really appreciate the subject matter. Sheen excels as the doubting doctor, who has to contend with the loss of his wife, and bringing up his son alone.The film is quite long and can be slow at times, but this just adds to the tension, as Schlesinger has crafted a very unsettling beginning scene, which sets the tone for the rest of the film.The first act concentrates on Sheen and his coping mechanisms, but when Palo enters the US, the film goes for a more macabre turn.Pal is a convincing creation, but a lot of the time, he stands around looking like a lonely Terminator, which sorts of crushes his sinister side.As always with film like this, there is a little twist that throws the audience, and while it is explained well and the rationale justified, the final act is a little too obscure, but still very well made.I would have rated this higher, the narrative and all the performances are great, and it is very tense throughout, but the final scene, which to be fair, looks like it was thrown in for a final 'they could be still around' scene, is out of place in this, and kind of spoils the rest of the film.Do yourself a favour, and if you see this, turn it off when you see Sheen stroking the dog, you will appreciate it a lot more.