THE BELIEVERS (1987)
Santeria is a vaguely (or not-so-vaguely, depending on the person practicing it) occult religion that came to prominence in Cuba in the late 19th century. It's also an overplayed Sublime song. For our purposes, we'll focus on the esoteric kind of Santeria that gets bandied about in today's subject. Typically, it's synonymous with Haitian voodoo, but while this film would make a sweet double feature with The Serpent and the Rainbow, that's technically a different thing altogether. I wouldn't use The Believers as a reference guide, however. It doesn't portray these beliefs in a particularly positive light, and when it comes down to it, I don't know many Cubans who are big proponents of child sacrifice. Of course, I don't know many Cubans. What the hell happened to this review?
All you need to know is that this is an incredibly effective piece of work. Martin Sheen turns in a believable performance as a distraught therapist. Everyone else is dialed in, from a sympathetic Helen Shaver to an immeasurably creepy Harris Yulin. The pacing is even-keeled. I didn't notice that this was a two-hour ordeal. And that holds water coming from me, as I can be a bit of a fussbudget when it comes to anything that runs for more than 90 minutes. Hey, I'm a busy man. I'll have you know that I'm scheduled to listen to death metal later this evening, and after that, um, I might watch an old episode of The Outer Limits. My time is valuable! Anyway, do yourself a favor and check out The Believers. Recommended to fans of Papa Shango and dead chickens.
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