In “Godsend”, Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos play a couple who lose their child to a gruesome accident. They are approached by a doctor (Robert De Niro) who wants to give them the opportunity to have their son back. He promises them they can have this through a cloning process. They agree and the soon question arises whether or not it was the right thing to do. “Godsend” certainly had a lot going for it in terms of a good movie. It had one of the most interesting premises for a film, even though it was only a slightly different take on stories we’ve seen before. The idea that you could clone your dead child is a fascinating one to be sure. Now that I have children, it reached a very personal level for me, at least at first. The though of losing either of my children is horrifying and I have to wonder what I would do if given the same opportunity. I’m sure my mind would be of all sorts of reasons why, but would I ever stop to think why I shouldn’t?

I had enjoyed the earlier directorial effort by Nick Hamm, “Holes” which was one of those ‘I’m so shocked it was so good’ type of movies. Unfortunately, lightning didn’t strike twice with “Godsend.” It’s not a bad film by any means, I just don’t feel it properly explored the subject at hand. As much as I like horror movies, I would have preferred this one to have stayed on the course of science as opposed to the supernatural. (As the boy grows past the age at which he died, all sorts of bizarre phenomena erupt.)

But that’s not my big problem with the film, which is more a matter of coherence. Most of the storyline, as it becomes more complex, begins a downward spiral of muddled scenes. Most of them look interesting, and in some cases are appropriately frightening, but in the end fail to answer the simplest of questions. Even the fact that the DVD release offers up four alternate endings leads me to believe the filmmakers, after a time, didn’t really have a handle on what direction they wanted the movie to go.

The DVD, along with having the alternate endings, also serves up a commentary by Hamm. I was hoping for some of the film’s open-ended questions would be answered, but for the most part his commentary was fairly pedestrian and only served to cement my opinion of his lack of direction.

If you’re looking for a dark and creepy film that will give you a few willies on a late Saturday night, “Godsend” will certainly do the trick with some of its imagery. Just don’t look for a deep thought-provoking movie that gives you some great fodder for conversation.

Directed by: Nick Hamm
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, Robert DeNiro, Cameron Bright
Extras: Alternate Endings, Storyboards, Commentary by Director Nick Hamm and Director of Photography Kramer Morganthau
Specifications: Widescreen, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Lion’s Gate
Release Date: 8/17/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Website

We'll give Godsend a D.