Review of The Omen (1976) by Tyler R — 09 Oct 2012

Whatever happened to horror movies where it was a creepy little boy terrorizing people instead of a generic little girl? The Omen is starts off with a guys wife giving birth, but the kid dies, so the parents end up taking another baby whose mother died while giving birth.

The only problem is that the kid happens to be the Antichrist and all hell is about to break loose. After a few gruesome deaths, the dad starts to think that the kid is screwed up in the head and he eventually learns the truth.

A lot of people usually don't give this film a lot of credit mainly because it lives in the shadow of The Exorcist. I think that this movie is a lot creepier than most people give it credit for. First off, the mood of the film.

There's something about this movie that just feels really ominous. There's this feel that bad things are about to happen and people will die horribly, which is exactly what happens. The birthday party scene where the nanny hangs herself is considered the film's most notable scene.

I can see why, crazy chick hangs herself in front of a bunch of children, that's not the type of thing you would want kids seeing while they're at the age where they don't even know what sex is.

Another grizzly death scene is when the photographer gets decapitated by a sheet of glass. That scene was actually one of the first decapitation scenes ever filmed and the special effects behind it make it look so convincing.

The film is obviously capable of gore and death, but the suspense and creepiness is the best thing about it. The music for the movie is creepy and intense at the same time. When it plays, you know something bad is about to happen.

Most of the score is a bunch of demonic chanting and it actually gives me chills. The kid who's the Antichrist is also surprisingly creepy. The kid playing him outdoes all other actors in the movie and that's saying something.

Whenever the kid is on screen, there's this feeling of evil. Being the son of Satan, you would think that people would just stay away from him and let him be, but people actually try and confront him.

Why? Because they're dumbshits. The thing is that the kid is so formiddable and creepy, that it kind of makes the other characters seem less interesting. I wasn't exactly sad when the parents were off screen to say the least.

With the solid direction of the movie by Richard Donner, The Omen plays out as a classic horror film. It's creepy, suspenseful, the acting is good, the movie kept me guessing, it's really ominous.

There's also a remake, but it sucks and you should just stick with this one.