User Reviews

Low budget but appealing kids' fantasy adventure. A mysterious stranger presents a boy with a VCR that can "play" the past...and the future. How it affects the boy and his struggling middle-class family is the central story. An amusing running gag is a series of exterior shots of the family's house with various strange objects and/or people moving past (a UFO, a tumbleweed, runaway car, etc.) For us, part of the appeal of this movie was that it was filmed in an area of England where we later resided for a short time.

JIM'S GIFT is a quirky, little-seen British children's film that was originally broadcast on British TV back in 1996 (although on what channel I'm not sure). It's a sci-fi fantasy about a bullied kid who picks up an old VCR at a car boot sale only to discover that it has the power to foretell the future.

It's actually a pretty decent premise and JIM'S GIFT isn't a bad film at all despite the very low budget. Certainly it's a film constrained by the poor acting of the child stars and the obvious limitations of the special effects and such, but I think as a whole the story works very well and is sufficiently 'wacky' to appeal to kids. Obviously, it also has a huge retro/nostalgia appeal for modern viewers who can recall the old days of massive video recorders, horn-rimmed glasses, dodgy fashions, and the like. Checking out the posters on the protagonist's bedroom wall is a delight in itself.

Cast-wise, the only notable stars are a cameoing Doug Bradley, and Robert Llewellyn. The latter goes way over the top in a rather embarrassing turn that requires him to gurn and mug at the camera throughout, which is a pity. The film also features bit parts from various UK TV faces, and the IMDb reports that Nick Frost is in it, although I couldn't see much of him (I think he might have played one of the reporters outside the house).

The special effects are cheesy and dated, which is all in good fun, and the presence of a lovable Jack Russell as one of the key players is a highlight. A number of different sub-plots mix and match together leaving this a rather watchable creation, although some of the humour is very silly if you're an adult viewer. A bike chase through the streets of Rickmansworth is handled particularly well and was a real highlight for this viewer.

This is the type of film that used to be done so well by the Children's Film Foundation,only they had far better child actors.Its almost a time travel film.It is quite entertaining.