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Bless The Child
Paramount Pictures


6.3

based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 8 votes
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Internet Movie Database

MPAA RATING: R for violence, drug content and brief language

Starring Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, and Rufus Sewell

A six-year-old is targeted by Satanists to carry out a Biblical prophecy. Her aunt (Basinger) and a police detective (Smits) team up to foil the plan.

GENRE(S):	Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Cathy Cash Spellman (novel) Thomas Rickman Clifford Green Ellen Green
DIRECTED BY:	Chuck Russell
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: February 13, 2001 Video: February 13, 2001 Theatrical: August 11, 2000
RUNNING TIME:	107 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The movie works -- at least marginally.

Chicago Tribune Vicky Edwards

Entertaining, but it doesn't add enough to the genre to make it truly blessed.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

Satanic silliness undermines this gloomy horror picture.

San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann

A schlocky thriller that might appeal to less discriminating members of the mall crowd.

New York Daily News Jami Bernard

Should have sold its soul for a little help in the script department.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Often trite and predictable but grudgingly likable in the end.

TNT RoughCut J. Rentilly

Pop junk, an airport paperback, literally, turned into a mid-budget devil thriller.

Boston Globe Jay Carr

Causes one to wish... that movies about the supernatural could make contact with supernatural script doctors.

USA Today Susan Wloszczyna

A cheesy crock of religious mumbo jumbo.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

The movie is somewhat below average. The plot doesn't always hold together.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

A forehead-poundingly bad picture.

Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday

Goes straight to hell, and in this case it is its own handbasket.

New York Post Jonathan Foreman

Mostly ludicrous, but occasionally effective.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

The unintentional effect of movies like Bless the Child is that they are enough to make agnostics out of true believers.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

A supernatural soap opera.

Film.com Ernest Hardy

Far from the worst film this summer, but it also doesn't rate strong enough to be a future video rental.

Miami Herald Sara Wildberger

The whole thing's grotesque as a gargoyle and ugly as sin.

Film.com Gemma Files

Good vs. Evil For Dummies....and I, for one, dislike being treated like a Dummy.

Washington Post Rita Kempley

The scariest thing about this hokey bombast is that it got made in the first place.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Lapses into an exercise in foolishness.

Variety Robert Koehler

Combines the most rudimentary of Catholic-inspired good vs. evil plots with visual effects that would barely pass muster in episodic TV.

Mr. Showbiz Cody Clark

Dreadful demonic disaster.

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

Director Chuck Russell ("The Mask") and screenwriter Thomas Rickman don't need new agents -- they need backup careers.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

It works not at all.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Abysmally stupid drama.

Village Voice Mark Holcomb

A callous piece of work that exploits images of children in pain or jeopardy.

Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector

Horrendous dialogue and horrific directing dominate this thriller.

The average user rating for this movie is 6.3 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Saer A. gave it a 1:
There is no reason at all to watch this vulgar, brutal, trash. Bless The Child does not work at all.

Christine D. gave it a 1:
This movie was horrible! They took an outstanding book and totally turned it into trash. BUT who could be shocked it happens all the time.

Mama J. gave it a 10:
I liked it it was great!

Ryan M. gave it a 6:
Though it offers thrills and chills. Basinger can't get out the kind of "kick-ass girl power" that Jodie Foster and Jullianne Moore did in the part of Clarice Starling, which is exactly what Basinger is trying to be.

Steve L. gave it a 5:
Not sure how I feel about this one--it's almost dull and almost inviting.

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Bless The Child Paramount Pictures

Bless The Child
Paramount Pictures