User reviews

After watching Myrick's "The Objective", I wanted to check out his other films that went straight to DVD and this was my first pick. The premise is interesting, two paramedics are "abducted" into a suicide cult of sorts and must get away before it's too late for them.

There's a layer of religion (also seen in movies like "Frailty") that is really the crux of the movie - which makes us question the true motives behind religious preachers, missionaries and insane cults, as well as presenting us with an atheist point of view.

The ending is the movie's strongest point, and it again poses the viewers with an important question. Myrick seems to like to ask more question than answers in his movies and "Believers" is no exception. This is a low-budget flick best seen with low expectations.

5/10

Pretty Good STV Study of the "Death Cult" like Jonestown/Waco. The Problem here is the Evil doers are not very Scary or Interesting. The Human Religious Counterpoint is a Superstitious, St. Christopher clasping Minority who Whines a lot.

It seems that when You Reduce everything to an Equation and Formula, much of the Heart and Soul is canceled. No Need for Alien Soul Snatching or Demonic Possession, the "Language of the Universe" is enough to Eradicate Free Will.

The Cultist go about Their Brainwashing and Bad Deeds in a Dry, Methodical, Mathematically based Theology so Matter of Fact that the Drama Suffers. The Film Never quite Reaches that "Twilight Zone" Atmosphere it is searching for, until the very Last Scene.

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. It's so rare to find a good sci-fi type thriller. It seems like all the scary movies these days cater to the lowest common denominator, doing fast cuts, lots of gore. I enjoyed the creepy pacing and the smart story.

There were a few groaner moments, of the "oh, that was very convenient" kind, and it's clear that this was a low-budget movie. But overall it had a very smart plot, with solid acting, and a nice creepy tone. A fun find!

I wouldn't recommend this to the horror gore-hounds, but if you're looking for a smart, thriller type of movie, this is a good one.

This movie could have been excellent. it's too slow, tiresome, boring even, through the most part.

The storyline is fairly interesting, or at least could have been. A lot was left unexplained, but still not open for any interpretation.

Unclear dialog, and poor execution make this a huge miss. The surprising ending was a great attempt to save it, but unfortunately it doesn't make the other 129 minutes worth viewing.

Too bad they didn't focus more on what happened at the end, and insisted on weary us with their boring-ass plot.

5. Just for the saving grace at the end.

I had this flick already a few tiles in my hand but a few weeks ago i found it at a sale for only 2 euro's. The DVD sleeve made you guess, well this is going to be a ride to hell but it wasn't. There is a lot of talking in this flick and for me there was a bit too much of it. Another thing was that the main role played by Johnny Messner couldn't convince me. And if you have that as a problem then the movie doesn't work. Also, the voice of The Teacher made me think of Jigsaw from the Saw franchise. What was good was the fact that you can see how easily you can get into the believe of a cult. The ending was what I should call original and that was for many people the strongest part of it. I can't say that it is a horror or a science fiction, for me it was more a movie that made you think.

As one reviewer said before me, it's a low budget, not horror but more like thriller-sci-fi movie with average towards good acting.

Also there are some non-logical scenes and moves but the overall impression of the film is good.

The main theme and plot is actually a good and interesting idea... a cult religion (on the other hand contrary) based on mathematics and scientific proof that leads people to a better place. Movie would be by far better if it had more budget and effects, nevertheless it's interesting enough.

The end of the movie is a quite surprise!

I'm sorry this movie sucked. Terrible acting, really really confused story that never really explained anything. If at least a small attempt had been made do actually explain the story or show a plot or something it might have gotten i bit higher grading from me. All the foolishness about a formula was almost making sound like a commercial for toothpaste.

My vote of 2 is for decent music in the movie and for at least a twist of an ending.

Unless you really don't have anything else do do like operating on yourself with a worn out spoon, then do not see this BORING movie.

/D

With two competent leads (Johnny Messner and Jon Huertas as paramedics abducted by a cult), one fairly entrancing nemesis (Daniel Benzali as the cult leader), seeds of a good story and decent direction, one immediately thinks this movie could have been much better.

Writers Daniel Myrick, Julia Fair and Daniel Noah seem to have come up with a basic idea, without being able to elaborate the concept further. The result is a story with few interesting elements in-between its introduction and conclusion, and no rhythm whatsoever.

Details of the cult are brushed over. Viewers are probably supposed to see this as shrouded in mystery but instead, the sentiment is that the writers failed to flesh out these things. And since none of the imagery, dialog or plot element is particularly engrossing, we can't take a "mind trip" as if this was a Lynch movie either, because use symbolism in this film is weak and immature.

Director Daniel Myrick (Blair Witch Project, The Objective) has done much better in the past but here, there's simply not enough happening to sustain our attention for long. If the details were to remain that sketchy, I think this would have been better off as a sort of Twilight Zone TV episode.

I appreciate the attempt but this is Myrick's weakest movie I have seen.

After responding to an emergency call, a group of paramedics find themselves abducted by a strange doomsday cult that has intentions of including them in their plans, forcing them to fight their way out before the group carries on with their plans.

This is an utterly terrible and completely boring thriller masquerading as a horror film with the one single marking point for it's inclusion in the genre is a single scene where a formerly dead victim is reanimated through unknown means and is up walking around soon afterward with a strange look in their eye. Beyond that, there's hardly anything here that really gives this one a horror feel or tone, and the fact that the majority of the film time is spent with them doing nothing but sitting around or focusing on the group telling each other to get ready but not doing anything else. This one leaves far too much unexplained or really confusing as to it's inclusion, leaving the whole thing an unmitigated mess that focuses on completely non-threatening cult that serves no other purpose but to continually keep the film going without explaining anything. Tiresome, clichéd and rather uninteresting make this a really useless entry all around.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and children-in-jeopardy.

The Blair Witch Project director's thriller about two paramedics Dave and Vic (Johnny Messner and Jon Huertas) who are kidnapped by a strange cult named the Quanta Group. Led by a reclusive mastermind called The Teacher (Daniel Benzali), the cult believes they have condensed the secrets of time and the universe into a mathematical formula which proves the world is about to come to an end. The cult has no intentions of letting Dave and Vic leave, so they have to fight for their lives while trying to escape the remote compound.

The film touches interesting themes, such as the relation between God and science and the differing religious opinions of the two protagonists, but unfortunately doesn't really get anything very exciting out of the subject matter. The nature of cult membership is left unexplored, so the cultists never come across as very fascinating characters and we are left with a standard survival thriller. Even though the film avoids overt violence and instead attempts to create a feel of claustrophobia by setting the events in an underground compound and having the characters spend a significant part of the running time locked in toilet stalls, the atmosphere is nothing that hasn't been done much better in many other movies already. I would only recommend the movie to the biggest thriller fans and perhaps to those interested in mathematical mysticism.

Set in the eerie, furtive realm of cult followers to a bewitching music score by Kays Al-Atrakchi, "Believers" is, in true Myrick style, a masterfully crafted thriller, reliant on an atmosphere of menace and suspense, as opposed to the ubiquitous gore of most contemporary film. Through the terrifying ordeals of 2 paramedics kidnapped by the Quanta Group, led by the Teacher, issues of destiny and its attainment, introspection, religion versus science, power of suggestion and gullibility are highlighted, enabling the viewer to evaluate and ponder what might be. Most notable, is the riveting performance by Daniel Benzali, who, as the Teacher, is at his insidious, evil best. His spellbinding, measured, haunting tone of voice crystallizes the mood of the whole film, making him, without doubt, the "master of creepy". Brilliantly counterbalanced to his character is that of young Libby, whose mind, like all the others, is anesthetized by the miasma of unconditional trust, innocently misplaced in that false sense of security of blind faith, so intrinsic to cult rationale. Believe it! "Believers" is a must-see.

I think Daniel Benzali is an interesting actor, but here he is totally wasted uttering nonsense. The film is extremely predictable and extremely dull. I mean two guys talking to each other across toilet stalls for minutes on end is not entertainment. The script seems padded to try and expand such weak material. Numerous lines appear to be repeated almost verbatim. This was a big disappointment. Even the ending seemed like it was tacked on for some kind of message, that somehow would justify the brainwashed cult. If you are looking for entertainment, I suggest you steer clear of "Believers". Not recommended. - MERK

I didn't have high hopes for this movie after seeing the two previous and awful offerings from Raw Feed. But this one is actually very good. We start by watching a TV interview of a member of a cult called Quanta Group who explains to some foolish and silly interviewer what the group is all about. And he sure seems brainwashed although nice and soft-spoke.

Next we meet a group of paramedics in a fire station. One of them just finds out that he's going to be a father when a call comes in and he and his friend have to answer it.

They arrive at a public phone near an old gas station where a woman is lying on the ground and her young daughter immediately warns the paramedics to hurry up because "they are coming." The woman goes into cardiac arrest and as the paramedics are about to resuscitate her heart and notice that she has numbers tattooed all over her chest, a bunch of crazies wielding rifles arrive in an old truck. In the dispute that follows, one of the paramedics is shot in the shoulder and in the end all four are kidnapped by these people.

They are taken to some underground facility, where megaphones constantly play some type of speech/mantra. The woman is taken away and the three others are places in restrooms stalls where the walls are completely covered in mathematical written. Eventually our paramedics are taken to a room and told by the same cult member who did the interview what they are all about and wants them to join the group. Later, the leader of the group called the Teacher, played fantastically by Daniel Benzali, speaks to them and takes their questions via mic and speakers.

The woman is healed with by touch of hands of the other cult members and the shot paramedic is more open to what they have to say than the soon-to-be-dad. Eventually, the woman will convert the shot one. While the other one stays a skeptic till the end.

What is the cult all about: the Teacher has discovered or been given the Formula, which represents undeniable truth. It warns of impending doom and that the group cannot be left behind. They will leave this sphere and after some event for which they are all preparing will be transported to some other level of existence.

Eventually, the inevitable event, for which they are preparing and which we anticipate happens: all the cult members go in a freezer room and open gas containers. But some of our characters will be outside of the freezer and survive this.

A month later we meet the survivors again on a regular morning. But something is going on outside, everyone in the neighborhood goes out to see what is happening. And it is a very interesting and surprising turn of events.

This move is very good. The acting by Johnny Messner, Daniel Benzali, the main cult members, and the little girl Saige Ryan Campbell is outstanding. One can see the budget limitation in the sets and the lack of action, but despite this movie going at a slower pace, it is captivating enough to keep your attention. The script is surprisingly smart: there's mention of transcendent states of consciousness, time, theoretical physics, ontology, etc. I would have to watch it again to see if it the worldview of the cult is entirely coherent or not. It didn't seem like it was. But there's some very interesting and intelligent material here. Also, there are some great Special Features on the DVD. Not the usual annoying 5 minute cast interviews mixed with 15 minutes of movie scenes. Rather we have extended part of the movie, that I think could been added to the original film. There is an extended interview of the cult member, a monologue of the teacher, a description of the facility, a fascinating mathematical explanation of what they believe in, and a forensic report of the investigation by the police the morning after the cult takes part in the event.

BELIEVERS is another film from BLAIR WITCH director Daniel Myrick, a guy whose track record has been less than stellar since his debut hit (the last I saw was THE OBJECTIVE, a less-than-memorable experience). BELIEVERS is a film about a couple of innocent men who find themselves kidnapped by an end of the world cult who use murder and madness to justify their ends.

It sounds like a decent set-up and it is, but the storyline goes absolutely nowhere. Like SAW, much of the running time involves a couple of guys incarcerated in a room, and that's it. The terrible script fails in all attempts to make characters likable and the almost entire lack of incident and action makes it a slow and gruelling viewing experience. It's a film that it's hard not to nod off to.

While watching, I was constantly reminded me of the Gareth Evans directed segment from V/H/S 2, which has a similar premise but goes absolutely crazy with it and is all the better for it. If only BELIEVERS had a little of that short film's energy; instead, it's a real, soul-crushing, dud.

Two paramedics, David (Johnny Messner) and Victor (Jon Huertas) received a emergency call to help a mysterious woman (Deanna Russo) and her daughter Libby (Saige Ryan Campbell) in a deserted area outside from a gas station. Once they arrived, they tired to save this woman until a bizarre group of people arrived with a truck. They find themselves being kidnapped and bring them to a isolated building. The two paramedics finds out, they have been kidnapped by the Quanta Group. Which this group are actually a strange group of cults. Which they are composed by Scientist, Philosophers and Mathematicians. Which is controlled by a man, who called himself "The Teacher" (Daniel Benzali). But David and Victor learns by the Quanta Group truly believes the end of the world is coming soon and they are preparing a mass suicide. While Victor is been seduced by this group. David tries to escape to from this cult with the help of Libby and saves his friend before it's too late.

Directed by Daniel Myrick (Co-director of "The Blair Witch Project") made an fascinating, clever, low-budget thriller with hints of horror and science-fiction. Myrick certainly handles well the low-budget of the movie by giving good performances from his cast, creating genuine suspense and an creepy atmosphere in the story. For a Direct to DVD project, this has good qualities. The director certainly shows a lot of talent behind the camera. But the film does it's usual share of flaws, especially during the third act but Myrick certainly does take his time by making the movie works. I think, the viewers will find themselves intrigue by the premise and they also will be modestly entertained by the picture. It's certainly worth seeing. (*** ½/*****).