Godsend (2004)

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.

Director:

Nick Hamm

Writer:

Mark Bomback

Stars:

Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romijn, Robert De Niro

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Cooper	...	Sandra Shaw (as Jenny Levine)
Thomas Chambers	...	Jordan Shaw
Munro Chambers	...	Max Shaw
Jeff Christensen	...	Hal Shaw
Deborah Odell	...	Tanya

Storyline

After their young son, Adam (Bright), is killed in an accident, a couple (Kinnear, Romijn-Stamos) approach an expert (De Niro) in stem cell research about bringing him back to life through an experimental and illegal cloning and regeneration process. When Adam comes back to them, however, he's.. different...

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Plot Keywords:

birthday | boy | doctor | clone | cloning | 

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Taglines:

If someone you love was taken from you, how far would you go to bring him back from the dead?

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Central Partnership [ru] Lions Gate Entertainment - The Godsend Institute

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

El enviado

Filming Locations:

King City, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$89,961 (South Africa) (20 August 2004)

Gross:

$89,961 (South Africa) (20 August 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films, Artists Production Group (APG), 2929 Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Before the release of this movie, Lions Gate Films set up two official websites: one conventional site with movie information, and one site that appeared to be a promotional tool for the (fictional) cloning institute depicted in the movie. The website gave an email address and phone number (1-888-699-2672) for the "Godsend Institute;" calling the number resulted in a recorded message giving the institute's office hours. Several news outlets reported that when a few bereaved parents called or emailed the fake institute to inquire about having their children genetically reconstituted, the studio started responding to them and explaining that it was just a movie tie-in and not a real laboratory. Similar advertisements for fictional medical procedures and clinics were also produced as parts of the advertising campaigns for Gattaca and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

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Goofs

When Paul almost hits Adam2 while he's on the bike, the bike was about two feet in front of the car. When Paul is hugging Adam2, the bike's rear wheel is clearly under the car.

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Quotes

Richard Wells: Everything you value in this world I gave to you, I provided you with a house and a son. You remember that, you ungrateful piece of shit!

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Soundtracks

"The Amazing Mozzarellas"
Written by Jim Blake
Performed by Jim Blake
Published by Extreme Music Library PLC
Courtesy of Extreme Productions Music

User Reviews

The Critics Are Wrong...This Movie Is Good. Very Good.

Why are there a lot of horrible reviews? I don't know why, because when I watched this movie, I thought that it was quite creepy, no wait, it was creepy, very creepy. Godsend is a creepy movie that delivers some scares as well as some thrills. Now why did I like this movie? I'll tell you. If you are thinking that I liked this movie just because it had Robert De Niro in it, don't, because that's not the main reason. This movie is about this: 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. And a lot of weird things do happen, a lot of scary things. This boy is being haunted by presences of his previous life, and other related things, this kind of reminds me of The Shining. But unlike The Shining, Godsend isn't a masterpiece, it is not one of the greatest movies that I have ever seen, nor is it one of the scariest movies that I have ever seen, but that doesn't mean that this movie isn't scary, it is scary, there where a few scenes that really freaked me out. I'd tell you, but I don't want to spoil the film.

Why did I want to see this film to begin with? Because of the fact that it stars my all time favorite actor, Robert De Niro. And Robert De Niro delivers another good performance, it's not one of his best performances, but it is still a good one nevertheless. Robert De Niro may be a fabulous actor, but I don't automatically like a movie that he's in just because he's in it, I like the movie for other reasons as well. I haven't seen a bad De Niro movie yet, sure, some of his movies are better than others, but I can't say that I saw one that I hated. The acting in Godsend is good, not Oscar-worthy but good all the same, especially from Cameron Bright, who plays Adam Duncan. There aren't many good child actors living in the world today, but he was an exception, his performance was a good one. The acting is not great acting, but it is nevertheless good acting that makes the movie watchable. And to me, this movie is watchable.

So all in all, you can go ahead and say that I'm crazy, but I liked this movie. Godsend is a movie that is very underrated, and downright scary. Like I said earlier, this movie is not on the same level of greatness as The Shining, but I still find it scary and worth watching. You can watch this movie if you please, but I would advise you to keep an open mind about it. If you don't, then you might not enjoy the movie. I was able to keep an open mind, and so because of that I was able to enjoy this movie a lot, and trust me, it is enjoyable, and downright scary at times. Godsend is also somewhat of guilty pleasure of mine, because while I loved this movie, it seems that not a whole lot of other people did. Well anyway, keep an open mind when you watch this movie, because if you do, then who knows? You might be able to really enjoy this movie. If you enjoy this movie, then that's great, if not, well, you didn't enjoy it...

10/10