Bless the Child
Bless the Child film poster
Directed by	Chuck Russell
Produced by	Mace Neufeld
Written by	Cathy Spellman (novel), Thomas Rickman, Clifford Green, Ellen Green
Starring	Kim Basinger, Angela Bettis, Christina Ricci
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Released	11 August 2000
Running time	107 minutes
Language	English
Budget	~ US$40,000,000
IMDb profile

Bless the Child is a 2000 thriller/horror film directed by Chuck Russell. It is based on a novel written by Cathy Cash Spellman. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (546x755, 100 KB)Bless the Child film poster File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Thomas Rickman (June 8, 1776 - January 4, 1841), English architect, was born on the 8th of June 1776 at Maidenhead, Berkshire, where he assisted his father (a Quaker) in business as a grocer and druggist until 1797. ... On the cover of Playboy, February 1983 Kimila Ann Basinger (born December 8, 1953) is an American film actress of German, Irish, Swedish and 1/8th Cherokee descent. ... Angela Bettis (born January 9, 1975 in Austin, Texas) is an American actress best known for her lead role in the horror film May. ... Christina Ricci Christina Ricci (born February 12, 1980 in Santa Monica, California, USA) is an American actress known for her roles in The Addams Family films, Sleepy Hollow, Monster and independent films including Buffalo 66, Prozac Nation, and The Opposite of Sex. ... The Paramount Pictures logo used since 2003. ... August 11 is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2000. ... Thriller films are movies that primarily use action and suspense to engage the audience. ... DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ... Film refers to the celluloid media on which movies are printed. ...

• Tagline: Mankind's last hope just turned six.

A tagline is a variant of an advertising slogan typically used in movie marketing, commercials, and websites. ...

Plot summary

The story begins with child psychologist Maggie O'Connor (played by Kim Basinger) meeting her sister Jenna (Angela Bettis) and Jenna's autistic daughter Cody, who is merely days old when we're first introduced to her, at Maggie's apartment. This was somewhat of a surprise, since Jenna, a drug addict, had been missing for a couple of years. Soon Jenna disappears again, leaving Cody with Maggie who decides to raise Cody on her own. On the cover of Playboy, February 1983 Kimila Ann Basinger (born December 8, 1953) is an American film actress of German, Irish, Swedish and 1/8th Cherokee descent. ... Angela Bettis (born January 9, 1975 in Austin, Texas) is an American actress best known for her lead role in the horror film May. ... Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests itself in markedly abnormal social interaction, communication ability, patterns of interests, and patterns of behavior. ...

After six years, Jenna is back, this time with her husband Eric Stark (Rufus Sewell), and they abduct Cody. The FBI agent John Travis (Jimmy Smits) is already investigating several cases of missing children, and starts an investigation of this abduction as well, when he realise that Cody has the same birth date as the other missing children. Meanwhile, Cody has begun to manifest strange powers, such as telekinesis, and at one point she also brings a bird back to life, much to the her class-mates' fascination. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... Jimmy Smits as Representative Matt Santos on The West Wing. ... Psychokinesis (literally mind-movement) or PK is the more commonly used term today for what in the past was known as telekinesis (literally distant-movement). It refers to the psi ability to influence the behavior of matter by mental intention (or possibly some other aspect of mental activity) alone. ...

The abduction of young Cody was more than just a mother wanting her child back, it is revealed; her husband Eric is the head of "New Dawn," a cult which is trying to find a special child born on December 16th, 1993. Maggie meets Cheri Post (Christina Ricci), a member of the cult. Cheri informs Maggie that New Dawn is a cult of Satan worship, and that they plan on using Cody's powers for the dark side, and if it won't work, they will sacrifice Cody. Cheri is soon punished for leaking information, and is chased down and decapitated. In religion and sociology, a cult is a cohesive group of people (often a relatively small and new religious movement) devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture or society considers to be far outside the mainstream. ... Christina Ricci Christina Ricci (born February 12, 1980 in Santa Monica, California, USA) is an American actress known for her roles in The Addams Family films, Sleepy Hollow, Monster and independent films including Buffalo 66, Prozac Nation, and The Opposite of Sex. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Eventually, a satanic ritual is to take place, in order to make Cody join the dark side. Maggie and agent Travis comes to rescue. Agent Travis kills Eric, while angels protect Cody. Maggie sacrifices her own life when saving Cody from being shot. Maggie is brought back to life by God's powers working through Cody. The Annunciation - the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear Jesus (El Greco, 1575) An angel is ethereal being found in many religions, whose duties are to assist and serve God. ... Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and derived henotheistic forms. ...

Trivia

• The bridge where the car "accident" takes place is actually the Blue Water Bridge between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan. It was being "twinned" at the time so the whole bridge was closed down for repairs and was available for numerous re-takes. The scenery shots of NYC were then placed in the background, although people who grew up there recognize the shores as being Sarnia and Pt. Huron, respectively, not NYC.

• In the original script, a character is deliberately pushed off a subway platform. This had to be changed to an accidental fall before the Toronto Transit Commission would allow filming on its property.

• When the candles in the cathedral ignite together, the camera pulls back and Maggie's shirt can be seen blowing, as if the candles were in fact being blown out, and film was run backwards.

• The line "the devils greatest trick was convincing man that he didn't exist" is a reference to a similar line in another movie of the same genre, End of Days (1999), in which Father Kovak (Rod Steiger) says: "Satan's greatest trick was convincing man that he didn't exist.". It also refers to The Usual Suspects (1995) where the line "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing man that he didn't exist." shows up.

• The subway station where the attack on Meg takes place is a "ghost" station on the Toronto subway that is used frequently as a stand in for New York subways. The city's film office wanted to leave it set up as a NYC station but the Toronto fire department nixed that idea. The station is below the Bay station on the Bloor line, on the track connecting the Bloor and Yonge lines. At one time trains went from one line to the other - thus the station - but the practice was discontinued because of switching problems. (There is also a "ghost" station beneath the Queen Street station. It was roughed in 1954 for a planned Queen Street subway which never was built.)

Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Latin: Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Official languages English (French has some legal status, and is an official language of Canada, but is not fully co-official at the provincial level) Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant-Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton... Official language(s) English de-facto Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 11th 96,716 mi² 250,494 km² 239 miles 385 km 491 miles 790 km 41. ... A genre is a division of a particular form of art according to criteria particular to that form. ... End of Days is a 1999 action/horror film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by Peter Hyams. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Rod Steiger (April 14, 1925 - July 9, 2002) was an American actor. ... The Usual Suspects, a 1995 American movie written by Christopher McQuarrie (who earned an Oscar for the screenplay) and directed by Bryan Singer. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = Diversity Our Strength Established: March 6, 1834 Area: East to West: 43 km North to South: 21 km629. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 455 km 530 km 13. ...

External links

• Bless the Child at The Internet Movie Database