DVD Review: The Omen (2006 Remake)

By Patrick Luce Oct 16, 2006, 17:54 GMT

A remake of the 1976 horror classic The Omen (1976), an American official realizes that his young son may literally be the devil incarnate. ...more

Although it isn’t as bad as other recent remakes (House of Wax comes to mind), The Omen still lacks any of the real thrills and suspense that the original 1976 version had. The film (which was mostly a way to cash in on the 6/6/06 connection) does deliver an almost shot for shot remake that is slick, fast paced, and well acted. The problem with the movie is that there was just no real reason to up date a film that is considered by many to be a horror classic.

The Omen remake was directed by John Moore (the original was directed by master film maker Richard Donner). The film also uses the original screenplay written by David Seltzer with only slight tweaks – such as the age of the main characters. It stars Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles in the roles that were originated by Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. The film also has Pete Postelthwaite, David Thewlis (in the role that was originated by David Warner), and Mia Farrow. Child actor Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick handles the Damien chores filling the film with plenty of evil smiles, glares, and general creepiness.

The film follows the newly appointed U.N. Ambassador to England Robert Thorn (Schreiber) and his wife Katherine (Stiles) as they move from Italy to England with their son Damien – who was adopted through questionable means after Thorn found out their baby died in childbirth, but his wife didn’t know. It doesn’t take long for Katherine to start doubting if Damien is her son. After a nanny hangs herself at Damien’s birthday party, the creepy Mrs. Baylock (played wonderfully by Mia Farrow) arrives to help “protect” Damien.

As Katherine begins to go a little nuts (no thanks to her son’s general evil looking smirks and the odd reaction he gets from animals at the local zoo), Thorn is approached by a mysterious and loony priest named Father Brennan (Postelthwaite) who informs him that Damien isn’t just a boy, but the Anti-Christ and was born of a jackal. Thorn quickly dismisses the priest claims, but Brennan also catches the attention of photographer Keith Jennings.

Davey-Fitzpatrick fills the film with evil glares and devil smiles

Jennings and Thorn eventually join forces to research the mystery of Damien’s birth, and the priest claims. This search leads to Thorn learning that it falls to him to kill his son before he can grow more powerful. Still feeling some kind of fatherly attachment to Damien, Thorn struggles with this chore until Katherine takes a fall (which could easily be blamed on the cute little boy with the devil grin), and Thorn finally discovers the truth about the boy while combing through his hair.

Since The Omen is considered a horror classic and the remake is pretty much a shot for shot update, there is not much sense in going into plot details. If you are a fan of the original film or of horror, you already know the plot. If not, I don’t want to spoil some of the film’s better moments in the review.

Overall, The Omen is not a bad film, and will thrill the junior high audience that probably isn’t aware the film is a remake and not as great as the original. Moore does an excellent job with keeping the film’s pace moving, and never lets it slow enough for you to have time to compare it to the original while watching.

The film’s production is solid with sets that will draw you into what is happening on screen - such as the floor design as Katherine is falling from the stair railing. Visually, the film manages to catch your eye and hold your attention through the use of its colors (such as the brilliant reds that are used at different times of the movie) and camera angles (such as when the nanny takes a leap off the building).

The actors in the film all do an excellent job, and I liked the fact that they went with younger actors for Damien’s parents. Stiles does get a bit annoying towards the end of the film, but so did Remick. Schreiber (who is normally solid in about any role he takes) does a good job filling Peck’s shoes, and also has enough room to develop the character a bit more. I always thought Peck came across as too old to really work as Damien’s father, and thought that Schreiber does manage to work a little better in the role (yes, I know that will upset some fans of the original movie).

The remake comes across as more cheesy than scary

The problem with The Omen (or just about any of the recent remakes of classic horror films) is that there was absolutely no need to remake the film. Instead of trying to update the story or create something fresh, the filmmakers went with an almost carbon copy of the 1976 version. This makes the film feel more like a chance to cash in on the 06/06/06 connection or take advantage of an audience that just doesn’t know this is a remake - similar to the way a whole new audience discovered the Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 2003.

The Omen does come with some decent special features including an alternate ending that isn’t that much different than what was on the big screen; commentary with the director, producer and editor; Abby Road Sessions which looks at the film’s music; and two extended scenes which are just a little gorier than what was on the big screen.

There is also a Revelations 666 featurette where they examine the devil’s number, its influence throughout history, and have interview clips with the filmmakers, historians, and other people with stories about the number. This is fun to watch but comes across as more a long commercial for the movie than a real historic look at the Devil and the number.

Omenisms is a thirty-seven minute documentary about the making of the movie which features interviews with the cast and crew and a behind the scenes look at the making of the film. It is worth watching to hear the different stories told about the movie, and the amount of stress that was on the filmmakers to get it done on time – given that it had a release date of 06/06/06 before they even started any production work on it.

Again, The Omen is not a bad movie, and it won’t really disappoint fans of the original. With that said, it has no real purpose, and comes across as a pale imitation of the first movie. In the wake of The Ring, The Grudge, and just about every other horror film with a creepy kid, The Omen remake has also lost some of its scarier edges. Instead of getting chills at different points in the movie, The Omen comes across as borderline cheesy – such as when Damien gives you an evil glare or when Farrow starts running around with a sledgehammer.

Damien and his creepy nanny

Still, it is Halloween, and I would recommend taking the time to watch the film. Even if you are a diehard fan of the original, The Omen still manages to entertain, and might give you a jump here or there.

The Omen is now available at Amazon. It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for an Oct. 23rd release. Visit the DVD database for more information.