The Godsend

source: The Godsend

This had to be one of the most infuriating films I have ever seen. The film never hides the fact what is going on and I have watched a lot of horror films, but even given that fact the parents in this film were downright stupid. They also displayed very little grief when they should have been the most dismayed parents in a film, ever! I know that the film was a novel and thanks to some digging I learned some things about the strange woman and her offspring that did shed some light on things. Just seems this film should of had more too it, but they kind of just lessened the load or something. It was not all bad, as it had a quite a few deaths in it and it moves along quite briskly, at least until the film shifts from the country home to the city apartment. It got a bit slow and then it got annoying and then it ended and I was just left thinking that there had to be more to what was going on than what was depicted in the film. The story has a couple who have four children going about their day, when the mother apparently runs into a very creepy strange pregnant woman who the mother feels compelled to bring home with her. Thus, the mother does the first stupid thing in a film where she is one of the most mentally challenged characters in a horror film! Well, the strange creepy woman makes a few vague and sinister remarks and has her child before ditching in the morning. Well, the mother immediately wants to adopt the child because she really needs another child seeing as how she has three older children and an infant child to boot! Well soon after the infant son who was left alone with cute little Bonnie the newborn who has already sprouted blond hair is dead! A few years pass, and one of their older sons is dead! The other son is terrified of the kid, but the parents believe Bonnie before their own offspring! Soon, the father begins to suspect something, but by the time it begins to click for him, it is pretty much too late. The ending to this one was a bit baffling as cute little Bonnie pushes the last remaining child out a window and to her death in front of the father, who already knew she was an evil little kid and the mother who still had doubts. Well, the father in a fit of rage wants to kill the child, but is stopped and the mother takes Bonnie's side, because her dead eyes, evil look and obviously deadly ways is just too much for a mom to resist. I just felt that this was a bit odd, as I just felt there should be more to it and that the ending was week. Turns out it was completely different from the book which has the father trying to get the kid, but the kid literally overpowers him! The husband and wife did not split up and Bonnie is taken away. She later turns up on their doorstep! There is also an explanation for the strange pregnant woman that is very bizarre, and I kind of can see why they did not go the route for a movie made in 1980. So, I thought the film had some moments and it was a nice distraction for a little bit. However, it was also extremely annoying because that mother was so idiotic! What kind of mother latches on to a kid that is not even hers and puts said child over her own offspring? Seriously, I can see a mother liking an adopted child about the same, but the extent she latched onto Bonnie was insane. She literally got over the death of their infant son in no time, the second child also was gotten over rather quickly. I realize I watch a lot of horror films, but after the second child I would have been leery of Bonnie, heck, I never would have kept the child in the first place with my knowledge of horror films and the strange way that creepy woman was going on.

This bleak, nihilistic film is obviously inspired heavily by THE OMEN - and yet remains a far more horrifying picture. This is due to the fact that the victims in this film are all innocent children who get savagely killed, deaths which will upset even the hardest viewer. While it's not a particularly well-made picture in any respect (i.e. the low budget is quite often apparent), the film achieves what it sets out to do, to horrify the viewer, and thus it gets my thumbs up. The lack of big-name stars helps to add to the realism in THE GODSEND. The central characters are played by unknowns, and the only familiar face will be Angela Pleasence in a cameo. Pleasence plays an exceedingly creepy woman who acts as a catalyst for the murders, and is the most disturbing thing in this film. Stoddard and Hayman are very good as the anxious parents, who eventually split up under the pressure; Stoddard is a likable central figure, while Hayman excels as the woman who suffers a nervous breakdown through circumstances she just can't comprehend. The murders are kept off screen (apart from a nasty moment where a child is thrown from a window), leaving our imaginations to play a big part. Each breaks down the parent's mental state further. The little blonde girl is very good in it, too. THE GODSEND is a little-seen, little-heard of film, but for viewers who like to be creeped out (and not through gallons of gore, either), then it deserves some tracking down.

A strange pregnant woman (a memorable and quietly sinister performance by Donald Pleasence's daughter Angela) shows up unexpectedly at a country cottage owned by a young couple with four kids. The woman gives birth to a daughter and then promptly vanishes. The couple decide to raise the girl Bonnie (ably played to the supremely creepy hilt by Joanne Boorman and Wilhelmina Green) as if she was their own, only to have Bonnie grow up to be an evil brat who starts bumping off her other siblings. Director Gabrielle Beaumont, working from a bold and compact script by Olaf Pooley, relates the compellingly twisted story at a hypnotically gradual pace, does an ace job of crafting a grim and unsettling atmosphere, grounds the fantastic premise in a believable workaday reality, and makes nice use of the beautiful bucolic locations. Moreover, Beaumont warrants extra praise for handling the dark and upsetting subject matter in a tasteful and restrained, yet still effective and disturbing manner as well as for using a low-key approach that puts a noted emphasis on an eerie and subtly unnerving mood over cheap shocks and graphic gore. Malcolm Stoddard and Cyd Hayman are solid and credible as the concerned and increasingly distraught parents, with sturdy support from Patrick Barr as friendly physician Dr. Collins. Norman Warwick's sharp cinematography offers several stunning panoramic shots of the breathtaking British countryside. Roger Webb's robust shuddery score hits the spine-tingling spot. This picture acquires an extra chilling sting from its intriguing ambiguity (for example, we never find out exactly why Bonnie is so wicked). Worth a watch.

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.

**SPOILERS** Going along the same theme as the "The Omen" the British horror flick "The Godsend" is about an unsuspecting couple Alan & Kate Marlowe who end up adopting a child, whom they named Bonnie, that was left practically on their doorstep by this strange and somewhat deranged woman. It's not that long when the Marlowe's take little Bonnie in as their fifth child that three of their own children, Bradly Davy & Sam, end up dying under mysterious circumstances. What's even stranger about the Marlowe's children's dying is that little Bonnie was at the scenes of every one of their deaths! It's Alan who at first becomes suspicious of Bonnie having something to do with his and Kate's children deaths which has him try to find out just who Bonnie's natural mother-the strange one-really is. While trying to get to the bottom of Bonnie's true parents Alan comes down with an almost fatal illness that renders him sterile. At the same time Kate who was pregnant with Alan's child had a mysterious fall down a flight of stairs that caused her to lose her unborn baby! ***SPOILERS*** It soon becomes very apparent to Alan that Bonnie is not the sweet and cuddly child that she makes herself out to be and tries to have her taken away from him and Kate by the town's social services. It's later that Kate in having very strong feelings for Bonnie threatens to divorce Alan if he tries to go through with his plan. It's when the much smaller Bonnie turns her evil attention towards the Marlowe's last surviving child Lucy that even Kate finally realizes what a monster in Bonnie the Marlowe family has in its mist. But by then it's too late for Kate or even Alan, who already knows just what Bonnie is all about, to stop her! The shocking ending of the movie has really nothing to do with Bonnie but her what seems like spaced out and odd-ball mother who really isn't all that mysterious at all. She's been doing this, pawning off her new born children, for some time. And as the movie comes to an end we as well as a shocked down to his socks Alan see that she's got another Bonnie in the wings for some unsuspecting couple to raise and end up suffering the very same fate that he and and his wife Kate are experiencing right now!

Killer kids movies are becoming the rage. You got "The Omen" in 1976, "The Brood" in 1979, and now "The Godsend" in 1980. It's a British version of "The Omen", only creepier in its own way. A family of four children take in a pregnant woman(Angela Pleasance) stays with the family, giving birth to a daughter one night, and disappeared from the home the next day. Thinking about having a additional child to the family would give you joy. In their case, it's the exact opposite. When the daughter is placed in the crib with the youngest sibling wouldn't be harmful. How wrong they could be! The youngest one is found dead next to the newest addition. And the downward spiral of pain inflicts the others. They can't find the mother of the daughter, and the father wouldn't be part of the girl's life if he wanted to. And the mother who lost her family would have to bring in the "daughter" as her own even if she feels that the others are instantly out of her life due to Bonnie's influence on her. "The Godsend" is a British version of "The Omen" with a reversed role. And no biblical matter. It's fun. I enjoyed it very much. Worth it! 3.5 out of 5 stars!

The film is basically a complete rip-off of the evil child genre and, to be honest, Omen makes a much better job of it. A young couple, living in an idyllic country setting, are visited by a pregnant woman who gives birth at their house and then disappears mysteriously leaving her baby daughter. A series of "accidental" deaths follows in the household and eventually the parents come to realise that the demonic child is the cause. The film adds nothing to the genre, but it is almost worth watching just for the evil child. After each death, the camera zooms up on her face and she wears an expression of pure evil. Very disturbing. I remember seeing the film when I was 15 and could not forget her face. Apart from that, the Godsend is pretty missable.

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.

While on a country walk, the Marlowe family -- mother Kate (Cyd Hayman), father Alan (Malcolm Stoddard) and their four children -- meet a mysterious pregnant woman (played by Angela Pleasence, who definitely has her father Donald's creepiness about her) and invite her back to their home, where she stays for a drink. As she is finally about to leave, the woman goes into labour and gives birth to a baby girl. The next day, the Marlowes discover that the woman has gone, but has left her newborn daughter behind. Now this is where the film really starts to get improbable: rather than contact the authorities to have the baby taken into care, Kate and Alan decide to raise her as their own, naming her Bonnie. Silly billies! The cute blonde kid turns out to be a 'cuckoo in the nest' i.e., she starts to bump off the couple's children, starting with infant Matthew, smothering him in his cot. No sooner has mother Kate started to get over her grief, the evil moppet is at it again, drowning son Davy in a river. Still, the couple are none the wiser, although Alan is concerned about the strange fingermarks on Bonnie's wrist. Give this film credit, it's not afraid to give Kate and Alan a serious emotional pummelling: dead child number three is Sam, who falls to his death in a barn while playing hide and seek. Alan finds Bonnie's blue ribbon by his son's body, further fuelling his suspicions. But it is when he sees Bonnie in action with his own eyes that he knows he is not being paranoid: the killer kiddie tries to send daughter Lucy flying off her swing, the nasty accident narrowly avoided by her father's quick actions. Try as he might, Alan is unable to convince his wife of Bonnie's true nature, so decides to deal with her in his own way before she can get to Lucy again. However, in a 'strewth, did they really go there?' moment, Lucy is pushed to her death out of a window. All four kids dead! I didn't expect the whole brood to buy the farm, but Bonnie's evil kid credentials sure are impressive. Admittedly, it's all a little far-fetched, especially the ending, which sees Kate steadfastly refusing to believe ill of Bonnie, and Alan witnessing the mysterious woman, pregnant again, befriending another family. But it's kinda fun regardless. So many dead kids...