Godsend
Encyclopedia
Godsend is a 2004 American/Canadian horror film
, and is directed by Nick Hamm. The score
is by Brian Tyler
.
and Rebecca Romijn
) are a happily married couple who have an eight-year-old son named Adam (Cameron Bright
). The day after his eighth birthday, when fetching a basketball he was given into the street, Adam is killed in a collision. While leaving a church, Jessie and Paul are confronted by Dr. Richard Wells (Robert De Niro
), an old professor of Jessie's. Dr. Wells offers to clone Adam, an illegal procedure which would require a change of location and identity, to which the Duncans reluctantly agree. Everything appears to be fine with the new Adam until he reaches his eighth birthday. That night, he experiences a violent nightmare. Dr. Wells explains to Paul that it is typical for boys his age to have night terrors, and that it is not serious. He explains that because Adam II has reached the age at which the original Adam died, his life cannot be predicted anymore. From that moment on, Adam II continues to have night terrors until they become visions and he starts having them when he's wide awake, losing control of his actions.
Adam's visions are recurrent: he witnesses a boy named Zachary (Devon Bostick
) walking around in a school building while being laughed at by other children. These images alternate with images of the school burning, and children screaming, and the image of an unidentified woman being attacked and killed with a hammer. Adam's visions affect his daytime personality, making him bitter, delinquent, and uncooperative, especially so to a child that goes to his school and bullies him. One night at dinner, Jessie receives a telephone call from the parent of that child, distressed that her child is missing. Jessie tells Paul, who then asks what Adam was doing that day. Adam says that he was at the river playing. When Paul asks who he was playing with, Adam responds that he's "not supposed to say". The next day, as the Duncans are driving on their way home over a bridge, they are slowed by a police officer. They walk to the side of the bridge to see the woman who had telephoned about her missing child the previous night, screaming at the sight of her son being retrieved by paramedics from a river where he had drowned. Paul believes Adam was involved with the child's death.
By examining Adam and talking to him about his visions, with the help of Dr. Wells, Paul finally finds out that the school in Adam's visions is called Saint Pius and that Zachary's last name is Clark. With this information, he is able to track down the child's address and find a former nanny of Zachary. The nanny informs Paul that Zachary was deeply disturbed. He was bullied at school tremendously, and in wake of his emotions, he burned the school down. When he returned home, Zachary killed his mother with a hammer before setting fire to their house, and burning the two of them together. When he asks the nanny, Paul learns that the father of this child, Zachary Clark, was a geneticist—enough information to uncover that this man was none other than Dr. Richard Wells himself, living now under a false identity. Through the operation to clone Adam, Dr. Wells had secretly mixed Adam's DNA with that of Zachary (as the fire damaged Zachary's DNA to where it could not be cloned without the assistance of other living cells) with the hope of bringing his own son back to life, rather than Adam's, and then stealing him. The operation did not yield a complete success. After arguing with Dr. Wells and learning what has caused Adam's erratic behavior, Paul races home and finds Adam and Jessie in the shed in the woods, arriving just in the brink of time to stop Adam (with Zachary's personality in control) from killing Jessie with a hammer, in nearly the same way as Zachary had killed his mother. Adam's personality manages to regain control and everything seems to be okay.
In an attempt to shake the psychological transitions from Adam to Zachary, the Duncans escape from Dr. Wells and move to a different neighborhood. All seems well; Adam is friendly and happy, but as he is left alone in his room, Adam hears a noise in the closet. When he opens it, a slightly burnt and decayed arm, wearing the jersey that Zachary always did in the vision, reaches out from the darkness of the closet and pulls him in. Paul comes back to check on him, looks in the closet, and doesn't see anybody. Adam appears from behind and touches him, shocking him, indicating that Zachary has regained control.
, a film with a similar plot. This scene was included in one of the night terrors.
set up a website for the fictional Godsend Institute in the film, which claimed to be able to resurrect the dead. Lions Gate changed the website to inform people that it was only an advertisement, due to the large number of inquiries asking if they really resurrect dead family members.
, and is noted for implausible plot devices.
Metacritic gave the film 24% based on 32 reviews by select critics, judging that it has received generally unfavorable reviews.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, and is directed by Nick Hamm. The score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
is by Brian Tyler
Brian Tyler (composer)
Brian Tyler is an American composer, producer, conductor, and film producer most known for his scores of Eagle Eye, The Expendables, Battle: Los Angeles, The Final Destination, Rambo, Fast & Furious, Fast Five, and Final Destination 5. Tyler is a symphonic conductor and conducts his own scores....
.
Plot
Paul and Jessie Duncan (Greg KinnearGreg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
and Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Alie Romijn is an American actress and former fashion model. She is best known for her role as Mystique in the X-Men films, and for her recurring role as Alexis Meade on the television series Ugly Betty.-Early life:...
) are a happily married couple who have an eight-year-old son named Adam (Cameron Bright
Cameron Bright
Cameron Bright is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in the films Godsend, Birth, Running Scared, Ultraviolet, X-Men: The Last Stand, Thank You for Smoking and three installments of The Twilight Saga.-Life and career:Bright was born in Victoria, British Columbia; he was given his middle name,...
). The day after his eighth birthday, when fetching a basketball he was given into the street, Adam is killed in a collision. While leaving a church, Jessie and Paul are confronted by Dr. Richard Wells (Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
), an old professor of Jessie's. Dr. Wells offers to clone Adam, an illegal procedure which would require a change of location and identity, to which the Duncans reluctantly agree. Everything appears to be fine with the new Adam until he reaches his eighth birthday. That night, he experiences a violent nightmare. Dr. Wells explains to Paul that it is typical for boys his age to have night terrors, and that it is not serious. He explains that because Adam II has reached the age at which the original Adam died, his life cannot be predicted anymore. From that moment on, Adam II continues to have night terrors until they become visions and he starts having them when he's wide awake, losing control of his actions.
Adam's visions are recurrent: he witnesses a boy named Zachary (Devon Bostick
Devon Bostick
Devon Bostick is a Canadian actor, best known for playing the lead role in the Atom Egoyan-directed film Adoration and Rodrick Heffley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies.- Life and career :Bostick was born in Toronto, Ontario...
) walking around in a school building while being laughed at by other children. These images alternate with images of the school burning, and children screaming, and the image of an unidentified woman being attacked and killed with a hammer. Adam's visions affect his daytime personality, making him bitter, delinquent, and uncooperative, especially so to a child that goes to his school and bullies him. One night at dinner, Jessie receives a telephone call from the parent of that child, distressed that her child is missing. Jessie tells Paul, who then asks what Adam was doing that day. Adam says that he was at the river playing. When Paul asks who he was playing with, Adam responds that he's "not supposed to say". The next day, as the Duncans are driving on their way home over a bridge, they are slowed by a police officer. They walk to the side of the bridge to see the woman who had telephoned about her missing child the previous night, screaming at the sight of her son being retrieved by paramedics from a river where he had drowned. Paul believes Adam was involved with the child's death.
By examining Adam and talking to him about his visions, with the help of Dr. Wells, Paul finally finds out that the school in Adam's visions is called Saint Pius and that Zachary's last name is Clark. With this information, he is able to track down the child's address and find a former nanny of Zachary. The nanny informs Paul that Zachary was deeply disturbed. He was bullied at school tremendously, and in wake of his emotions, he burned the school down. When he returned home, Zachary killed his mother with a hammer before setting fire to their house, and burning the two of them together. When he asks the nanny, Paul learns that the father of this child, Zachary Clark, was a geneticist—enough information to uncover that this man was none other than Dr. Richard Wells himself, living now under a false identity. Through the operation to clone Adam, Dr. Wells had secretly mixed Adam's DNA with that of Zachary (as the fire damaged Zachary's DNA to where it could not be cloned without the assistance of other living cells) with the hope of bringing his own son back to life, rather than Adam's, and then stealing him. The operation did not yield a complete success. After arguing with Dr. Wells and learning what has caused Adam's erratic behavior, Paul races home and finds Adam and Jessie in the shed in the woods, arriving just in the brink of time to stop Adam (with Zachary's personality in control) from killing Jessie with a hammer, in nearly the same way as Zachary had killed his mother. Adam's personality manages to regain control and everything seems to be okay.
In an attempt to shake the psychological transitions from Adam to Zachary, the Duncans escape from Dr. Wells and move to a different neighborhood. All seems well; Adam is friendly and happy, but as he is left alone in his room, Adam hears a noise in the closet. When he opens it, a slightly burnt and decayed arm, wearing the jersey that Zachary always did in the vision, reaches out from the darkness of the closet and pulls him in. Paul comes back to check on him, looks in the closet, and doesn't see anybody. Adam appears from behind and touches him, shocking him, indicating that Zachary has regained control.
Cast
- Greg KinnearGreg KinnearGregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
as Paul Duncan - Rebecca RomijnRebecca RomijnRebecca Alie Romijn is an American actress and former fashion model. She is best known for her role as Mystique in the X-Men films, and for her recurring role as Alexis Meade on the television series Ugly Betty.-Early life:...
as Jessie Duncan - Robert De NiroRobert De NiroRobert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
as Richard Wells - Cameron BrightCameron BrightCameron Bright is a Canadian actor. He has appeared in the films Godsend, Birth, Running Scared, Ultraviolet, X-Men: The Last Stand, Thank You for Smoking and three installments of The Twilight Saga.-Life and career:Bright was born in Victoria, British Columbia; he was given his middle name,...
as Adam Duncan - Janet Bailey as Cora Williams
- Christopher BrittonChristopher Britton (actor)Christopher Britton sometimes credited as "Chris Britton," is a Canadian-born film actor, television actor, Stage Actor, and voice actor who is probably best known for his work in X-Men: The Animated Series, in which he was the voice of Mister Sinister...
as Dr. Lieber - Jake Simons as Dan Sandler
- Elle DownsElle DownsElle Downs is a Canadian actress who has appeared in film and television since 1996.Downs was born in Toronto, Ontario, and is a sixth generation Canadian of African Canadian and Native American descent. Her father was born in Kingston, Jamaica...
as Clara Sandler - Zoie PalmerZoie PalmerZoie Palmer is a Canadian actress. She currently appears in the television series Lost Girl, in which she plays a human doctor by the name of Dr Lauren Lewis...
as Susan Pierce - Devon BostickDevon BostickDevon Bostick is a Canadian actor, best known for playing the lead role in the Atom Egoyan-directed film Adoration and Rodrick Heffley in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies.- Life and career :Bostick was born in Toronto, Ontario...
as Zachary Clark Wells - Munro ChambersMunro ChambersMunro Chambers is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Wilder on The Latest Buzz and his new role as Elijah "Eli" Goldsworthy on Degrassi. His identical twin brother named Thomas Chambers is also an actor.- Filmography :-External links:...
as Max Shaw
Production
The filmmakers included a scene from the 1977 Robert Wise film, Audrey RoseAudrey Rose (film)
Audrey Rose is a 1977 horror film, with metaphysical content, directed by Robert Wise, starring Marsha Mason and Anthony Hopkins. It was based on the novel of the same title by Frank De Felitta. The original music score was composed by Michael Small.-Plot:...
, a film with a similar plot. This scene was included in one of the night terrors.
Marketing
As a part of the film's promotional campaign, Lions GateLions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
set up a website for the fictional Godsend Institute in the film, which claimed to be able to resurrect the dead. Lions Gate changed the website to inform people that it was only an advertisement, due to the large number of inquiries asking if they really resurrect dead family members.
Critical response
The film was poorly received by critics, receiving only 4% based on 136 reviews on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, and is noted for implausible plot devices.
Metacritic gave the film 24% based on 32 reviews by select critics, judging that it has received generally unfavorable reviews.