Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Charming and brutal

Am I Missing Something?

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Released in 2000, "Bless the Child" is a thriller/horror that comes across as an inverted "The Omen" (1976) with elements of "End of Days" (1999). 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), and they want the child for diabolical purposes.This is 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" strangely comes across as a Lifetime movie with a higher budget. In other words, it somehow lacks the sheen and pizazz of an expensive production, 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. Cutie 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 barely 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 107 minutes and was shot in Toronto, Burlington and Sarnia, Ontario.GRADE: B or B-

Bless The Child is an excruciating experience, to go through. There is no suspense to be found, and the actors are often slumming it, and to be honest I didn't blame them. Bless The Child often feels like a straight to video production, featuring an A-list cast. Kim Bassinger can be a credible actress, but here she is overwhelmed with crappy material. Are we really supposed to believe That Basinger's fatal gunshot wound in the end, can be healed by an angel, just like that?. I believe in god, but that was too far fetched for my liking. It's also very slow for the most part, I often found myself having trouble, paying attention to the silly plot. Bless The Child was a movie, I avoided for years, due to all the bad reviews, but I needed something to rent, so I thought why not?. I also found the kid abuse to be extremely unpleasant. Dangling a kid off a high roof, is supposed to be invigorating?. Bless The Child is one of the worst Horror/Thriller's i've seen in recent memory.Performances. Kim Bassinger is OK, but often looked bad, due to the terrible script. Her character doesn't give us enough information, nor does it have enough development, to make us care. For her age, she certainly looks good, though. Christina Ricci gets 1st rate billing, but is barely in the film. Jimmy Smits is OK as the cop, but has done this part, before. Holliston Coleman is the best actor in the film, and that's pretty bad. For her age, she gives a remarkably steady performance, I was quite impressed. Rufus Sewell gives an amusingly hammy Satan worshiping, performance. Angela Bettis is OK as Jenna, but overdid it in some scenes. She did good in looking strung out, though. Bottom line. This movie certainly needed some blessing, because I was bored senseless with this movie. It's as bad as you've heard, believe me. Not recommended, there are much better films of it's type out there.1/10

Unbearable schlock. Kim Basinger adopts her sister's child, a little girl who turns out to be the Second Coming or something. Jimmy Smits is the FBI investigator called in on the case when the girl is kidnapped by Rufus Sewell and his gang of thugs. They run an outfit called The New Dawn. It poses as a self-help program but is really a Satanist church.It's all mechanically slapped together with multiple borrowings from "The Exorcist" and "Omen" and their devolved descendants.Everything is predictable except that which is completely arbitrary. Hordes of skinless rats come and go without explanation. Angels appear as fuzzy balls of white light. Gargoyles sometimes fill the sky. Sometimes not.The performances by some of the talent are okay. Basinger doesn't do badly, for instance. But nothing could save this piece of unspeakable crap. Rufus Sewell, as the Satanist-in-Chief, has these goggle eyes. He's so exopthalmic that the whites completely surround the irises. And if he blinks even once during the entire film, I must have missed it because I was blinking at the same time.It's not worth going on about. How do the kids put it? Oh, yes. "It sux."

This was a terrible film. The acting had great potential with the big names that were on the cast list so I blame the direction (or lack thereof) for the lackluster delivery, non-existent screen presences and slow movement.The plot was rambling and predictable; it was only my die-hard film fan friends that encouraged me to stick it out. I thought that it was ending at least thrice only to be disappointed in the final scenes. There was no real denouement, character development or moral lesson as would have been rightly expected from a potentially great script. The effects were hazy and obvious, reminiscent of Technicolor or the bad old days of smoke and mirrors.The character's were clichéd and exaggerated portraying only the obvious arch-types of villain, victim and savior-savant. A pathetic attempt all round, I would recommend this title only for the most devoted fans of the supernatural horror/thriller genre.