Das Ritual

***SPOILERS*** Moving to New York City with his nine year old son Chris,Darley Cross, after his wife Lisa, Janet Laine Green, died in a tragic electrical accident psychiatrist Cal Jamison, Martin Sheen, got a job in the New York Police Department as a special therapist for cop's who have deep emotional problem's, that in many cases could lead to suicide.

Called to a deserted theater to talk a cop out of killing himself Cal get's his first taste of what was to happen to him his son Chris and to almost everyone else he knows by the time the movie "The Believers" is over. Officer Tom Lopez, Jimmy Smits, has become suicidal after finding this young boy skinned alive and murdered, on an altar at the theater, as well as having his police badge being stolen by those who committed this ghastly crime. Lopez is terrified that he'll be the next victim with his badge, like a voodoo doll, having a hex put on it by the boys killers.

Taken away to a psychiatric ward for observation Lopez later escapes and in a last act of desperation calls Cal for help but commits Harri Kari before Cal and the police can come to his rescue. Martin together with NYPD Let. McTarggert, Robert Loggia, go to this drug rehabilitation center where Lopez worked as a youth counselor on his off time. Meeting with the center's director Oscar Sezine, Raul Davila, it becomes obvious that Lopez and Sezine, both practitioners of Santeria, were being used as dupes for what the center was only a front for the practice of Brujeria,Spanish for witchcraft. Those oculists running the center were secretly using the youths there in their blood and murder rituals.

The A.C.H.E Drug Rehibilitation Center was founded by this rich weirdo Robert Calder, Harris Yulin, together with his spiritual adviser the even weirder Polo, Malick Bowens, an African Shaman Priest. Getting the pesky Lopez out of the way, by having him kill himself, these blood-worshipers were now ready to commit a series of murders of young boys to usurer in the Summer Solstice, June 21, which is a major holiday in their, Brujeria, religion.

Polo taking Let. McTaggert's NYPD business card, that he gave Sezine, and putting a hex on it causes him to go off the deep end and later blow his brains out. Cal's girlfriend Jessica, Helen Shaver, later at a party, and fund raiser for the A.C.H.E Center,in Calder's honor has her powder puff spiked, by Polo, where she develops a large blistering infection on her face that almost kills her. Cal's maid Carman(Carla Pinza), also a Santeriaist, feels that this Brujeria cult is after his son Chris and tries to protect him, with a number of Santeria rituals. Cal misunderstood what Carman is doing fires her thus leaving Chris, and himself, to face these dangerous and blood thirsty blood-worshipers maniacs all by themselves.

Cal is then tricked into leaving Chris with his long time friends the Maslows Dennis & Kate, Lee Richardson & Elizabeth Wilson, at their summer home in the country not realizing that their members of this blood cult who in fact sacrificed their own son some 40 years ago to it and now want him to do the same with Chris!

Disturbing and creepy movie that gets a bit off course at the very end with what looks like an alternative ending, in 1987 before they became popular on video and DVD movies,that suggests that a sequel to "The Belivers" is soon to follow, it didn't.

John Schlesinger was best known for movies like "Darling", "Midnight Cowboy", "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "The Day of the Locust" and "Marathon Man". But now he directs something totally different.

To understand what happens in "The Believers", it helps to have foreknowledge of Santería, a syncretic religion practiced widely in the Caribbean. It is based in the Yoruba culture (in present-day Nigeria), but includes influences from Roman Catholicism and the indigenous American cultures. The movie depicts a satanic offshoot of Santería mixed with brujería (Spanish for "witchcraft"), that is sacrificing children in New York, and is now targeting the son of Martin Sheen's character.

If you expect a slasher movie, this is nothing of the sort. There is some violence, but no guts getting torn out or anything -- only one scene can truly get called shocking (you'll know it when you see it) -- and there's limited sex/nudity. I'd say that the movie's strength is its depiction of how Sheen's character slowly but surely learns about a culture with which he was previously unfamiliar. The movie does make clear that the religious cult is not Santería, but a different group. After all, every religion is bound to have its wackos.

Does the movie have any downsides? Well, Robert Loggia's cop came across as a little silly, but I'd call that the only true downside. Otherwise, this is a good one. Also starring Helen Shaver, Richard Masur, Jimmy Smits and Harris Yulin (who I at first mistook for Richard Jenkins, aka Nate Sr. on "Six Feet Under").

Back when this hit theaters, I missed it for some reason - I think the ad campaign left me rather nonplussed. In any case, I gave it a miss, only to take the chance on it some years later on video. And I have to say I was impressed! This is NOT a movie for the impatient viewer. Opening with family tragedy, it then takes necessary time to introduce its characters, really introduce them and give the audience time to get to know them and care about them. During the "character study" portion, there are only rare implications that something sinister is in the offing.

Other reviews have stated that the movie is slow, that it drags, that it's padded out with perhaps unnecessary exposition, but I must disagree - to believe THE BELIEVERS, one must "believe" a bit oneself. A film that drops the viewer into a breakneck chase from the outset has its place and its advantages in storytelling, but almost invariably such movies are about the chase, rather than the people. THE BELIEVERS is about the people, which separates it from the typical batch of "supernatural thrillers". Here we get the whole story, rather than a sort of synopsis, wherein we get only the "high points", those scenes which contain the most action or gore or both. TOTAL RECALL is an excellent example of this type of film, done well; one need only look at any of the horror/slasher franchise films to have an idea of this type of film done at a dead run, for money and the most shock value. They can be fun, but I'm not sure they qualify as art.

What makes THE BELIEVERS so disturbing is that, at its best, it *builds belief* in the audience. This might seem redundant, since, going in, we demonstrate a willingness to believe that is initially missing from the main charter(s); but in this case, we no longer have the emotional distance to simply watch and say, "Oh, I saw that coming," or "Blah - never in a million years." By the time Helen Shaver goes through her ordeal with that unsightly blemish, nothing about it seems far-fetched at all! Performances are, generally, successful. Young Harley Cross is excellent as young Chris, and the rest of the cast is populated with familiar faces or faces that were destined to become very familiar indeed, such as Jimmy Smits. My sole complaint comes from certain scenes with Martin Sheen - emotionally, he goes from conversation to screaming in an instant, and it just doesn't seem appropriate to the scene, especially when one considers that he's playing a psychiatrist - a professional group who are specifically trained in keeping their cool in the heat of a situation. Some of the dialog, too, occasionally comes out sounding like they shot the rehearsal.

THE BELIEVERS is not without flaw - nevertheless, enough good remains that it rewards the patient viewer with a rich storytelling experience!

Scary, good thriller about a dangerous faction of Santeria, a Latin-American based religion which believes in animal sacrifice, which here is offerring children as sacrifices in New York. Martin Sheen is very good as a police psychologist who moves to New York with his son after his wife's bizarre death, and must deal with the very strange doings occuring around him. The fine cast includes a younger Jimmy Smits, Robert Loggia, Helen Shaver, and Harley Cross. Director John Schlesinger provides good shocks, and good the movie has a fine late 80's New York feel, even though most of it was filmed in Toronto!

"The Believers" stars Martin Sheen as a forensic psychologist who moves with his young son to New York City after the death of his wife. Shortly after their arrival, a series of brutal ritualistic child murders plague the city, and his son becomes gravely endangered.

This little-talked-about late '80s quasi-horror film starts out promising--there are ominous deaths, grim warnings, and disturbing occult murders involving young children. The focus here is an urban take on Santeria that has been appropriated and perverted for nefarious purposes. The first half of the film is quite engaging, with Sheen's character slowly descending into this world and learning more and more about it, including benevolent forms of it, which are practiced by his Puerto Rican housekeeper.

At its core, the film is truly about the blind leading the blind--people so dedicated to an ideological belief that they are willing to engage in horrific acts to validate it, dragging others into their underworld as human collateral. Like much of John Schlesinger's work, "The Believers" is quite stylish, and there is a fair amount of suspense in the first two-thirds of it--but by the final act, the film begins to wobble into the realm of ridiculousness. Despite the fact that it runs nearly two hours, there is a surprising amount of connective tissue missing from the film, particularly regarding the cult practices and their overall intentions--the implications often come across as vague or oblique. There are two plot twists thrown into the mix in the last twenty minutes, and a showdown in a warehouse that feels frightfully overwrought and unbelievable. The film does end on a grim, immediate note, however, which does mitigate some of this.

Overall, I found this film quite engaging, though it lacks cogency, particularly in the third act. It is admittedly stylish and well-acted, but it contains too many unnecessary voids, especially when you take into account its runtime. I suspect the film may have been a victim of editing problems based on the way it is pieced together, though it's difficult to know for certain. Worth a watch for fans of cult-themed films, despite its lack of clarity at times. 6/10.