The Believers (1987)

★ 5.9 1h 54m 178 votes IMDb

Mourning the accidental death of his wife and having just moved to New York with his young son, laconic police psychologist Cal Jamison is reluctantly drawn into a series of grisly, ritualistic murders involving the immolation of two youths.

The Believers

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Cast

Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen as Cal Jamison Age 85 · Dayton, Ohio, USA Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films The Subject Was Roses (1968) and Badla...
Helen Shaver
Helen Shaver as Jessica Halliday Age 75 · Saint Thomas, Ontario, Canada Helen Shaver is a Canadian stage, film and television actress and director. She attended the Banff School of Fine Arts and studied Acting at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She s...
Harley Cross
Harley Cross as Chris Jamison Age 48 · New York City, New York, US Harley Cross is an American film and television actor. He appeared in the 1980s horror films The Believers and The Fly II; his most recent roles were in the 2004 film Kinsey and in 2000, "Shriek If Yo...
Robert Loggia
Robert Loggia as Lt. Sean McTaggert Died 2015 · Staten Island, New York, USA Salvatore "Robert" Loggia (January 3, 1930 – December 4, 2015) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Jagged Edge (1985) and won the Saturn Award f...
Elizabeth Wilson
Elizabeth Wilson as Kate Maslow Died 2015 · Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA Elizabeth Welter Wilson (April 4, 1921 – May 9, 2015) was an American actress. In 1972 she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role in Sticks and Bones..
Harris Yulin
Harris Yulin as Robert Calder Died 2025 · Los Angeles, California, USA Harris Yulin (November 5, 1937 - June 10, 2025) was an American actor who appeared in Scarface, Ghostbusters II, Training Day, Rush Hour 2, Night Moves, Final Analysis, Multiplicity, The Hurricane, an...

Audience Reviews

Wuchak 6/10 Aug 09, 2019
***Unpleasant big city crime drama with Martin Sheen that morphs into sorcery-oriented horror***

A widowed therapist (Martin Sheen) moves back to New York City to find himself assisting the NYPD in a series of slayings linked to a Caribbean Voodoo-like cult. Things get worse when he discovers they want his son for a human sacrifice. Helen Shaver plays his landlord and possible romantic interest.

“The Believers” (1987) is an adult-oriented crime drama that gets increasingly horrific. The plot and tone are akin to “Wolfen” (1981), albeit with the brujería cult replacing the super-wolves. It’s leagues superior to the similar “The Serpent and the Rainbow” (1988).

The diabolic angle makes for some ugliness (e.g. death due to electric shock, suicides, grisly sacrifices, snakes and creepy arachnids), but there are rays of light as well. Sheen is outstanding as the protagonist while Shaver offers her wares to the table. The shocking spider sequence was later ripped off by "Urban Legends: Bloody Mary" (2005).

The movie runs 1 hour, 44 minutes, and was shot in New York City & Toronto.

GRADE: B-

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