La mossa del diavolo

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.

Bless the Child was a good movie. I have to admit that when this movie came to theatres, it was one of the few times that negative reviews kept me from seeing a movie. After watching the DVD last night, I was kicking myself for missing a chance to see this movie a year earlier.

Bless the child is full of new or unknown actors, but reguardless it is well acted... Kim Basinger and Jimmy Smits both play their parts well and the script and their acting allows the viewer to see something that may be chemistry building between the two, but doesn't throw it in our faces. The problem with most movies of this type is that the villian is flat and poorly acted... That is not the case in Bless the Child. Rufus Sewell does an excellent job portraying the evil Eric Stark. Although she has a nominal part in the movie, Angela Bettis played the part of Maggies drug-addicted sister so well, I was absolutely hating her. Even with all of this, the movie would not be what it is without the superb acting of Holliston Coleman who plays 6-year-old Cody. At 7, Holliston has more ability than many adult actors. She definately has a future.

The story and directing were both done well. Although it is not the most original story line, it is done a different way. Rarely, if ever, is the force of good allowed to manifest itself in a visible presence. In Bless the Child, however, the good can be seen along with the evil. Although I not by any means a very religious person, this struck a cord with me. There's a sense of hope within this growing evil... The world may just have a chance, not because a big guy with a big gun blew away Satan... no, because there is good out there. The battle between good and evil does have two sides... It's just nice to be able to see the good for a change.

The special effects are also good in this movie. It is by far a special effects movie, but they are used in a smart fashion to provide a glimpse at the battle that goes on all around us, although we don't see it... Only the rat bedroom sequence left me somewhat disappointed, the rest provided a eery mood to the film.

Bless the Child is a great film for what it is and maybe be known as the starting point to the great career of Holliston Coleman. 8/10

Although it may not be a perfect movie,

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

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.

BLESS THE CHILD is another one of those films that fit right into the category of 'satan-becomes-man-and-is-about-to-take-over-the-world' movies. Other examples of the genre would be END OF DAYS and LOST SOULS. Both of which are good. BLESS THE CHILD is not better than these two films and it is not worse either. It is just the same.

Maggie (Kim Basinger) lives with her sister's daughter, Cody (Holliston Coleman). When Cody gets discovers that she has special powers and abilities, she is targeted by a cult led by her sister's fiance, Eric Stark (Rufus Sewell). With the help of a gothic cult follower (Christina Ricci) that is willing to help her, Maggie must stop the cult from using Cody's powers for their ultimate goal...use them to summon the Devil.

Now, this is a cool movie. Not too much action, but some. A little bit of horror thrown in for good measure, and some thrilling sequences- and you got a good movie. See this film, if you are a fan of the genre. Otherwise, you probably won't like it that much. But, otherwise, this is one thrill-ride of a film! BLESS THE CHILD: 5/5.