Bless the Child (2000)

"Bless the Child" is a bloated, slow moving horror film about a satanic cult and the religious war between good an evil, a popular theme around this time period that includes such films as "The End of Days", "Lost Souls", and "Stigmata". The movie stars Kim Basinger in her first horror film; her performance is the best part of this film and I wouldn't mind seeing her taking another role some day. Having 19 years worth of film experience which include several major blockbusters, she is by far the biggest star in the film. She appears along with Jimmy Smits, Rufus Sewell, and drama/action/horror regular Ian Holm; Jimmy Smits also gives a great performance and it's a shame that he has such little screen time.

What I don't like about this film is the pacing; it takes over an hour before the action really begins with the first sixty minutes spent building up the plot. A little less exposition, a more effective soundtrack, and less random coincidences might have made the film more enjoyable. And as always, I hate when movies use CGI poorly and this film is very guilty of this habit.

What I did enjoy is the performance of the young girl who plays Cody, the character that the movie is based around. She has some amazingly tender and touching moments. I also enjoyed the random appearances of guardian angels because they are used so sparingly and at the right moments.


Maggie is visited one night by her drug addicted sister Jenna, who has an infant her arms. Jenna tells Maggie that she doesn't know who the father is and that the infant is a little weird. Before Maggie can respond, Jenna is out the door and leaves Cody in Maggie's care. Six years later, Jenna comes back for Cody, just as unexpectedly. This time she is clean and healthy and a newlywed to Eric, a famous self-help guru. They want Cody because they believe that she is special "servant of god". They kidnap Cody, forcing Maggie to turn to the police for help. At the station, Maggie meets FBI agent John Travis, an expert occult and ritual killings. He believes that Eric and his cult are responsible for the recent series of killings of small children who were all born on the same day as Cody. Cody is gifted and Eric gives her the choice to join him and grant him her powers or to die as the servant of god that she is. It's a race against time as Maggie and John try to save Cody from Eric's plan.

After.Life (2009)

The film "After.Life" is a bit of a head scratcher; it's meant to be a psychological thriller but the only one that seems to be psychologically thrilled is Christina Ricci's character. The film had an interesting concept but the production and the script fail to full take advantage of it. The story is murky and full of moments that make you feel stupid for the the actors on the screen. As I continued watching, I kept hoping for some clear explanation as to why Christina's character was so challenged and what motive Liam Neeson's character had, but alas, the answers were vague at best. I'm confused as to why Neeson took this role and I've even more confused as to why Christina's acting chops have gone down the hill over the past 15 years??

Anna is a middle school teacher who is having an rough patch in her relationship with her boyfriend Paul. It's clear that they don't listen to each other and it feels like they really should break up. One day, Anna goes to the funeral of her old piano teacher, where she meets the owner of the funeral home, Mr. Eliot Deacon. Later that night she meets Paul at a fancy restaurant where things quickly go to hell when he says that he's moving to another city; she assumes he's breaking up with her and leaves when his real intention was to ask her to marry him. As she drives away full of rage during a heavy rain storm, she ends up in an accident on the freeway. When she wakes up, she finds herself in the prep room of the funeral parlor, unable to move. She sees Eliot standing above her, preparing her for her funeral which is to be held in a few days. He tells her that she's dead and continues to do so when she tries to insist that she is very much alive. The truth (?) is that he's sedating her (often) and is making it seem that she is dead. She's too weak and her mind it too boggled to escape, and every time she tries, she fails horribly. Justin tries to find out the truth but his efforts are just as wasted as Anna's. It's only when it's too late that Anna realizes that she is indeed still alive....

Cursed (2005)

Sadly, not every werewolf movie Grade A material. Some are actually quite horrible and should be avoided and “Cursed” is such an example. Directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, the pair that created the film “Scream” clearly didn’t have the right chemistry this time around. I’ve read that that there were numerous reshoots and script changes demanded by the studio executives, but if the film was worth making in the first place, then I believe that these demands wouldn’t have been given in the first place. Now it I should say that Wes Craven is a director with a long history of creating both hits and utter failures so it shouldn’t be surprising that this was one of them. It doesn’t help that none of the actors seemed to give a damn about their work in this film except for Jesse Eisenberg. The movie was filled with actors that teens at the time loved and that was apparently good enough for Craven.  Another issue with this film is that it was way too predictable so it leaves the viewer with nothing to anticipate. Finally, the werewolves themselves look horrid and the transformation scenes are rendered in outdated CGI.

Ellie and Jimmy are siblings who hit a large creature and another car while driving home one night. They get out their car to see if the other car is alright only to see its driver killed before they are attacked. They manage to survive the attack and go home, where Jimmy starts to research werewolves since that’s what he thinks attacked them. The rest of the movie revolves around the two dealing with their their condition and finding out who to break their curse. It includes high school bullies and a cute girl for Jimmy, and a noncommittal boyfriend and his various ex’s for Ellie.