In The Godsend, a married couple, Alan and Kate Marlowe (played by Malcolm Stoddard and Cyd Hayman), have a chance meeting with a pregnant stranger (Angela Pleasence). While Alan suspects that there is something wrong with the mysterious woman, Kate insists on allowing her to come have dinner with them. At their rural home, the Stranger spends most of her time glaring at Alan and, when she’s left alone, she cuts the phone line. When the Stranger goes into labor, Alan and Kate deliver her daughter. The next morning, the Stranger has disappeared and Alan and Kate end up taking the baby — now named Bonnie — into their household.
Alan and Kate already have four other children but that soon starts to change. First, baby Matthew is found dead in his crib. As Bonnie grows up, the other children die. Little Davey drowns in a creek and Bonnie is found with scratches on her hands. Davey’s brother Sam says that he is scared to be left alone with Bonnie. Alan and Kate tell him that he’s being silly. Later, Sam is found dead in the barn.
With their neighbors flat-out accusing Alan and Kate of murdering their children and Bonnie doing strange things like attempting to give her father the mumps, Kate starts to have a nervous breakdown. Meanwhile, Alan comes to fear that Bonnie may be the one responsible for the death of the other children and that she may now be targeting that last remaining child, Lucy (Angela Deamer).
First released in 1980 and based on a novel by Bernard Taylor, The Godsend is a British horror film that moves at its own deliberate pace. The action unfolds slowly, with an emphasis on atmosphere and ambiguity. While it certainly seems that Bonnie is responsible for the death of the other children, the first half of the film leaves room for doubt. The viewer is left to wonder whether it’s possible that Alan himself is just being paranoid. As the film progresses, one becomes aware that Bonnie is not only evil but she also has far greater powers than even Alan realizes. The film ends on a properly dark note. There really is no future in England’s dreaming.
The Godsend was a bit too slow. As is so often the case with British horror films from the early 80s, the film was so determined to prove that it was better than the old Hammer bodice rippers that it allowed itself to get a bit too self-serious and stately. That said, The Godsend is also undeniably creepy. Viewers have been conditioned to believe that, no matter what else happens in a film, the children will survive. Even though the children might very well be traumatized for life, it’s still generally accepted that they will somehow manage to make it to the end of the film. The Godsend breaks that unofficial rule and it actually gets a bit depressing to watch. Alan and Kate are going through the worst experience that a parent can can suffer. Alan blames Bonnie while Kate clings to her as being one of the few things that she still has left. It’s a sad movie that captures a very primal fear.
For the most part, the cast does a good if not spectacular job with the material. The best performance comes from Angela Pleasence in the role of The Stranger. Angela Pleasence was the daughter of Donald Pleasence, an actor who will always be best-remembered for playing Dr. Sam Loomis in the original Halloween films. Dr. Loomis would have identified Bonnie as being evil from the start. Unfortunately, no one would have listened to him until it was too late.
Through the Shattered Lens