Godsend (2004)

4% of critics liked it
(136 reviews)
29% of users liked it
(39,656 ratings)

Paul (Greg Kinnear) and Jessie Duncan (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) have barely begun the grieving process when Dr. Richard Wells (Robert De Niro) attends the funeral of the Duncans' eight-year-old son, Adam (Cameron Bright), with a pressing question in tow. Head of the Godsend Fertility Clinic, Dr. Wells… More Paul (Greg Kinnear) and Jessie Duncan (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) have barely begun the grieving process when Dr. Richard Wells (Robert De Niro) attends the funeral of the Duncans' eight-year-old son, Adam (Cameron Bright), with a pressing question in tow. Head of the Godsend Fertility Clinic, Dr. Wells claims he can use Adam's rapidly dying cells to clone a replica of the boy, though the necessary DNA will only be viable for another 24 hours. The process in itself is completely illegal; not only must Jessie and Paul be forced to relocate, but they will also be forced to sever all ties with friends and family in order to ensure the secret remains so. Within the space of a day, the Duncans consider the legal and ethical implications of such a procedure, ultimately deciding that their love for Adam is enough to trump the law and any high-minded philosophical questions. After resettling in an idyllic town near Dr. Wells' clinic, Jessie is impregnated with the late Adam's living cells, while Paul is given a beautiful home and a more than suitable job. Shortly afterward, the new Adam -- seemingly identical to the original Adam in every way -- is born and lives a life quite similar to his predecessor until the morning of his eighth birthday. A series of night terrors is the first thing to disturb the Duncans' otherwise serene lifestyle. Adam's violent visions eventually mutate to ill temper, and an aura of menace permeates the aura of a boy who had otherwise been sweetness incarnate from the day of his birth. Eventually, Paul discovers that Dr. Wells is not a pediatrician, but a geneticist, and that their playing God may have been a Faustian bargain of epic proportions. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Nick Hamm
Written By: Mark Bomback
Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Dec 1, 2003 Wide
On DVD: Aug 17, 2004
Studio: Lions Gate Films

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
As in most bad thrillers, the number of pointless shocks increases in direct proportion to the drama's decreasing vitality, like defibrilator paddles jolting a dying man.
David Edelstein, Slate
A pea-brained hodgepodge of The Omen (1976), The Sixth Sense (1999), and about 30 Grade-Z Bela Lugosi mad-scientist movies.
Rex Reed, New York Observer
Sometimes interesting but always predictable.
Mark Holcomb, Village Voice
Working from the assumption that nobody remembers grade school science, let alone the last 30 years of horror movies, Nick Hamm's genre mishmash clumsily recasts The Omen as a cautionary tale featuring a human incarnation of Dolly the sheep.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Awful movie.
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
A silly if sporadically jolting thriller.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
A bad thriller that is too intense for tweens.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
"Godsend" suffers from a feeble plot, laughable dialogue, and thriller cliches that barely effect the characteristic jolts of the genre.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
As anticipated the climax is very abrupt and unresolved, but by then I just didn't care, and was so glad to see this junk come to an end.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
It ends up like any mass produced genre piece in which the only thing that is well developed is the film negative.
Mark Halverson, Sacramento News & Review
Occasionally suspenseful but more often ludicrous.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It seems a shame to waste any of these actors on a movie with no higher aspirations than educing a few second-rate chills.
Stefan Ulstein, Christianity Today
The script is long on the Big Issues, but comes up short in compelling dialogue. It needed a couple more drafts.
Noel Murray, AV Club
[Relies] on cheap shocks instead of honestly exploring how the parents of a dead child might feel about raising his clone.
, Time Out
An embarrassingly nonsensical misfire.
Dragan Antulov, Draxblog Movie Reviews
Robert de Niro - once great actor whose name on a poster now tells anyone interested in good film to run to the hills
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness
This pudgy, obvious DeNiro is definitely not the one I grew up admiring.
Oz, eFilmCritic.com
A film that was so by-the-numbers that they filmed FIVE (count 'em) five different endings.
Brian Juergens, Freeze Dried Movies
I had the decency to stay in the theatre for the duration -- the filmmakers could have at least done the same and finished the darned movie.
Lewis Beale, Film Journal International
Takes potentially interesting material and turns it into sleazy genre trash.

Read all 22 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Coxxie M

holy craap ANOTHER SECRET WINDOW ENDING MOVIE??? man i guess i just forgot how many movies used that ending
Bobby H

Human cloning is the topic, and it would of been a great movie had they kept it just as that. The movie itself had a great plot & start but the horror twist that they decided to throw in kind of ruined it.... They could of played with a persons emotions and really made a good… More
Human cloning is the topic, and it would of been a great movie had they kept it just as that. The movie itself had a great plot & start but the horror twist that they decided to throw in kind of ruined it.... They could of played with a persons emotions and really made a good flick without the cheesy special effects and crazy son killing a mother for no reason at all. Why would one be interested in cloning a kid who butchered his entire family knowing mental traits would be passed on as well? It does not make much sense after the first half... It's still an interesting show to watch and the concept is easy to grasp with some interesting food for thought. But it's not the best, and could of been much better.
Stephen M

Further proof, if any were needed, that Robert De Niro will make any old tripe if the fee is right. This is an unbelievably awful, instantly forgettable paranormal chiller. The parents of a genetically cloned child spend the entire film trying to prove there's a malevolent kink… More
Further proof, if any were needed, that Robert De Niro will make any old tripe if the fee is right. This is an unbelievably awful, instantly forgettable paranormal chiller. The parents of a genetically cloned child spend the entire film trying to prove there's a malevolent kink in his DNA and then, when they find this to be true, they choose to ignore it! How's that for plotting? The kid isn't creepy enough to make an impact, and the film is so painfully dull it feels three times longer than it actually is.
Lady D

A very original story about a controversial subject. Good performances all around with an almost eerie feel to the film. VERDICT: Definitely worth a watch, it's unlike any storyline I've ever seen
Candy R

Great cast. Thriller about a couple who lose their son in a car accident but are able to clone him and bring him back to life.
Dean !

A very average thriller with no real scares as a couple agree to raise a clone of their dead son. However is the new kid a pure copy? Hide and seek is a bit similar but much better.
xGary X

Grieving parents are offered the chance to "replace" their lost child by a genius geneticist, but once he reaches the age of his death, he is haunted by horrifying visions. A rather hokey supernatural chiller that is bolstered by the presence of Robert DeNiro, who is hardly… More
Grieving parents are offered the chance to "replace" their lost child by a genius geneticist, but once he reaches the age of his death, he is haunted by horrifying visions. A rather hokey supernatural chiller that is bolstered by the presence of Robert DeNiro, who is hardly stretched by his character, but suddenly bursts into life when confronted by Greg Kinnear towards the end of the film. This extremely promising scene comes to nothing though, as he then just disappears, and the film just, well, stops. Some of the scenes involving the boy are stylishly done in a kind of Omen-meets-The Dead Zone kind of way, but the film just peters out to a whimper at the end. A shame, because the build up was actually quite good.
Megan S

This movie had some of the dumbest special features ever. There was something like 5 alternative endings which were almost identical and so you had to watch all these scenes you'd already seen before to see what they had changed.
Al S

A chilling and relentlessly shocking thriller. Original and gripping. It's The Omen for a new generation. Spellbinding, freightning and electrifying. One of the most thought provoking, spine-chilling and diabolocal suspense/horror films in a while. Robert De Niro is brilliant.… More
A chilling and relentlessly shocking thriller. Original and gripping. It's The Omen for a new generation. Spellbinding, freightning and electrifying. One of the most thought provoking, spine-chilling and diabolocal suspense/horror films in a while. Robert De Niro is brilliant. Greg Knnear and Rebbeca Roman Stamos giver powerful performances.
Mike T

Godawful. How can somebody make a movie with Robert De Niro in it this poorly? Ludicrous screenplay and flimsy direction. One of the worst of 2004.
R?o?d?r?i?g?o? R

It is not a completely terrible movie, but if bad, at first it gets a little slow and boring but after a while of 10 minutes will put something interesting, but ultimately one that is lost and later rescues her with a story that could give more, and very few moments of real tension in… More
It is not a completely terrible movie, but if bad, at first it gets a little slow and boring but after a while of 10 minutes will put something interesting, but ultimately one that is lost and later rescues her with a story that could give more, and very few moments of real tension in this film is quda a failed attempt to make a good movie.
Sarah P

Pretty horrible. The premise was ridiculous. Most of it made no sense. Perhaps Robert DeNiro had some large debts he had to pay off and therefore had no other choice but to take this role...that's the only way I can explain it. Please don't watch this movie.
Lee K

dissapointing and forgettable
paganchild1979 p

And this is what happens when you believe in God and play God! jk.