Bless the Child

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

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?)

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.

Wow, this is a rarity: a modern-day film in which the Christians (mostly nuns in this story) are the "good guys" and the New Age advocates are the devil-like "bad guys." That really annoys all the secular critics, which means about 99 percent of them.

Rufus Sewell plays a Satan-worshiping cult leader who tries to kidnap young Holliston Coleman, someone with special healing powers. Kim Basinger, in an unusual wholesome low-key role, plays the aunt-turned-parent/guardian of the kid.

There is some very good suspense here, especially at the end and some shocking horror scenes of violence. "Shocking" not just because of what happened but the film was so family-oriented up until then. Overall, though, a decent story and a good message. Even though I liked it, it wouldn't a film I would watch multiple times, although a second look is likely.

This film could have been a lot better. The audience deserves more, and we DO see when Hollywood repeats a trend, and repeats and repeats. For example "Stir of Echoes", "Stigmata"", "The Blair Witch Project". Each of these films came out around the same time. Similar themes(too similar) some better than others because of decent performances.

The problem is, these films become redundant and audiences gradually lose interest. Kim Basinger delivers a decent performance, as does Angela Bettis as drug-addicted, cult member sister.

The story however, becomes too familiar, and we lose interest. The ending was too formulaic. Overall this is not something you would be happy about if you paid to see it in the theater. Okay as rental though. 5/10.