Unforgettably Great Horror Film, Not to Be Missed!
The 1980 British horror film The Godsend is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Bernard Taylor. To give an idea of how extremely memorable this movie is, I watched it once around my first year in college—closer to 45 than 40 years ago—and not again until last night, and remembered all of the children’s names and almost every scene in it. I am also rewatching The Wild Wild West, a favorite series last watched no later than 1972-1973, and occasionally I remember one scene or a part of a scene, but never an entire episode. Granted I was a child in 1972-1973 and a young adult when I saw The Godsend but still its detailed memorability is extraordinary.
The way I ended up watching most of this the first time is that my sister called me in because she was getting scared watching it. I sat down and when I started to get up my sister got me in a death grip so I ended up watching the rest of the movie. I was impressed as hell. This movie plays on every parent and child’s worst fears without ever being gory. No amount of fake blood and schlocky special effects could equal the terror this film induces.
The story begins when a nice young couple, Alan and Kate Marlowe, played by Malcolm Stoddard and Cyd Hayman, are out for a walk with their four children, Davy, Lucy, Sam, and Matthew. The ages range from about eight to infant. Kate meets a pregnant stranger and is immediately smitten with her, while Alan feels something “off” about her right away. The stranger gives birth at their home and abandons the baby, a girl they name Bonnie. They legally adopt Bonnie, who Kate proclaims “a Godsend.”
All goes well for over a year until the Marlowe children start dying in suspicious accidents, always with Bonnie present. The more Alan suspects Bonnie, the more Kate defends her. The suspense and horror build with each accident and each attempt by Alan to protect his remaining offspring. In a particularly chilling piece of dialogue, Alan compares Bonnie to a cuckoo fledgling, which pushes a bird’s rightful offspring out of the nest to obtain the sole attention of the parents.
The movie is well made and brilliantly acted. Bonnie is played by at least four girls as she ages. The last two deserve some sort of acting award, particularly the girl who plays Bonnie at age four, who is perfect at giving a sweet innocent look to the parents and an evil malevolent look to the children when the parents aren’t looking. The ending is absolutely horrifying. It’s difficult to understand why this movie is not better known and considered a major classic in the horror genre.
Other than a string of murders of very young victims, there is nothing objectionable in this movie. An ashtray is shown but no smoking. No foul language (that I heard—the cast is VERY British and only Alan really speaks up, and then not all the time. I had to crank the volume way up to mostly understand everyone else). No excessive blood or gore. It may be disturbing to young and sensitive viewers, and is meant to be disturbing. It is rated R. I would recommend it for maybe age 10 and up.