Godsend (2004)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Nick Hamm

Writer (WGA):

Mark Bomback (written by)

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Adam Duncan. Born: December 11, 1987. Died: December 12, 1995. Born September 23, 1996.

Plot:

A couple agree to have their deceased son cloned, under the supervision of an enigmatic doctor but bizarre things start to happen years after his rebirth.

Plot Keywords:

Birthday | Doctor | Young Boy | Cloning | Clone

Cast

Greg Kinnear	...	Paul Duncan
Rebecca Romijn	...	Jessie Duncan (as Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)
Robert De Niro	...	Richard Wells
Cameron Bright	...	Adam Duncan
Merwin Mondesir	...	Maurice, Young Thug
Sava Drayton	...	Young Thug #2
Jake Simons	...	Dan Sandler
Elle Downs	...	Clara Sandler
Edie Inksetter	...	Footlocker Cashier
Raoul Bhaneja	...	Samir Miklat
Jenny Levine	...	Sandra Shaw
Thomas Chambers	...	Jordan Shaw
Munro Chambers	...	Max Shaw
Jeff Christensen	...	Hal Shaw
Deborah Odell	...	Tanya

Also Known As:

Adam (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence including frightening images, a scene of sexuality and some thematic material.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

France:U | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40522) | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Japan:PG-12 | Norway:15 (TV rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | UK:15 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

King City, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Lions Gate Films

Trivia:

Five different endings were shot for this movie and the released one is the tamest one.

Goofs:

Continuity: Adam leaves the bathtub and walks away from the tub leaving the shower curtain open. A little later, the shower curtain is closed

Quotes:

Adam: Dad, did I die?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Daily Show: (2004-04-27)" (2004)

Soundtrack:

The Amazing Mozzarellas

Unimaginative and boring chiller that lacks intelligence, originality and chills

Paul and Jessie Duncan live in a rough part of the city but are happy with their lives and their young son Adam. However tragedy strikes when Adam is killed in a car accident right in front of Jessie, leaving the couple broken and lost. At their lowest point they are met by a former tutor of Jessie's, enigmatic doctor Richard Wells. Infamous for this genetic work, Wells claims that he can use DNA from the dead Adam to essentially produce a clone. With Jessie no longer able to have children, the couple agree to the illegal and experimental procedure (which also involves moving to a big empty house) and the new born is soon with them. All is great until Adam reaches eight years old and suddenly the nightmares starts and Adam's behaviour changes.

A few years ago cloning became a hot topic and produced several interesting debates over the moral and ethical issues surrounding it. There were no easy answers and it was/is a topic that is hard to hold a clear view on unless you happen to have it decided for you by your religion. Writer Bomback takes this interesting hotbed of ethical debate and churns out a modern twist on the Omen with few original ideas and nothing of any real interest. The plot just tries to engineer plenty of "creepy" moments with the thinnest of ideas behind them and, as a result I didn't really care that much about any of it. Hamm's solid direction is OK but he can't add much in the way of real chills.

Kinnear and Romijn make for an unlikely couple and they don't have a very convincing relationship. Neither of them have much to work with; they do the basics with the script but they can't raise it and don't even suggest that they would produce the sort of emotions you'd expect from a couple seeing their dead son recreated in front of them. Bright is suitably creepy and he does what is asked of him – the rest isn't his fault. De Niro phones in his performance; he isn't terrible but you can't help feel that he is worth more than this and that he surely can't need the money that much.

Overall then a roundly poor chiller that offers very little other than unimaginative and unoriginal ideas. Not chilling in the least and it just plods its way towards a pointless and annoying conclusion.