I'm trying. Trying really hard. Still trying. Yet no matter what, I can't think of a single positive thing to say about this movie. I know it hasn't been a particularly good time for movies as of late (as opposed to 1999, which was sheer bliss for a movie lover), but Bless the Child is lacking and scraping the barrel even more modern blockbusters. Rehashing the same tired clichés that popped up in the likes of STIGMATA and END OF DAYS to exploit the pre-millenial tension, BLESS THE CHILD is yet another film that offers nothing new to the genre with a weak plot that is predictable at every twist and turn, pointless scenes of action which add nothing to the story, and a dragging pace that makes the hour-and-a-half seem boring even when the film is pretty short for a modern cinema flick.
It's hard to even call this a horror film as there are about three scenes of real horror and a couple of dodgy moments of special effects, otherwise it's more of a thriller story onto which the supernatural elements have been clumsily grafted. Sure, there are a few unexpected moments, but 99% of this film is run-of-the-mill fare. One such moment comes when the ever-weird Christina Ricci gets decapitated on a subway station by a gang of crazed Satanic thugs. There's something you don't see every day, which may be worth the value of seeing the movie alone. The film also seems bizarrely obsessed with showing people getting hit by cars and thrown into the air - not once does this happen, but twice, both done in exactly the same way. The first time was shocking, the second time just a pathetic repeat and expected.
It's hard to believe that Kim Basinger was receiving an Oscar only a few years before this movie. What happened? Here she's wooden, unconvincing as the would-be mother, an inactive and frankly dumb heroine who causes more trouble than she's worth. I hate the recent influx of films centred around child characters and this is no exception. Holliston Coleman is irritating and far from cute as the central autistic kid, her sole acting talent being to scrunch up her face to display some emotion or other.
Rufus Sewell (with his exceptionally creepy eyes) is well-cast as the smooth-talking villain, but he seems nonthreatening and his character underdeveloped. He doesn't get much chance to shine or show anger or hatred. Aside from Christina Ricci's cameo, Ian Holm pops up as a wheelchair-bound purveyor of good in one of his numerous instant "take the paycheque and run" cameo appearances, and Jimmy Smits - by far the most convincing and likable character in the movie - is wasted in support as an investigating cop whose character bears more than a nod to Fox Mulder.
All of the clichéd supernatural effects are present and correct, from candles mysteriously lighting themselves to a swarm of rats and weird demon bats circling in the skies, to black-clad Satanists running around on a mission of destruction. A shot of an undeveloped character getting knitting needles shoved into his eye sockets just seems gratuitous and unnecessary. The CGI effects are cheap-looking and very poor, whether it be the rubbishy demon bats (already used up in BLADE) or the swarm of rats (STUART LITTLE this ain't!), or the horned demons which briefly make their unwelcome appearances. The movie just plods on to an expected fiery climax. Boring, clichéd trash, not worthwhile even for the genre fan; and there's not even much to make fun of here.
It's hard to even call this a horror film as there are about three scenes of real horror and a couple of dodgy moments of special effects, otherwise it's more of a thriller story onto which the supernatural elements have been clumsily grafted. Sure, there are a few unexpected moments, but 99% of this film is run-of-the-mill fare. One such moment comes when the ever-weird Christina Ricci gets decapitated on a subway station by a gang of crazed Satanic thugs. There's something you don't see every day, which may be worth the value of seeing the movie alone. The film also seems bizarrely obsessed with showing people getting hit by cars and thrown into the air - not once does this happen, but twice, both done in exactly the same way. The first time was shocking, the second time just a pathetic repeat and expected.
It's hard to believe that Kim Basinger was receiving an Oscar only a few years before this movie. What happened? Here she's wooden, unconvincing as the would-be mother, an inactive and frankly dumb heroine who causes more trouble than she's worth. I hate the recent influx of films centred around child characters and this is no exception. Holliston Coleman is irritating and far from cute as the central autistic kid, her sole acting talent being to scrunch up her face to display some emotion or other.
Rufus Sewell (with his exceptionally creepy eyes) is well-cast as the smooth-talking villain, but he seems nonthreatening and his character underdeveloped. He doesn't get much chance to shine or show anger or hatred. Aside from Christina Ricci's cameo, Ian Holm pops up as a wheelchair-bound purveyor of good in one of his numerous instant "take the paycheque and run" cameo appearances, and Jimmy Smits - by far the most convincing and likable character in the movie - is wasted in support as an investigating cop whose character bears more than a nod to Fox Mulder.
All of the clichéd supernatural effects are present and correct, from candles mysteriously lighting themselves to a swarm of rats and weird demon bats circling in the skies, to black-clad Satanists running around on a mission of destruction. A shot of an undeveloped character getting knitting needles shoved into his eye sockets just seems gratuitous and unnecessary. The CGI effects are cheap-looking and very poor, whether it be the rubbishy demon bats (already used up in BLADE) or the swarm of rats (STUART LITTLE this ain't!), or the horned demons which briefly make their unwelcome appearances. The movie just plods on to an expected fiery climax. Boring, clichéd trash, not worthwhile even for the genre fan; and there's not even much to make fun of here.