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Movies / On DVD / Bless the Child
Bless the Child

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Bless the Child (2000)

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Reviews Counted:95

Fresh:3

Rotten:92

Average Rating:3/10

Consensus: Bless the Child doesn't scare, but may provoke unintended laughter from audiences. It's basically a B-movie.

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

Synopsis: Omens and concepts of good vs. evil have no place in Maggie O’Connor’s (Kim Basinger) well-ordered, practical universe. Her life revolves around her job as a nurse at a busy New York hospital --... Omens and concepts of good vs. evil have no place in Maggie O’Connor’s (Kim Basinger) well-ordered, practical universe. Her life revolves around her job as a nurse at a busy New York hospital -- that is, until her wayward kid sister, Jenna (Angela Bettis), shows up on her doorstep one rainy Christmas Eve and saddles Maggie with an autistic newborn child named Cody (Holliston Coleman).

Cody quickly 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 (Rufus Sewell), abducts Cody. Despite the fact that Maggie has no legal rights to Cody, FBI agent John Travis (Jimmy Smits), an expert in ritual homicide and occult-related crime, takes up her cause when he realizes that Cody shares the same birth date as several other recently missing children.

The little girl, it soon becomes clear, is more than simply "special." She manifests extraordinary powers that the forces of evil have waited centuries to control, and her abduction sparks a clash between the soldiers of good and evil that can only be resolved, in the end, by the strength of one small child and the love she inspires in those she touches. [More]

Starring: Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Rufus Sewell, Ian Holm

Starring: Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Rufus Sewell, Ian Holm, Lumi Cavazos, Holliston Coleman, Christina Ricci, Angela Bettis, Dimitra Arliss

Director: Chuck Russell

Director: Chuck Russell
Screenwriter: Tom Rickman
Producer: Mace Neufeld
Composer: Christopher Young

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Bless the Child

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Shamelessly silly, Bless The Child notches up the clichés as the daft story meanders towards a suitably hammy conclusion.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The use of child jeopardy as a cheap suspense mechanism is somewhat dubious, but one's unease is slightly mollified by the fact that much of this is far too silly to take seriously.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Efficiently made hokum.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

The set-up ... doesn't exactly have you performing cartwheels of excitement as it lays out its rather transparent tussle between good and evil.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
04/17/01
Michael Thomson
Michael Thomson
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's annoying stupid, not fun stupid.

Full Review Source: UK Critic | comment Comment
02/14/01
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
Ian Waldron-Mantgani
UK Critic

The special effects are impressive, but the dialogue is an unintentional hoot.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

It reps another disappointing outing from Kim Basinger, who's clearly uninspired by the hack material.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/06/08
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Horrendous dialogue and horrific directing dominate this thriller, in which Coleman's performance shines by default.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/08/07
Lisa Alspector
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader

Mostly derivative junk, but its few novel touches are worth noting.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Any movie where the villain is a combination of Danny Bonaduce and L. Ron Hubbard has at least has one thing going for it.

Full Review Source: Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) | comment Comment
06/12/03
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Watching, I felt that the script wasn't taking full advantage of the genre.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

Forgive them, Lord; Russell et al know not what they do.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Joe Mader
Joe Mader
Palo Alto Weekly

If this film were just written badly, or just acted badly, it might have some value. But here we have a double negative.

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

I kept thinking Jay and Silent Bob would pop out and make a Star Wars joke.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Ron Wells
Ron Wells
Film Threat
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
08/23/02
Hollywood.com

This movie is filled with such nonsense.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
08/02/02
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

Maggie O'Connor begins having visions... These demons look like refugees from "Fantasia" and the angels appear to her as sparkling winged cabbages. Perhaps they're on their way to be photographed for some sort of heavenly produce ad.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
06/15/02
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

A better script or stronger direction might have helped, but without either, this one goes to the Devil.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Luisa F. Ribeiro
Luisa F. Ribeiro
Boxoffice Magazine

A frighteningly fundamentalist vision of contemporary society that's shamelessly and ineptly manipulative.

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/24/02
Peter Keough
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix

It makes the battle between good and evil look trite, familiar, and boring.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/19/02
Kevin Courrier
Kevin Courrier
Globe and Mail
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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Latest News for Bless the Child

June 08, 2005: Chuck Russell Bites Into "Piranha" Remake
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