Rating: PG13
Genre:
Thriller
Theatrical Release: 04/30/2004(USA)
Release Date: 08/17/2004
SubTitles: English/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 102 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Adult Situations, Adult Language, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: Lions Gate
Paul (
Greg Kinnear) and
Jessie Duncan (
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) have barely begun the grieving process when
Dr. Richard Wells (
Robert De Niro) attends the funeral of the Duncans' eight-year-old son,
Adam (
Cameron Bright), with a pressing question in tow. Head of the Godsend Fertility Clinic,
Dr. Wells claims he can use
Adam's rapidly dying cells to clone a replica of the boy, though the necessary DNA will only be viable for another 24 hours. The process in itself is completely illegal; not only must
Jessie and
Paul be forced to relocate, but they will also be forced to sever all ties with friends and family in order to ensure the secret remains so. Within the space of a day, the Duncans consider the legal and ethical implications of such a procedure, ultimately deciding that their love for
Adam is enough to trump the law and any high-minded philosophical questions. After resettling in an idyllic town near
Dr. Wells' clinic,
Jessie is impregnated with the late
Adam's living cells, while
Paul is given a beautiful home and a more than suitable job. Shortly afterward, the new
Adam -- seemingly identical to the original
Adam in every way -- is born and lives a life quite similar to his predecessor until the morning of his eighth birthday. A series of night terrors is the first thing to disturb the Duncans' otherwise serene lifestyle.
Adam's violent visions eventually mutate to ill temper, and an aura of menace permeates the aura of a boy who had otherwise been sweetness incarnate from the day of his birth. Eventually,
Paul discovers that
Dr. Wells is not a pediatrician, but a geneticist, and that their playing God may have been a Faustian bargain of epic proportions.
~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide