The Godsend (1980) Review
The biggest issue with creating fiction has always involved trying to find the balance between what you like and what everyone else likes. You’re either making something for everyone that potentially won’t hold replay value for you personally, or you’re essentially creating something tailor made for yourself and the few that will agree with you. And this is only if the work of fiction that you make accomplishes its goal. Although The Godsend worked as a horror film that didn't need to rely on the violent pitfalls most horror movies do to be scary it certainly reminded me of how hard making fiction like this has gotten if this movie is still this effective forty years later. The tragedy is only underlined by the fact I’ve seen an American movie with this exact same title which, despite also being a horror movie with a mostly similar premise (baby grows up to be an evil child), I imagine was unwilling to admit it was a remake once the critical reception wasn’t as kind to it as it was with the 1980 film. Much like The Wicker Man it’s unconventional in its horror, except The Godsend isn’t afraid to shy away from death scenes despite maintaining them PG compared to the rest of the film.