Icon Productions
Paramount Pictures
Not part of a collection.
Bless the Child
Mankind's last hope just turned six.
When Maggie's sister Jenna saddles her with an autistic newborn named Cody she touches Maggie's heart and becomes the daughter she has always longed for. But six years later Jenna suddenly re-enters her life and, with her mysterious new husband, Eric Stark, abducts Cody. Despite the fact that Maggie has no legal rights to Cody, FBI agent John Travis takes up her cause when he realizes that Cody shares the same birth date as several other recently murdered children.
- Original title
- Bless the Child
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- $40,000,000
- Revenue
- $40,443,010
Wuchak
Dec 3, 2023 · via TMDB
**_Inversion of "The Omen"_** A little girl with awe-inspiring abilities is raised by her aunt, Maggie O'Connor (Kim Basinger), because her mother is a drug addict (Angela Bettis). The latter hooks up with a weird cult, led by the arrogant Eric Stark (Rufus Sewell), who wants the child for dubious purposes. Released in 2000, "Bless the Child" is a thriller/horror that comes across as an inverted "The Omen" with elements of "End of Days." It has the same plot as the contemporaneous "The Calling," but is more sensical. It's no low-budget production as it cost $40 million to make and was directed by Chuck Russell, who's known for a few fairly significant movies, like "Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors," the remake of "The Blob" and 1994's highly successful "The Mask." Despite this, "Bless the Child" comes across as a Lifetime movie with a higher budget, which explains the film's mediocre ratings. While I understand this criticism I was able to enter into the world of the characters and enjoy the movie. It's not technically as good as "The Omen" (and some would say that it's sacrilege to even compare them), but I personally prefer "Bless the Child" simply because I like the story, characters and themes better, despite the film's limitations. Concerning the cast, Kim Basinger was past her physical prime, but she still looks good and she's a likable and compassionate protagonist. Jimmy Smits co-stars as the detective on the case and he's effective, as always. Petite Christina Ricci shines in a small role as a runaway who tries to help Maggie. They're all good, but it's Rufus Sewell who's most memorable as the leader of a cult that mixes elements of LaVeyian Satanism with Sciencefictionology. The CGI is a mixed bag, some of the effects are pretty good while some are just serviceable, but you have to consider the age of the movie. Regardless, special effects are just icing on the cake; it's the story and characters that count and this is where "Bless the Child" is solid—nothing great or exceptionally good, but solid. The film runs 1 hour, 47 minutes, and was shot in Toronto, Burlington and Sarnia, Ontario with 2nd unit shots of the Big Apple. GRADE: B/B-
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Kim Basinger
Maggie O'Connor
Jimmy Smits
Agent John Travis
Rufus Sewell
Eric Stark
Ian Holm
Reverend Grissom
Angela Bettis
Jenna
Holliston Coleman
Cody
Christina Ricci
Cheri Post
Lumi Cavazos
Sister Rosa
Michael Gaston
Det. Frank Bugatti
Eugene Lipinski
Stuart
Dimitra Arliss
Dahnya
Anne Betancourt
Maria
Helen Stenborg
Sister Joseph
Matthew Lemche
New Dawn Kid at Van
Elisabeth Rosen
New Dawn Kid
Nicole Lyn
New Dawn Kid
Michael McLachlan
New Dawn Kid
Vince Corazza
Reverend's Assistant
David Eisner
Dr. Ben
Gary Hudson
Maggie's Date
Nicolas Salgado
Martin Casillas
Marcia Bennett
Head Nurse
Peter Mensah
Good Samaritan Janitor
Yan Birch
Good Samaritan on Bridge
Cedric Smith
Pediatric Doctor
Christopher Redman
New Dawn intern
Christopher Marren
Diner State Trooper
John Healy
Diner local policeman
David Sparrow
Crawford
Michael Copeman
Police Lieutenant
Neil Girvan
Detective
Roman Podhora
Desk sergeant
Arnold Pinnock
Alley officer
Catherine Fitch
Sister Helena
John Shepherd
Mr. Czernik
Leeza Gibbons
Leeza Gibbons
Dan Duran
Reporter
Matt Birman
Upstate Cop
Meredith McGeachie
Nurse
Henry Alessandroni
Hospital cop
Miles Teves
Art Direction
Peter Menzies Jr.
Director of Photography
Denise Cronenberg
Costume Design
Todd Tucker
Special Effects Makeup Artist
Jake Morrison
Compositor
Matt Birman
Stunt Coordinator
Branko Racki
Stunts
Danny Lima
Stunts
Debbie Lee Carrington
Stunts
Henry Kingi
Stunts
Jennifer Vey
Stunts
Robert Racki
Stunts
Chuck Russell
Director
Jonnie Katz
Second Assistant Director
Gary Hymes
Second Unit Director
Alan Heim
Editor
Deborah Aquila
Casting
Sarah Halley Finn
Casting
Frank Smathers
Dialogue Editor
Christopher Young
Original Music Composer
Stephen Hunter Flick
Supervising Sound Editor
Marc Dominic Rienzo
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Hellion
Aug 11, 2000
