Kim Basinger stars as Maggie O'Connor, a (predictably) lapsed Catholic who gets a visit from her estranged drug addict sister, Jenna. She arrives with a 9-day old baby Cody in tow, then promptly runs off, leaving Maggie to care for the child. Six years later, Cody is diagnosed as autistic because of her strange behaviors, which include rocking, spinning things, and banging her head into walls. Maggie believes it is more than autism, that Cody is blessed by some otherworldly insight.

Then Jenna shows up again, and with her is Eric Stark (Rupert Sewell), a former child star turned Satan worshipper. Stark runs a cult known as the New Dawn. He's responsible for a series of child murders in the city and, believing Cody is a messiah who will lead many people to God, seeks to either convert her or kill her. Maggie initially doesn't know all this until she gets some guidance from a New Dawn defector (Christina Ricci). Additional help comes from an FBI agent (Jimmy Smits) who specializes in occult crimes.

Bless the Child is one of those annoying thrillers in which none of the characters acts or speaks realistically. Everything they do seems more common to B-movie characters than to real people. Maggie is especially distracting, since she continually eschews logic and does things to compound the problem. For instance, when the police prepare to raid Stark's home, she ditches them and goes in alone. Smart move. It doesn't help that Kim Basinger's performance is bland. The actress can be quite good in supporting parts (most notably her Oscar-winning turn in L.A. Confidential) but she doesn't have enough charisma to pull off a lead. At least, not this one.

Smits doesn't fare much better, playing a variation of his Bobby Simone character from "NYPD Blue." And Rufus Sewell, a fine actor who was so good in the brilliant Dark City, is unable to find Stark's menace in a screenplay full of unconvincing dialogue. Only Christina Ricci manages to be even remotely compelling, but her scenes are too brief.

Kim Basinger protects her niece from devil worshippers in Bless the Child

For the most part, Bless the Child is just silly. It's packed with cliches, and it's never hard to figure out what's going to happen. (The only plausible element is the idea that a child star might grow up to be a Satan-worshipping cult leader.) Most of all, the direction by Chuck Russell (The Mask, Eraser) is too heavy-handed. Everything that happens in the film arrives with the subtlety of a jackhammer. Instead of trying to atmospherically convey an eerie presence around Stark's hideaway, Russell gives us CGI demons circling it. One of the evil characters has a milky eyeball (a gimmick that's a day older than dirt). And the grand finale features rats metamorphosing into a devil and celestial beams of light representing angels.

I wouldn't have a problem with all this if the movie contained the slightest bit of logic, but it doesn't. It begs to be taken seriously, then undermines itself with cheap-o effects. If you're going to deal with issues of Heaven and Hell, God vs. Satan, etc. then you need to rely more on your screenwriters than on your effects team. The characters in Bless the Child are so ignorant to any of the real issues of religion that I doubt even the most fearsome rat-generated demon could influence their thought.

There was one thing I liked: the movie shows everyday angels offering a hand in unexpected ways or showing up during times of need. The reminder that God watches over us and protects us is powerful and moving. Then again, I can get that lesson more effectively at church. I don't need to get it from a pinheaded movie like Bless the Child.

( 1/2 out of four)

Bless the Child is rated R for profanity, violence, and intense images. The running time is 1 hour and 46 minutes.