Believers (2007)

Fresh and Exciting

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

It is a bit slow but the ending does make you stop & wonder about some of these doomsday cults. I like John Messner in comedies rather than dramas but he did a good job in his role. Didn't quite like the role of Vic. I thought he "turned" too easily considering all the dialogue in their captive stalls. I did catch one blooper. Towards the end, when Dave refuses to join the cult, "the teacher's" henchman gives Dave a pill. The pill is a round white chalky pill. When Dave breaks free of the restraints & makes himself vomit, the close-up is of a yellow & blue gelcap. I didn't catch any other bloopers but I'm sure as with all films, there are a few more.

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

The movie definitely did not begin with a bang, which from the title i wasn't expecting. The realistic situation of two paramedics responding to an emergency call sounds like an everyday task, so not giving any indication that this was a sci-fi movie. However once the plot starts to thicken, you tend to want to know more, you begin to wonder why the things which happen, happen, leaving you in a 'dimension' of mystery almost throughout the movie.The ending alone i would say is the backbone of this film, without which i would have most probably prayed to have my 90 minutes back.Given the budget of this movie, it is a watchable late night 'time passer' if you don't have anything better to do. The actors make the story very much believable and the storyline finally get to some sort of climax. There's not really much else to say...

I kind of expected it about half way through the film. What if this wasn't just another "escape-by-suicide" doomsday cult? Suppose one of them really got it right. They really weren't killing themselves but where really going to a new world and our old one was about to dissolve.It did help that the "followers" appeared to be scientists. Like maybe there was more credibility to them than one would think. And, of course, the idea of mathematics to explain all and fix all is not really that far out.Ultimately, I was hoping for a "quantum-generated" worm hole that would whisk the believers away even if the implication might be it was simply a high-tech suicide machine. I suppose that was beyond the budget of this film and they opted for a "gas chamber" and having to "die" in these mortal bodies…thus somewhat prolonging the film's conclusion but only by a couple of minutes.At any rate, getting to the resolution was rather laborious and tortured. There were a lot of plot holes and conveniences which ultimately "fail" the film. Without getting too far into it, why destroy/eliminate everything including the paramedics if everything is going to burn up in a couple of weeks anyway? The list goes on.Nevertheless, Johnny Messner, as David and Jon Huertas, as Victor, were very convincing. One resisted the pull towards immorality and the other embraced it. That kind of "push/pull" is very good. Both were driven by their character backgrounds although Victor having sex with the "dead woman" seemed to ultimately predominate his prior religious background. His religious past actually would have worked well but the whole sex thing ultimately became just another needless plot hole.