There has been the age-old argument—can a child be born inherently evil, or are they a product of their environment? Logic would tell you that nature and nurture have a good deal to do with it, but some cases are so mysterious that there appears to be such a bred-in wickedness that it is terrifying.
This concept has been explored repeatedly in Horror films. It is ever so clear that Damien is a spawn of evil in films such as 1976’s The Omen. In movies like 1973’s The Exorcist, it is more a case of an unholy entity using a young girl as a host into the material world. Then there are other films like 1980’s The Godsend, where it feels like a malicious force invades entirely unexpectedly.
Based on the 1976 Bernard Taylor novel of the same name, The Godsend was the feature directorial debut of Gabrielle Beaumont. A talented woman who received award nominations for her work on series such as L.A. Law and Hill Street Blues, The Godsend would be one of Beaumont’s few explorations into feature films. Working from a screenplay adapatation written by Olaf Pooley (famous for his role as Professor Stahlman in 1970’s Doctor Who), the cast was stacked with seasoned British performers such Malcom Stoddard as a suspious father, Cyd Hayman as a protective, dedicated mother, and Donald Pleasence’s daughter Angela Pleasence as the ominous stranger invading their family unit.
The key cast of The Godsend, the story starts with a young woman (Angela Pleasence) emerging amidst a family outing with lovely, happy children. Soon, this woman is an unexpected guest in their home, delivers a baby, and abandons the baby with the family. A strong family unit, they decide to raise the child as one of their own, but soon horrific and unexplainable tragedies begin to befall the family at every turn.
A story that builds with an unsettling undertone, beyond the apparent horror this innocent family is experiencing, is the unraveling at the top of it all, with the mother and father. Either in disbelief of what is happening, rather than unity to protect their unit, their disconnect further drives matters into madness.
Complete with an insidious atmosphere that you cannot shake, there are quite a few scenes in The Godsend that unnerve you without even being too graphic. Initially released in US theaters on January 11, 1980, by and large, the film was not a major box office success, and over time, it has faded into the backdrop of Horror cinema history. As time moves forward, this is a harsh reality for many films. Fortunately, The Godsend has not been completely forgotten, because in 2015, Scream Factory put it out on Blu-ray as a double-feature with 1987’s The Outing. Putting it back in the forefront of Horror cinema lovers’ minds, that edition has since gone out of print. Although a decade later, Kino Lorber answered the call to release The Godsend as a standalone Blu-ray release.
Released on March 18, 2025, as number 27 in Kino Lorber’s Kino Cult series, it marks the first domestic standalone Blu-ray release of The Godsend ever. Transferred in the same 2K format as Scream Factory’s from 2015, it is a clean, dynamic video and audio quality that is easy to enjoy. The most significant aspect of the release is that you also get new audio commentary from film historians, a slipcase cover, plus a nice reversible sleeve with two respectable configurations of the original 1980 film art.
Overall, The Godsend is one of those films you wish you had known years earlier. Fortunately, it is never too late to discover something for the first time, and that is why Cryptic Rock commends Kino Lorber’s dedication to releasing The Godsend as a standalone Blu-ray, giving this release 4 out of 5 stars.
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