Bless the Child

Re-enforcing their stuck-in-B-list status, Kim Basinger and Jimmy Smits star in this laughably gothic Second Coming chiller, which once again commandeers Catholic dogma as a jumping-off point for a half-witted, high-gloss horror movie. Like Stigmata and End of Days before it, the picture invents its own "previously undiscovered" Biblical mythology to propel a hole-plagued story about the battle for the soul of an abandoned 6-year-old girl (Holliston Coleman) who--it is implied--is the reincarnation of Christ. When she's kidnapped by a devil-worshiping self-help guru (Rufus Sewell) who tries to use her powers for evil, Auntie Basinger and FBI guy Smits must save her while trying not to look too embarrassed about the direction their careers have taken. Not recommended. (R. Blackwelder)