The Godsend

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Audience Member Based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Bernard Taylor, this film pulls no punches if you're thinking that children are safe in a movie. Alan and Kate Marlowe are walking with their four children — Davy, Lucy, Sam and Matthew — when a pregnant stranger (Angela Pleasence — yes, Donald's daughter) follows them home, staring oddly and doing strange things like cutting their telephone line before giving birth in their home. The next day she disappears — I guess hospitals weren;t around in 1980 England — and keep her child, who they name Bonnie. I also figure that the adoption system wasn't a thing either. Within days, Matthew is dead while lying in the same playpen as the mysterious baby. The Davy drowns in a creek, supposedly saving Bonnie's life, which makes sense, until then Sam dies in a barn and Bonnie's ribbon is nearby. Suddenly people are calling the Marlowes child killers. Then, Bonnie gets the mumps and kisses him, giving him the illness as well as a dream where he realizes she has killed all of his children other than Lucy. By the end of the film, Bonnie has claimed the Marlowes' unborn child when she trips Kate, broken up their marriage and used mind control — wow, where did that come from? — to make Lucy walk out a window. This ending is nothing like the book, so I've heard. I do like the close where Alan sees the woman in the park who started all this insanity, but nobody will listen to his prophecy of doom. This was directed by Gabrielle Beaumont, working from a script by her husband Olaf Pooley. She was the first woman to direct an episode of Star Trek and also made Death of a Centerfold, He's My Girl and Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Had this been a bit more original it likely would be better remembered but as it stands, it's a decent 'killer kid' movie. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Watch the original Omen and skip this film. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/23/23 Full Review Audience Member It was just so boring and forgettable. The little girl was adorable though. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Just what the filmgoing world needs: An Omen imitation played with all the urgency of a kitchen sink drama. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member The Godsend is based upon a novel by Bernard Taylor, and in my opinion, was basically made to capitalize on the success of both The Exorcist and The Omen. It's one of many films around that time that did this. And while I'll accept it if the film is good and does its own thing, I'm hard-pressed to do that when the material is so sloppy, especially the ending. The film is about a small family who takes in a baby after the mother disappears and the baby winds up being evil, bumping off her siblings one by one while the father must try and convince everybody that it's her fault and not just a series of accidents. For most of the running time, I felt very bored and uninterested in the film, and not because it was poorly-made, but because it just felt long in the tooth and underdeveloped. I haven't read the book, but it feels like a book in screen form, so as a result, it feels very dry and lifeless. The ending could have been changed, as well. It's also a film that slipped into obscurity until recently when it was released on DVD for the first time. If you're looking for an Omen-type horror film with memorable images and performances, you'll probably be let down by this one. It's a bit of a bore, at least to me. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Godsend

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