Bless the Child (2000)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

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:

Girl | Omen | FBI | New York | Child

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Fri. July 17

11:55 AM

SHOW

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

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:

The subway station where the attack on Meg takes place is a "ghost" station on the Toronto subway that is used frequently as a stand in for New York subways. The city's film office wanted to leave it set up as a NYC station but the Toronto fire department nixed that idea. The station is below the Bay station on the Bloor line, on the track connecting the Bloor and Yonge lines. At one time trains went from one line to the other - thus the station - but the practice was discontinued because of switching problems. (There is also a "ghost" station beneath the Queen Street station. It was roughed in 1954 for a planned Queen Street subway which never was built.)

Goofs:

Continuity: When the candles in the cathedral spontaneously ignite, the puddle of wax at the base of the wick shows that each candle has been burning for longer than they appear to have been burning on screen.

Quotes:

Woman on Bus: [Haitian accent] Did ya see it yet, darlin'?
Maggie O'Connor: Excuse me?
Woman on Bus: Star of Yakov. What they be callin' the Christmas star. Ain't been seen since Bethlehem. And now it's here.
Maggie O'Connor: That's nice.
Woman on Bus: Oh, yes. It's very nice. It's a good sign for all good people. Means someone special come from God. What do ya think 'bout that?
Maggie O'Connor: I don't know, I - I'm not sure I believe in that king of thing.
Woman on Bus: Oh, that don't matter. It's there if you believe or not believe. It don't care.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Tracey Fragments (2007)

Suspense And Shock

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.