La hija de la luz

I have been going to the movies for 55 years now. And I have been writing novels for nearly 30 years, with 38 published thus far. One of my favorite genres as a moviegoer is the horror thriller, which is one in which I have written also, usually within a Christian context.

BLESS THE CHILD is unquestionably one of the finest genre movies I have ever seen, the kind that combine Christian themes and thriller techniques. I like it because it is relatively subdued, with sincere underplayed acting, and a minimum of Hollywood hocus-pocus.

The themes are:

1) The triumph of God over the devil, instead of the reverse. 2) The power of prayer. 3) The depiction of angels of light. 4) Brief but effective moments when demonic creatures, normally in an unseen supernatural existence, are revealed starkly. 5) No attempt to make evil seem other than loathsome, destructive. 6) Child-like faith enables us to resist Satan.

The direction by Chuck Russell was excellent, involving; no wonder he came close to directing the screen version of THIS PRESENT DARKNESS. There was almost no foul language, and the brutal episodes were less in number than usual.

I notice the Christian moments were referred to as "propaganda". Why is it propaganda when biblical references are used but not propaganda when humanism, nihilism, abortion, homosexuality, adultery and such are similarly promoted?

I showed BLESS THE CHILD to a neighbor couple, folks who are not especially religious. They were enthralled by it, reacting nervously when the suspense is intensified, rejoicing at the more inspiring moments.

BLESS THE CHILD is not a toweringly great movie but, rather, an intensely reverent one, directed with intelligence, acted with conviction, without nude scenes, and thankfully lacking a tidal wave of vulgarity,

Roger Elwood

If I had only read the reviews written in this forum I would have thought this movie was another Kevin Costner or John Travolta fiasco. Never have I seen so much intense negative interest in a "really bad" movie.

Before watching "Bless The Child" tonight, my only prior knowledge of it was seeing the trailer a couple of times on TV when the movie was about to be released. And then I only really noticed because the Icon label attached to it seemed to be out of place.

But the movie really wasn't that bad, though it could have used more (much more) focus and better lines and more intensity from the lead actors.

The story is classic good vrs. evil. What seems to have peeved many of the reviewers is that "good," in the form of a little girl (Holliston Coleman), was actually presented as having some real (and quiet) strength for a change. I suppose, in these reviewers jaded view of reality, this seems unrealistic. Besides, in horror movies (you know, the "realistic" kind) the evil thingamabob is always indestructible and just when good manages to triumph -- we find it really didn't. (How dare the "Bless the Child" producers have the gall not to be cliche in this respect!)

So to sum up my feelings. I liked the story (I don't suffer from anti-Catholic bigotry so the charge of being "too Catholic" wasn't a concern). I liked the little girl's acting. I thought Kim Bassinger did a credible job -- though her part lacked some intensity as did Jimmie Smits' part. I thought the Stark character (acted by Rufus Sewell) was well acted and convincingly evil. Miss Ricci's cameo was well done and the special effects were very good. Overall, taking into account my earlier criticism of lack of focus, lack of intensity and a few lines that made me wince -- it was not a bad movie. I would suggest it for those who *do* like a clear cut distinction between good and evil.

And, oh yes. No nudity. Very little profanity and violence that was intense but not overly graphic or gory. (I know -- this crew simply *doesn't* know how to make a "real" horror film, do they?)

Jesus Christ must be spinning in his grave. I have never, ever, ever seen such a terrible religious movie. Scratch that, I don't think I've ever seen such a terrible movie...final. The beginning of the movie is so terrible, I felt like walking out after 10 minutes. The feed you information without even trying to have it make any sense. They rush you through over 5 years of important info in less that 15 minutes. And the plot. P.U. It's so cliche. Oh, dear, a little girl is born with incredible powers but, those powers can serve evil as well as good. Come on! Like I haven't heard that one a million times before. And at least the others managed to produce something interesting. As for the acting, I think its worse than the story. I don't know what Kim Basinger has been doing all these years, but she certainly hasn't been practising. She delivers such a monotonous performance, I had to check for my pulse a few times. Sometimes to no avail. I'm not saying it was all bad(I'm lying, it was). Some parts were partially interesting. But only for a total of 5 minutes. The rest is pure crap.

My rating: 2.3 on 10

The Book Bless the Child by Cathy Cash Spellman is absolutly fabulous. REally Scary. THen there is the movie which bears almost no resemblance to the book. DIfferent Plot. Different Charecters, Different story. Why oh why would they do this!?!?!?!? If they had been faithful to the book this movie would have been one hell of a scary ride. If your in the mood for a good scare go straight to the book!

Oh yay: Good vs. Evil. Light vs. Dark. God vs. Lucifer. Do we need another one of those? Not if it's of this weak calibre.

Look there's a child. Isn't she cute? She's `special'. She is a force for good but - oh no! - an evil man, Eric Stark, wants to take her to the dark side. By having this crucial girl on his side, he hopes to shift the power balance to the side of evil. Can the girl's aunt (who is change of her sister's daughter when the sister, a drug addict, left her at the doorstep) save the child? Will evil win? And will I care?

Script? Let's see those clichés - pack 'em in. Evil rats? Check! Old wicked nanny figure? Check! Soft-spoken-devil-figure-prone-to-angry-bouts? Check! Black garbed followers? Elite but mysterious group dedicated to God? It's a go! Flat dimensionless characters? We're going. It's all quite dull, and has been done better in many other such movies involving similar themes (`The Devil's Advocate' for one). There's a lack of tension - you know the outcome from the outset and I, quite correctly, picked out those marked for death and those for life. No surprises and lots of `oh whatever'.

Acting? I'm not sure why Bassinger selected this script (for the reasons above). Certainly she's the best thing here but she still seems tired and worn throughout the movie (never mind the fact her character often displays the common sense of a congenital idiot). Rufus Sewell - the force of evil - is the usual smiling, collected, sort that was far better portrayed by Pacino in `The Devil's Advocate' (and even by Gabriel Byrne in the weak `End of Days'). Christina Ricci puts in a nice small role here, but alas she's not on screen long enough for us to enjoy. As to the girl at the centre of the fight, the would-be-pawn of God. she's actually not that great (or at least wasn't created well). She smiles, gives an odd look, is quiet and so forth in an attempt to appear mysterious. I was not buying it, and found the whole act mundane. And Jimmy Smits, the detective helping Bassinger find her kid, looks like he walked straight off the set of 'NYPD Blue' so judge him from his work there.

`Bless the Child' is contrived and weak, adding nothing new to its genre in any shape or from. It's not quite dull but you do not care less about the characters (try as the cast might). It was not worth my time and it won't be worth yours. Don't bother. 2.5/10.