The Deceivers (1988)

Cast: Pierce Brosnan (William Savage) ; Saeed Jaffrey (Hussein); Helena Michell (Sarah Wilson)

Director: Nicholas Meyer

Genre: Action/ Drama/ True Story


Around 1825, a secret religious sect of worshippers of the Indian god Kali traveled around India, killing travelers by strangulation and then burying them in a ritual fashion. After the buried remains of a murdered British soldier are discovered, a tax collector of the British Indian Company named William Savage (Pierce Brosnan) disguises himself as a cult member and infiltrates the Kali secret sect in order to reveal who they are, what they do, and what they stand for. I found this film to be a very good rendition of the true events surrounding this once real religious cult in India. I liked the fact that in the film, there was no over emphasis on the murders which the cult was famous for. The story stuck well to Savage’s desires as an Indian in order to expose this secret cult of murders in order to carry out justice for his fellow British officer and what he had to endure while within the cult. It was interesting to see how Savage, an Anglican, struggled in conscience at the same time when under cover in the cult. His observations of how the pagan Kali rituals were similar to Anglican worship drove him to such a bad conscience. This acting was performed well by Brosnan. His weakness took the better of him and this twist played an excellent accompaniment to the overall plot. The cinematography was well done. The shots of the Indian countryside were beautiful. However, I didn’t like how Savage gave in so easily to his weaknesses. He did display an obvious inward struggle but, naturally, when one fault is committed, the next one is easier to commit. It seemed that he gave in more to appease his new Indian cult buddies rather than to remain under cover to carry out the justice he originally intended to do. This aspect got carried away when he cheated on his wife with a prostitute brought to him by cult members. The twist at the end was unexpected. The end may be considered “scandalous” but it was something very believable when one considers William Savage’s weakness and injured conscience throughout the story. Obviously, I was more intrigued by his inward religious/ conscience struggle than I was with his attempt at exposing the cult and seeking the justice he initially attempted to gain. It made the story much easier to relate to. I would definitely recommend this film with a word of caution regarding the scene with the prostitute as well as the violent murder scenes.