BLESS THE CHILD ---------------
The Bethlehem star shines bright one Christmas and a child is born beneath it on December 16. Nurse Maggie O'Connor (Kim Basinger) arrives home a week later to find her drug addicted sister Jenna (Angela Bettis, "Girl, Interrupted") huddled in her doorway clutching a newborn which she abandons with Maggie. Six years later, during a string of child murders, she returns as the wife of Erik Stark, (Rufus Sewall, "Dark City") founder of The New Dawn, a Scientology-like organization for young drug addicts. But Maggie discovers The New Dawn is really a front for Satanists looking for a special child in "Bless the Child."
LAURA:
"Bless the Child" is the anti-"Omen." It also borrows copiously from other Satanic horror flicks such as "The Prophecy" and "The Exorcist."
The horror genre is a tough one to succeed in as can be seen by the enormous amount of dreck one must sift through in order to find the gems. With that in mind, "Bless the Child" isn't all that bad, mostly due to it's unusual emphasis on the good part of the 'good vs. evil' plot and some imaginative special effects. It's also derivative to the max, perfunctorily acted (except for Sewell's over-the-top perf) and features some outright howlers (of laughter, that is).
Cody (Holliston Coleman) is quiet to the point of being diagnosed as autistic so attends a special (conveniently Catholic) school where she resuscitates dead birds and makes votive candles burst into flame. Her nightmares are telepathetically shared with Aunt Maggie, who races to Cody's bedroom to find the child held hostage by red-eyed rats while being leered at by the gargoyle outside her window. Cody's head banging incidents scare away Maggie's dates.
Once Cody's snatched by Stark, Maggie crosses paths with FBI Agent John Travis (Jimmy Smits), a former seminarian who's on the case of the murdered children (all, like Cody, born on December 16). He believes Stark's involved but needs to prove it. Maggie gets tips, follows them on her own and gets into enormous jams that Travis can then save her from. Meanwhile Stark's trying to 'turn' Cody to use her special powers for the dark side. He tries to convince her by lighting bums on fire and sweet talking her into jumping off their building's roof, but she's not buying it. The whole things ends on Easter Eve in a gothic mansion where Cody must accept Satan or die.
Kim Bassinger frets a lot and Jimmy Smits looks earnest. Sewell gets mileage out of the freekiness of his lazy eye. Holliston Coleman is quite believable as the troubled Cody. Lumi Cavazos ("Like Water for Chocolate") is luminous as a nun. Christina Ricci is wasted (both literally and figuratively) as a former New Dawn goth chick. Angela Bettis nicely traverses the road from strung out to brainwashed. Ian Holm's nothing more than a classy credit, appearing in one unnecessary scene. It's truly fun to see Dimitra Arlys again, (so good as the diner waitress who tries to kill Robert Redford in "The Sting") here playing the demonic nanny right out of "The Omen."
The screenplay adaptation (Tom Rickman, Clifford and Ellen Green) of Cathy Cash Spellman's book contains a few nice touches. Travis prays for help and a janitor offers some encouraging words - when he leaves the dead lillies on Travis' window sill are abloom again. A pretty woman uses her umbrella to open subway doors Maggie and Cody are running for, then is nowhere to be seen when Maggie turns to offer thanks. It also offers such idiocy as a rescue attempt at a dentist's office and blatant ripoffs such as having Maggie's housekeeper leave her rosary under Cody's pillow (straight out of "The Exorcist").
The best thing about "Bless the Child" are the special effects by Glenn Neufeld ("Terminator II") and Joel Hynek ("What Dreams May Come"). They create demonic creatures which Maggie begins to see when evil is afoot. Their hovering and skittering are truly creepy, some resembling the flying monkeys of "The Wizard of Oz."
"Bless the Child" is mostly derivative junk, but its few novel touches are worth noting.
C-
ROBIN:
N/A
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