Bless the Child (2000)

Director:

Chuck Russell

Writers (WGA):

Cathy Cash Spellman (novel)
Thomas Rickman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 August 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Horror

Tagline:

Fear the Darkness. Fight the Evil. Bless the Child.

Plot:

Omens and concepts of good vs. evil have no place in Maggie O'Connor's well-ordered, practical universe...

Plot Keywords:

Omen | FBI | Nurse | Troubled Teen | Autism

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Kim Basinger	...	Maggie O'Connor
Jimmy Smits	...	Agent John Travis
Holliston Coleman	...	Cody O'Connor
Rufus Sewell	...	Eric Stark
Angela Bettis	...	Jenna O'Connor
Christina Ricci	...	Cheri Post
Michael Gaston	...	Det. Frank Bugatti
Lumi Cavazos	...	Sister Rosa
Dimitra Arliss	...	Dahnya (as Dimitra Arlys)
Eugene Lipinski	...	Stuart
Anne Betancourt	...	Maria
Ian Holm	...	Reverend Grissom
Helen Stenborg	...	Sister Joseph
Matthew Lemche	...	New Dawn Kid at Van
Dan Warry-Smith	...	New Dawn Kid

Also Known As:

Die Prophezeiung (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, drug content and brief language.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-15 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Mexico:C | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #37491) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Company:

BTC Productions KG

Trivia:

"Ego fum papa" roughly translates as "I am the Pope".

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Maggie and Cody run past a Shopper's Drug Mart on the street after leaving the dentist office. Shopper's Drug Mart in a pharmacy chain located only in Canada, and yet the scene is set in New York City.

Quotes:

Cherry: About a year ago, they started hunting children.
Maggie O'Connor: What does this have to do with Cody?
Cherry: They believe she's the one they have been looking for. She's going to lead people to God, Maggie. Eric is going to try to change her, and if not...
Maggie O'Connor: Slaughter of the Innocents.
Cherry: Do you promise to get her out of there? And get out as fast you can?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Good film, similar plot...

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.