BOTTOM LINE: A highly effective horror premise is poorly handled in this mis-directed and clumsy piece of filmmaking about a family who get their dead son back through an ill-advised cloning experiment.

THE GOOD: Paul (Kinnear) and Jesse (Romijn-Stamos) are grief-stricken parents who lose their beloved son Adam (Bright) in a tragic car accident. Not long after the incident, an ambitious old teacher of Jesse’s, Professor Wells (De Niro) approaches the couple with an extraordinary proposition; to produce an exact clone of their son through an ambitious stem cell experiment, and in essence, return their son to them. Although outraged at first, the couple implausibly agree and the procedure goes smoothly. Adam is back, but after he turns eight, the age at which the original Adam died, strange and terrible things start to happen, all leading to a terrible truth hidden by Wells. What makes this premise so intriguing is that it manages to hook you on wanting to find out what is actually going on. The film follows some conventional horror film devices which seem to suggest either a supernatural, demonic or otherworldly connection to the new Adam, leading to a moment or two of genuine thrills. The ultimate revelation that Wells mixed DNA from his own son in to Adam which is what is causing his split-personality behaviour is another good and surprise addition to the plot, and unexpected given the supernatural overtones to the scenes. Cameron Bright is great as Adam; he does not look right from the outset and manages to act in a very chilling way when the film calls for it. The film has some nice images, particularly set in the country-side town that Wells practices in, and overall establishes an unsettling but mysterious atmosphere.

THE BAD: “Godsend” suffers from a number of implausibilities and a clumsily executed climax. One might find it hard to believe that a couple would willingly agree to an illegal cloning experiment to resurrect their child who just died, but the filmmakers fail to make this believable, even though they hint at the emotional vulnerability of the couple in question and how they might be susceptible to a suggestion from a seemingly old friend in Wells. Plot points are never followed up on, like how Adam kills a class mate but no police or any one else asks any questions as to what happened, or how the family move to a new city to make a new start but fail to remember that the evil DNA is still part of Adam and can re-surface at any time to start everything all over again (hint, sequel). Wells must have an endless supply of money as once he is found out, he moves to another location, sets up his cloning shop (presumably an expensive shop to setup!), to prey on a new unsuspecting couple out of the spotlight of any one who may question what he doing. The subplot involving Wells’ son and his evil deeds is not effectively tied in to the plot, leaving a number of unanswered questions, starting with the Nanny who felt she had to kill him. The climax is a horrid mess, suggesting that the filmmakers were split on how to end the film. At one point, Wells bashes Paul with a big crucifix, and you saw lots of blood spilling from the back of his head on the floor, and then a few short scenes later, Paul is up and well and arrives just in time to save Jesse from Adam, apparently all stitched up as there are no signs of blood any where around his head or neck. Issues like these kill what could have been an intriguing film, but unfortunately, they do just that.