Bless the Child

Starring: Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Christiana Ricci, Rufus Sewell, Ian Holm
Directed by: Chuck Russell
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Box Office: $29,381,494
2000

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Maggie (Kim Basinger) returns to her home one night to find her estranged sister, Jenna, huddled in the doorway. Maggie is stunned to see Jenna has a newborn daughter. When Maggie takes them both in, she checks to see the baby is ok, and Jenna disappears out the door. Maggie takes Jenna's daughter, Cody, in as her own, and it is soon discovered that Cody is autistic. Six years later, Cody begins to display extraordinary powers, which manifest out of her autism. At the same time, grizzly child murders start occurring all over the city. An FBI agent who specializes in cult killings (Jimmy Smits) begins investigating. Suddenly, Jenna appears, with her husband (Rufus Sewell), the leader of a bizarre cult. Jenna and her husband kidnap Cody, and Maggie discovers a strange trail of mystery and murder, and gets closer to the truth- that Cody possesses extraordinary powers, and a struggle between good and evil is taking place, with Cody right in the middle.

Review:

Tim: This is a very good film. Kim Basinger gives an average performance, as do the rest of the cast. No performance deserves special mention, as all the actors give restrained and unexciting performances. The best performance in the movie, however, is by the young actress who portrays Cody.

I am a big fan of movies that involve Satan in the plot, because it is exciting to see how the makers of the film handle it. Any film with Satan can become cheesy and ridiculous very quickly, and it is interesting to see how the creators of a film steer away from that, and also what new twists they can come up with. As far as movies involving Christian thoughts and ideals, this one doesn't measure up to some like Stigmata and End of Days. However, Bless the Child does offer many interesting and new ideas, and has some very clever dialogue. The "you first" line is just hilarious.

All in all, Bless the Child is worth seeing, but unless you are a big fan of films involving the summoning of Satan, don't buy it. I did enjoy this movie however, and do recommend it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: End of Days, Stigmata, Lost Souls