DVD/VIDEO: The Omen (2006)

THE OMEN (2006)

My Rating: *** ½ (out of *****)
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Mia Farrow, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Pete Postlethwaite, David Thewlis, Michael Gambon
Director: John Moore

My Review:
For the record, I’m getting just as tired of Hollywood’s fascination with remakes as you are. Usually, they’re not even remakes of good movies (consider director John Moore’s previous offering – The Flight of the Phoenix – a tepid remake of an equally tepid film). So, when I discovered that a new version of the 1976 horror classic The Omen was hitting theaters on June 6, 2006 (6-6-06, easily one of the most ingenious marketing gimmicks in motion picture history), I was little more than amused. Alas, being a horror buff and a fan of the original, I couldn’t resist.

Using David Seltzer’s original screenplay almost word for word and shot for shot, director Moore has reimagined rather than remade Richard Donner’s earlier film, assembling an impressive, big-name cast and weaving a stylish, mesmerizing atmosphere to give the somewhat tired proceedings a bit of an edge.

Schreiber, relatively solid here, fills in for Gregory Peck as Robert Thorn, the American Ambassador in London who slowly begins to suspect that his young child Damien (Davey-Fitzpatrick) may be the Antichrist foretold in Scripture. Thorn’s wife Kathy (a passable Julia Stiles) knows that something is wrong with Damien before her husband does. The old “everyone including my own husband ignores the obvious signs that we have hell-child on our hands and thinks I’m totally losing it” ploy is milked for all its worth, and is actually relatively effective here. I usually can’t stand Julia Stiles. I think she’s one of the most wooden actresses around. But, to her and director John Moore’s credit, we actually feel pity for her hopeless plight.

As mentioned, due to the fact that we who have seen the original already know everything that’s going to happen (and even those who haven’t will probably figure it out pretty quickly), this 2006 version is all about the mood and the actors. The aforementioned principals are decent, but the supporting players really get to shine. Pete Postlethwaite is perfect as the tortured Father Brennan, and David Thewlis (in an unusual “good guy” role) almost seems like the reincarnation of David Warner from the original movie.

Not surprisingly, Mia Farrow steals the film as Mrs. Baylock, the deceptively sweet new nanny who turns out to be a demonic agent sent to insure that no one harms little Damien. Billie Whitelaw, who originated the role in the 1976 version, was truly terrifying, but also totally obvious. Farrow’s Baylock is actually believable as a seemingly loving guardian who could dupe parents as attentive as the Thorns are. That doesn’t, however, mean there isn’t plenty of room for scenery-chewing, which Farrow does with delightfully demented relish. Every scene with her is a wickedly guilty pleasure.

Atmospherics are top notch, including a tantalizing obsession with the color red (it pervades this movie like a plague), a handful of brilliant set pieces (the famous balcony sequence, a couple of eerily perverted dreamscapes, a mournfully lonely old church and graveyard, and the ear-splitting thunderstorm in which Father Brennan meets his unhappy demise), and effective use of lighting and camera techniques.

All in all, the film’s greatest misstep comes with Moore’s philosophies on how to coach the young actor portraying Damien. In my humble opinion, the spawn of Satan in human form should be attractive and normal-looking. After all, the Devil was an angel before he fell, and evil often appears to be beautiful. As directed by Moore and acted by Davey-Fitzpatrick, Damien is perpetually scowling, with sunken bug eyes and a plastered-on frown. He comes across as annoying rather than frightening, which is most unfortunate as it mutes some of the potential thrills offered by this movie. Still, The Omen 2006 is a happy diversion for genre lovers and those who enjoyed the original.

R, for moments of gruesome horror-style violence and gore, some disturbing imagery, brief strong language, and mature thematic elements