Search - The Believers on DVD

A pretty good movie, but not about Santeria

JLind555 | 08/24/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

""The Believers" is going to offend a lot of people, and with good reason. The movie portends to be about the "cult" of Santeria and the dangers it poses to non-believers; what the movie shows has little or nothing to do with Santeria. To give credit where it is due, one of the characters, on viewing the carnage, says that this is not Santeria, it's brujeria, which is Spanish for witchcraft; it's closer to the mark, but even brujeria, as far as I have read, doesn't make a practice out of the ritual sacrifice of small children. Santeria itself is a hardly a cult; it's a religion practiced or believed in by more than 100 million people in the Americas (it's closely related to Voodoo in Haiti and Candomble in Brazil); it's a syncretism between the Yoruba gods and the Roman Catholic saints, and it does not involve shedding human blood. That said, "The Believers" is an intriguing film about a police psychiatrist who comes to New York City with his small son after the death of his wife in a freak accident. He is called by the NYPD after one of their own apparently goes berserk, raving about "they" have his badge and "they" can get anyone. "They" turn out to be a group of lunatics who think they can take over society through their own twisted version of what they call Santeria, once they have achieved the ritual slaughter of three small boys by the summer solstice. They have already killed two; guess whom they are targeting as the third? There's a lot of blood and gore as the cult proves very adept at inducing everyone who gets in their way to commit unpleasant forms of suicide; the psychiatrist finds to his horror that one of his own in-laws is deeply involved in the cult after having sacrified his own young son, and after managing to rescue his child from being the cult's third sacrifice, the psychiatrist leaves New York behind and retreats to the country, only to find that Santeria has followed him. The ending is improbable, to say the least, but if you're interested in a movie with a lot of twists and turns, this one is fun to watch. Be warned, however, that its basic premise is flawed, and the film casts a serious and unwarranted slur on the religion of Santeria."

Believable!!!

zoraidac | USA | 03/20/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I loved this movie. I found it to be very well researched for it's content of Santeria and Brujeria. As someone who grew up around these religions I appreciated the authenticity. This was a scary, suspenseful and edge-of-your-seat, very well made movie. It's like that saying, sometimes real life is scarier than fiction. Although, this is not one of those "based on a true story" type of movie, this movie was true to life in a lot of ways. Its' content reflected upon 2 very old religions that are very much alive and well in the U.S. and other parts of the world today. Never underestimate the power of mind and intention (for good or bad) or the power of the universe."

I like it, I bought it, nuff said

D. Christjohn | Rocklin, CA United States | 06/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Believers has that strong voodoo/magic/power vibe that gets me everytime. In a normally hokey genre The Believers stands out for one reason...realism.You might say to yourself, how can a film about cult ritualism have strong realism? Well let me tell you... the writers of this film definately did their homework and the philosophies, desires and methods of the "cult" in this movie are almost idential to groups that exist out there today.The film is well acted, moves along at a good clip and is by no means predictable. If this brief snippet has peaked your interest I suggest a rental, some popcorn and a fun night at home with friends."

Good scares? You better believe it!

primetimelive | baton rouge, louisiana United States | 09/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of all the occult thillers that I have seen, this one is my most favorite. Not only does this intelligent horror film deliver the goods for nightmares, it carries a large cast of some very fine characters.Martin Sheen, Jimmy Smits, Robert Loggia and Helen Shaver are exceptonally good in their performances. However, the one that will stand out the most is the little known Malick Bowens. Bowens gives the film's villainous role such a demonic prescience, that it could perhaps scare Old Ned himself. This is a great film for those who do not spook easily and/or those with strong stomachs. However, it would be wise to forbid anyone under 15 to view this film because as I said before, it does not skimp on the details of ritualistic murders and supernatural occurences."