When a miracle becomes a nightmare, evil is born.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.35:1, Dolby Digital (5.1), English, Spanish Subtitled
In the tradition of Rosemary's Baby and The Others, this taut and gripping thriller tells the story of devoted parents who are willing to do anything to resurrect their beloved son who was tragically killed in a freak accident. Godsend stars Academy Award winner Robert De Niro, Academy-Award nominee Greg Kinnear (As Good As It Gets, We Were Soldiers, Auto Focus), and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (X-Men, Simone, Femme Fatale). The film is directed by Nick Hamm, best known for his success with the highly stylized British film The Hole.Following the death of their eight year old son on his birthday, Jessie (Romijn-Stamos) and Paul (Kinnear) are befriended by a doctor on the forefront of genetic research (DeNiro) at the height of their mourning. He leads the couple in a desperate attempt to reverse the rules of nature and clone their son. The experiment is successful and under Richard's watchful eye, Adam grows into a healthy and happy young boy, until his 8th birthday. As time goes by, the Duncan's gradually start to see small, subtle differences between the new Adam and the Adam they lost. At the time of the new Adam's eighth birthday, the changes in character are more pronounced. Adam grows distant and fearful as a palpable sense of menace settles within the young boy. This Adam begins to suffer from night terrors and frightening flashbacks as a sinister personality begins to emerge. Paul and Jessie cannot escape the fact that this Adam is different. Terror settles on the couple as they try to come to terms with just what they have done, or what has been done to them.
Editor's Note
The trials of parenthood are at the forefront of this murky horror effort that recalls 1970s child-possession hits like AUDREY ROSE ('77) and The EXORCIST ('73). Inner-city school teacher Paul (Greg Kinnear) and his wife Jessica (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) are distraught after losing their eight-year-old son David (Cameron Bright) in an accident. At the funeral, Jessica's old science professor Dr. Wells (Robert Deniro) offers them a chance to rebuild their lives: a mansion in the country near his DNA clinic, a private school teaching job for Paul, and an exact clone of their dead son. Sworn to secrecy and facing all sorts of moral issues, the grief-stricken couple accepts Wells' offer. All goes well until the new David passes the age he previously died, then comes ghostly visions of burning children, and premonitions of murder. A creepily unobtrusive score and the film's drab look help maintain a welcome low-key, character-driven mood here, with the result that GODSEND works both as a standard horror film and a darkly psychological meditation on the uncertainty, misgivings, and sheer terror involved with child rearing. Deniro is great, as usual, and the gorgeous Romijn-Stamos proves herself adept in an unglamorous, tensely dramatic change-of-pace role as the split-apart mother.
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