THE BELIEVERS Genre: Horror Thriller Director: John Schlesinger Stars: Martin Sheen




Martin Sheen brilliantly headlines this John Schlesinger thriller with a super-natural twist.  John Schlesinger is Director of hits "Marathon Man" plus a personal favorite "Midnight Cowboy" and I am a huge fan of his style.

The film reminds me of the Stephen King story "Thinner" which also combines dark inexplicable tribal superstition with American "everyday" people.  The film opens brilliantly with an unexpected death scene shot quite realistically. 

Schlesinger keeps the tribal music and references intertwined in the film (cutting to drums being played, the tribal doll Sheen's son has, opening titles including a tribal dance and a cloud of smoke transitions seamlessly from a fire to a cityscape smoke cloud) so we never feel that this element suddenly comes out of nowhere like it can in some films. 

Transition matters to Schlesinger and he seamlessly brings us into new scenes using "reveals" like when we see a new character who steps away and reveals Charlie Sheen standing behind him - seconds pass only and we know we are meeting someone new and Sheen is related to them so closely that we should listen and care.  These small messages speak large volumes to an audience and they work to create cohesive storytelling.  Too few directors are credited with cohesive storytelling whereby all elements are made to work as a united message, not talking "style" as most do but synthesis of ideas.  Schlesinger is a master of lining up details that create story.  All these small things bring together the world.

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