Such a frustrating disappointment

Perfect cast and a good story

Fantastic!

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Ok, I'm currently watching this on Comet Channel... I don't know what's supposed to be scary about this. I'm about half-way through and finding it very hard to force myself to watch any further. It's slow-paced, exaggerated, with too may scenes of just people blabbering on about things we don't see. Plot points just jump around, the tone is inconsistent as hell. It's often silly and the overacting is the only thing that elicited any emotion from me aside from boredom. It often throws in symbolism no one outside of whatever this belief system is would understand in the least. As such, there's no impact. There's no dread or tension when we have no clue why spooky music plays in response to a kid dropping a cowrie shell. What the heck? I suppose people who believe in this nonsense in reality find it frightening. For those who live in the 'real' world, it's just dull and dumb.

Years after his wife's death, a New York psychologist hears about a case of a ritualistic crime spree ravaging the city and realizes his son is the target of a vicious cult's intentions of offering children to a primitive God and race against time to stop the ritual before it's completed.While not exactly terrible, this one wasn't that great either. What really works best here is when it manages to incorporate the supernatural elements with all rituals brought in, then it really begins to become interesting. These are quite enjoyable, from the early one found in the park where only the after-effects of the ceremony can be seen which looks incredibly brutal and actually quite creepy- looking had it been officially offered on camera, the various performances and general air of mystery surrounding each of the ceremonies that are showcased throughout here and a main one where the heroes are gathered for a protection ceremony that is quite chilling for its realistic feeling. The later ones are also entertaining in their own right since this picks up considerably in the last half, where it contains a little more action and features the climactic confrontation in a large, multi-level warehouse of twisting steel and metal that looks quite frightening based on the previous supernatural events issued previously. The actual events are quite exciting, with a chilling ritual and the ensuing chase and the conclusion to it all culminates in some suspenseful moments. The set-up, which is a long and quite innovative chase through an apartment complex into a neighboring boathouse is quite fun, with the main participant being in a drugged state at the time is exciting. Alongside some quite nice deaths in here as well, these here are it's best features while it did have some wrong sides as well. The biggest one is the film's really haphazard plot which spends a ton of time early on forging a family relationship that severely drags the film out. These are just pointless interludes that show the family relationship as being quite dysfunctional mean quite little to the fact that there's much more to that. It's quite an adventure to get through them all, as they all eventually end with the same results, and they don't change any perceptions of anything at all of how the plot's going to change with the son being upset over the new relationship or the needless time spent tracking down the ritualistic expert. The only other thing that might not work is that this one features a little extreme nature for something that doesn't appear to be. The fact that this one contains a really extreme subject matter with the plot about child sacrifice. This might not appeal to a lot as being something worthwhile, and this can be something to get around while viewing. Otherwise, these are its problems.Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Brief Full Nudity, children-in-danger and after-effects of animal ritual violence.

The most unbelievable thing about this farrago of absolute nonsense is that it is the work of the great John Schlesinger. Beautifully filmed and edited, the story is nonsense from start to finish, and no amount of flashy style can rescue it. I don't think the director himself can have believed in this, because nothing here is believably disturbing. All we see is sick and criminal behaviour inexplicably involving nice rational metropolitan types. The film's lame procession of empty, contrived sensations just doesn't convince us of anything except the film's own total lack of conviction.Plenty of style on show - just the wrong cool style for the daft subject. Polanski was dark and middle-European enough to disturb us with his chilling horror Rosemary's Baby. Schlesinger does not inhabit this bonkers realm at all, and his film falls flat. It is contrived, boring and unconvincing throughout. Utter tosh.

Co-producer / director John Schlesinger of "Midnight Cowboy" fame is at the helm of this interesting film that takes a look into the religion of Santeria. Martin Sheen plays Cal Jamison, a police psychiatrist who moves with his young son Chris (Harley Cross) from Minnesota to New York after a horrible accident involving his wife. Soon they find that the terror isn't over as they get mixed up with various members of a cult that believes in the sacrifice of children.As in any film of this kind, it does get fascinating to see characters partake in rituals and utilize assorted items. The story is based on a novel by Nicholas Conde, condensed here by Mark Frost of 'Twin Peaks' fame, and it's fairly meaty stuff that runs close to two hours. It gets appropriately surreal, and while it may not always make absolute sense, that isn't such a bad thing in a film of this kind.The cast is above average and quite convincing. Supporting Sheen are the lovely, under-rated Helen Shaver, and old pros such as Robert Loggia, Lee Richardson, Elizabeth Wilson, Harris Yulin, and Richard Masur. Jimmy Smits has a great, memorable, small but pivotal part as a detective who's part of the puzzle; he's found flying off the handle after being discovered at a murder scene. Also appearing are the excellent Raul Davila and the striking Malick Bowens; co-star Carla Pinza, who plays Carmen the housekeeper, was also the films' cultural adviser.Despite a deliberate pace, this story just draws the viewer right in with its weird atmosphere, attention to detail, and its sense of doom and gloom. After a while, one has to wonder if there is anyone that Cal can trust. The characters are compelling; it's refreshing that our hero is flawed and not perfect. For one thing, he's prone to nasty outbursts.The special effects are generally good, especially when insects emerge from a sore on a persons' face. The music by J. Peter Robinson is likewise good. The finale is well executed on impressive sets by Simon Holland and the cinematography is the work of the great Robby Muller.Worth a look overall; the finale would seem to be setting up a sequel but no sequel ever got made. For another look at Santeria, check out the 1972 film "The Possession of Joel Delaney".Seven out of 10.