Bless the Child is a 2000 American supernatural horror film directed by Chuck Russell and starring Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Angela Bettis, Rufus Sewell, Christina Ricci, and Holliston Coleman. It follows a woman who discovers that her niece, whom she has adopted, is being sought by a Satanic cult seeking to use her supernatural abilities. It is based on the novel of the same name by Cathy Cash Spellman. Plot Maggie O'Connor, a psychiatric nurse in New York City, adopts her newborn niece, Cody, from her sister Jenna, a homeless heroin addict who abandoned her at Maggie's house just before Christmas. Maggie raises Cody herself, and during her formative years, Cody exhibits signs of autism, though Maggie is suspicious of the diagnosis. Maggie enrolls Cody in a special-needs Catholic school in Brooklyn, where the nuns notice Cody displaying possibly telekinetic abilities. Meanwhile, a series of child kidnappings and murders are plaguing the city, investigated by FBI Special Agent John Travis, a former seminary student. The bodies bear occult brandings, and the victims all share Cody's birthdate and age. At her hospital, Maggie meets Cheri, a young heroin addict bearing a mysterious Luciferian tattoo, who knows Jenna. In conversation, Cheri implies that Cody is special, and urges Maggie to protect her. When Maggie and Cody stop in a church, Maggie is startled when all of the votive candles light themselves in Cody's presence. When Maggie returns home, she is surprised to find Jenna, now clean and sober, there with her new husband, Eric Stark, a famous self-help guru, attempting to take Cody. Maggie refuses, but they manage to covertly kidnap Cody. Maggie reports it to police, and Agent Travis takes an interest in the case. Maggie attempts to learn more about Eric's organization, the New Dawn Foundation, by visiting one of their centers. Cheri subsequently contacts Maggie, and explains she was previously a member of New Dawn, which is actually a front for a Luciferian cult, spearheaded by Eric. She says that the cult recently began kidnapping six-year-old children and subjecting them to tests; those who failed were murdered in what Cheri describes as the "slaughter of the innocents". Cheri claims that Cody is destined to become a saint who will lead people to God, which Eric is attempting to thwart. A group of cult members pursue Cheri after she provides Maggie Eric's address, and decapitate her in the subway. Maggie