OUTPUT #3

11- ABM
STORY
READING
REPORT

Submitted by:

Submitted to:
Mr.
 PATTERNS IN WRITING STORY READING REPORT

Synopsis

When Maggie's sister Jenna saddles her with an autistic newborn named Cody she touches
Maggie's heart and becomes the daughter she has always longed for. But six years later Jenna suddenly
re-enters her life and, with her mysterious new husband, Eric Stark, abducts Cody. Despite the fact that
Maggie has no legal rights to Cody, FBI agent John Travis, takes up her cause when he realizes that Cody
shares the same birth date as several other recently missing children.

I. Title
Bless the Child
II. Author
Cathy Cash Spellman (Novel), Thomas Rickman (Screenplay)
III. Characters
Maggie O’Connor, Jenna O’Connor, Eric Stark, Cheri Post, Cody O’Connor, Agent Travis,
Detective Frank Bugatti, Sister Rosa, Reverend Grissom
IV. Setting
Place- United State, Germany
Date- It was released on August 11, 2000
V. Plot
Omens and concepts of good vs. evil have no place in Maggie O'Connor's well-ordered, practical
universe. Her life revolves around her job as a nurse at a busy New York City hospital, until one rainy
night, her sister Jenna abandons her newborn, autistic daughter at her home. Maggie takes the baby
in, and she becomes the daughter she never had. Six years later Jenna suddenly re-appears with a
mysterious new husband, Eric, and abducts Cody. Despite the fact that Maggie has no legal rights to
Cody, F.B.I. Agent John Travis, an expert in ritual homicide and occult-related crime, takes up her
cause when he realizes that Cody shares the same birth date as several other recently missing
children. The little girl, it soon becomes clear, is more than simply "special". She manifests
extraordinary powers that the forces of evil have waited centuries to control, and her abduction sparks
a clash between the soldiers of good and evil that can only be resolved, in the end, by the strength of
one small child and the love she inspires in those she touches.
VI. Summary of the Story
Maggie O'Connor's life revolves around her job as a nurse at a busy New York hospital. Her sister
Jenna, a hardcore drug user, abandons her newborn daughter Cody at Maggie's home. Maggie takes
Cody in, and she becomes the daughter she never had. Cody is diagnosed as being on the autism
spectrum, and is enrolled in a Catholic school for children with special needs in order to make her more
aware of her surroundings (part of her condition). The nuns who run the school are struggling to keep
Cody out of danger and keep her occupied. Cody begins to show special telekinetic abilities, such as
being able to spin toys. She also resurrects a bird after it flies into a school window and breaks its neck.
Meanwhile, children with the same birth date and age as Cody begin to be abducted and killed
around the city. Members of a mysterious cult, with a black symbol tattooed on their arms, are shown to
be tracking and abducting these children. They are apparently trying to find a child with certain
unspecified abilities. If they do not exhibit such abilities, the cult murders and discards them.
One night, Maggie is at work at her local hospital where she meets a young woman called Cheri
Post who was formerly part of the same cult. Cheri is a drug user who is afraid to show Maggie her
arms which are covered in track marks and tattoos, one being the same satanic symbol of the cult. She
recognizes Maggie's surname and comments on her similarity with Jenna. Maggie begs Cheri to tell
her where Jenna is living, as neither she nor Cody has seen her since Jenna left. Rather than
disclosing Jenna's location, Cheri warns Maggie to protect Cody as the cult is looking for her. Cheri is
murdered by decapitation.
 Jenna suddenly re-appears with a mysterious new husband, Eric, and abducts Cody. Despite the
fact that Maggie has no legal rights to Cody, FBI agent John Travis, an expert in ritual murder and
occult-related crime, takes up her case when he realizes that Cody shares the same birth date as
several other recently missing children.
Cody, it soon becomes clear, is more than simply special. She manifests extraordinary powers that
the forces of evil have waited centuries to control, and her abduction sparks a clash between the
soldiers of good and evil that can only be resolved, in the end, by the strength of one small child and
the love she inspires in those she touches.
VII. Theme (View about Life and People Behave)
The movie was its portrayal of spiritual warfare as real and relevant. Angels help the good guys,
and we sometimes get a view of demons around the bad. Bless the Child is a 2000 German-American
horror-thriller film.
VIII. Impression
I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. It was not at all what I expected. Profanity was minimal;
violence was not overly graphic by today’s standards. No sexual content. The movie pits good against
evil and doesn’t portray Christianity in a negative light at all. The basic premise of this movie is that
God and Satan do exist and that we are constantly in a spiritual battle. The bad guy refers to Satan as
his lord. He is searching for a “special child.” This child was sent by God to lead many people to Him.
He has given her healing and other powers. The bad guy wants to either turn this child to Satan or
destroy her. There are many biblical references and parallels to the life of Christ. One of the best is by
a priest who says, “Satan’s greatest victory is that he has convinced people that he doesn’t exist.” The
Bible teaches us that Satan and Demons do exist and that we are battling them every day. The Bible
also teaches us that “He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.”—1 John 4:4 this movie
makes that point clear. This movie provides ample opportunity to open doors for lots of discussion. It
touches on some controversial subjects and deals with them in a fairly straight forward manner. The
violence may be a little strong for pre-teens.