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Bless The Child
Paramount Pictures

Bless The Child reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 17 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
6.3 out of 10
based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 8 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

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 

What The Critics Said

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...

75
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
The movie works -- at least marginally.
Read Full Review
63
Chicago Tribune Vicky Edwards
Entertaining, but it doesn't add enough to the genre to make it truly blessed.
50
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
Satanic silliness undermines this gloomy horror picture.
Read Full Review
50
San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
A schlocky thriller that might appeal to less discriminating members of the mall crowd.
Read Full Review
50
New York Daily News Jami Bernard
Should have sold its soul for a little help in the script department.
Read Full Review
50
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Often trite and predictable but grudgingly likable in the end.
Read Full Review
40
TNT RoughCut J. Rentilly
Pop junk, an airport paperback, literally, turned into a mid-budget devil thriller.
38
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Causes one to wish... that movies about the supernatural could make contact with supernatural script doctors.
38
USA Today Susan Wloszczyna
A cheesy crock of religious mumbo jumbo.
38
Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
The movie is somewhat below average. The plot doesn't always hold together.
Read Full Review
33
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
A forehead-poundingly bad picture.
25
Baltimore Sun Ann Hornaday
Goes straight to hell, and in this case it is its own handbasket.
25
New York Post Jonathan Foreman
Mostly ludicrous, but occasionally effective.
25
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.
20
The New York Times A.O. Scott
A supernatural soap opera.
Read Full Review
20
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.
Read Full Review
12
Miami Herald Sara Wildberger
The whole thing's grotesque as a gargoyle and ugly as sin.
10
Film.com Gemma Files
Good vs. Evil For Dummies....and I, for one, dislike being treated like a Dummy.
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10
Washington Post Rita Kempley
The scariest thing about this hokey bombast is that it got made in the first place.
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10
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Lapses into an exercise in foolishness.
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10
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.
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4
Mr. Showbiz Cody Clark
Dreadful demonic disaster.
0
LA Weekly Chuck Wilson
Director Chuck Russell ("The Mask") and screenwriter Thomas Rickman don't need new agents -- they need backup careers.
Read Full Review
0
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
It works not at all.
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0
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Abysmally stupid drama.
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0
Village Voice Mark Holcomb
A callous piece of work that exploits images of children in pain or jeopardy.
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0
Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
Horrendous dialogue and horrific directing dominate this thriller.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!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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