The Godsend

Although the film is called 'The Godsend' there is nothing godly here, and is a creepy display of the devil's work through the 'innocence' of a young child. The movie has a similar premise to 'The Omen'.

Strolling through the woods, the Marlowe family meets a mysterious, pregnant woman, whom they invite to their home. Alan has an uneasy feeling about the woman, who keeps staring at him. That night, she gives birth to a baby girl, and stays the night. The next morning, she is gone, and the family decides to keep the baby, naming her Bonnie.

Alan and Kate Marlowe has four children, and one by one they start dying in apparent accidents. Alan is the first to become suspicious of Bonnie, but he has no proof. Over the next few years, with tensions rising, grief and suspicion takes its toll on their relationship. Alan realizes he has to resort to drastic measures to save his family.

Wilhelmina Green gives an incredibly creepy performance as the 4-year old Bonnie. I mean this girl is evil personified! Malcolm Stoddard also gives a good performance as Alan. 'The Godsend' is a psychological thriller that's sure to send a chill down your spine, and also ends on a chilling note.

This movie is not connected to, a rip off of or inspired by The Omen. Just because both happen to be about an evil child doesn't mean a thing. The Godsend is pure science fiction: what if there was a sub-species of humans who bred the same way the cuckoo does. This bird has the nasty habit of laying it's eggs in the nests of birds of other species. The baby cuckoo imitates the calls of its nestmates so the unwilling adoptive parents are none the wiser. At its first opportunity the baby cuckoo murders the other babies by pushing them out of the nest. That's what this movie was about.

British Horror rocks, and that's all there is to it. British Horror certainly isn't the goriest I've come across. Maybe not the most action-packed, or the scariest, but at least some would agree that there is just something about British Horror.The Godsend is as shamefully underrated as anything I've seen from over there. This movie may be no Psychomania, and it sure ain't the masterpiece Vampyres is, but this is a good movie, nonetheless. A chillin' little British family (with far too many kids) comes across a stranded pregnant woman, who, you can tell is no good.. The unsuspecting couple lets their creepy, new friend stay over for a while, or at least long enough for her the have the kid and fly the coop before anyone notices. A problem easily solved, right? Wrong, the wife figures they don't have enough kids, already, oh, what's one more? At this point, any sensible B-Horror fan might wonder why the less-emotional man of the family doesn't just step in and at least suggest they give the little girl up for adoption, considering the other countless mouths to feed.. But if it had gone down like that, who would kill all their real kids? Not much of a Horror movie there. I take it, the pregnant woman from earlier, makes a habit of dropping off her demonic (?) offspring into the laps of unsuspecting families, although, hopefully, not all her victims are stupid enough to keep the kid. Could be wrong, but I don't think this is available on DVD yet, oh well, an old Vestron tape is good enough for me. Apparently, some compare The Godsend to The Omen. In my opinion, it's more like The Bad Seed, which, just so you know, is far superior to both The Godsend and The Omen. If you don't expect an action-packed, thrill-ride, or any type of a masterpiece, and are in the mood for some low-key, retro Horror, that doesn't require your absolute, undivided attention, you just might not hate The Godsend. Recommended to fans of British Horror, and especially killer kid flicks. 7/10

Although I haven't watched this movie in at least seven years, I have always enjoyed watching it. I personally thought that the movie was a great one to watch. It may be on the low end of horror flicks as far as bloodiness and actually murder scenes, but it does get the point across. I have been unable to find this movie in video stores, even ones with older movies. So, even if anyone wants to watch the movie it may be hard to find. I truly loved the context of the movie. I think that it does show the lack of technology that we had in the 1980's compared to now, but I have seen many movies from the 1980's that are about the same in the technology area. However, it doesn't make them bad. However, this is just my opinion.

I saw this film when it first came out in 1980. I enjoyed it. I also read the book and found that the movie was a very faithful adaptation. This is the kind of movie that is not high-budget, nor is it laced with overwhelming special effects. But is a very entertaining, low budget, late night "get away from it all" type of film.