Name: Bless the Child
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller, Crime
Released: 2000-08-11
Duration: 107 min
Rating: 5.4
Cast: Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Rufus Sewell, Ian Holm, Angela Bettis

Bless the Child

Mankind's last hope just turned six.

When Maggie's sister Jenna saddles her with an autistic newborn named Cody she touches Maggie's heart and becomes the daughter she has always longed for. But six years later Jenna suddenly re-enters her life and, with her mysterious new husband, Eric Stark, abducts Cody. Despite the fact that Maggie has no legal rights to Cody, FBI agent John Travis takes up her cause when he realizes that Cody shares the same birth date as several other recently murdered children.

DramaHorrorThrillerCrime

DirectorChuck Russell

WritersClifford Green, Cathy Cash Spellman, Ellen Green, Thomas Rickman

StatusReleased

LanguageEnglish

Release DateAugust 11, 2000

Runtime1h 47m

Budget$40,000,000

Revenue$40,443,010

Wuchak

@Wuchak

December 3, 20237/10

**_Inversion of "The Omen"_** A little girl with awe-inspiring abilities is raised by her aunt, Maggie O'Connor (Kim Basinger), because her mother is a drug addict (Angela Bettis). The latter hooks up with a weird cult, led by the arrogant Eric Stark (Rufus Sewell), who wants the child for dubious purposes. Released in 2000, "Bless the Child" is a thriller/horror that comes across as an inverted "The Omen" with elements of "End of Days." It has the same plot as the contemporaneous "The Calling," but is more sensical. It's no low-budget production as it cost $40 million to make and was directed by Chuck Russell, who's known for a few fairly significant movies, like "Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors," the remake of "The Blob" and 1994's highly successful "The Mask." Despite this, "Bless the Child" comes across as a Lifetime movie with a higher budget, which explains the film's mediocre ratings. While I understand this criticism I was able to enter into the world of the characters and enjoy the movie. It's not technically as good as "The Omen" (and some would say that it's sacrilege to even compare them), but I personally prefer "Bless the Child" simply because I like the story, characters and themes better, despite the film's limitations. Concerning the cast, Kim Basinger was past her physical prime, but she still looks good and she's a likable and compassionate protagonist. Jimmy Smits co-stars as the detective on the case and he's effective, as always. Petite Christina Ricci shines in a small role as a runaway who tries to help Maggie. They're all good, but it's Rufus Sewell who's most memorable as the leader of a cult that mixes elements of LaVeyian Satanism with Sciencefictionology. The CGI is a mixed bag, some of the effects are pretty good while some are just serviceable, but you have to consider the age of the movie. Regardless, special effects are just icing on the cake; it's the story and characters that count and this is where "Bless the Child" is solid—nothing great or exceptionally good, but solid. The film runs 1 hour, 47 minutes, and was shot in Toronto, Burlington and Sarnia, Ontario with 2nd unit shots of the Big Apple. GRADE: B/B-