Review of The Omen (2006) by Lord N — 09 Feb 2011

I reviewed this at the behest of Irukandji Please come back Irukandji.

Daniel 8:23-25 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

And through his policy also he shall cause craft (fraud, deceit, treachery) to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.".

Daniel 7:20-21 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.

I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;.

Daniel 7:24-27 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Acting/Characters: First off, they butchered the character of Damien. Damien is supposed to look creepy and he is supposed to have the air of the son of the devil. However, in this film he just looks like he's sick and perpetually about to throw up. Not really creepy. So they can't really have a good movie if the central character is crap. Leiv Schreiber I enjoyed slightly as Robert Thorn. The chick who played Mrs. Thorn was okay too. HOWEVER, the one casting choice that I must pat the director on the back for is Mia Farrow as Mrs. Baylock. Given her past in Rosemary's baby, I liked seeing her in this. Was she as creepy or evil as the original Mrs. Baylock? Not even close. The original Mrs. baylock seemed like a happy normal person but there was still something incredibly unsettling about her. Mia Farrow Just seemed totally happy with flashes of evil and really nuts at the end. But they could have done a lot worse. One thing I highly disliked is how there were four or five instances where a character starts to cry (each time with good reason I must admit) The character gets the 'cry face' on, half sobs two or three times, pulls it together and that's the end of that. 3.5/10.

Plot: In the very beginning, the Vatican is positive that the comet they have seen is a sign of the end times approaching. However, I quote Matthew 24:36 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." So the theology is a bit off there. Other than that it was a carbon copy of the original plot. They tweaked one or two things here and there but there wasn't a scene in the film that wasn't in the original. That's one thing I don't get, why remake a film that is 95% exactly like the original? Why not just stick with the original? I will say that there were two moments that made me jump so bravo there. But the plot was overall pretty weak particularly with the changes that they made to it. Not the worst I've seen though. 3.5/10.

Screenplay: Here we go, this is where the film really loses points. In the original, Mrs. Baylock says to Damien "have no fear little one, I am here to protect thee" Much more unsettling than what they changed it to which was "Don't worry I'm here to protect you." LAME LAME LAME LAME LAME!!! If your going to remake it at least keep in the cool lines. They butchered the screenplay. Absolutely butchered it. 1.5/10.

Likableness: It had its moments to be sure, but they were pretty rare. It took a lot of the creepiness that was so prevalent in the original out of the remake. What's the point? I imagine they were trying to make it scarier for a modern audience, but they just utterly failed. The best parts were Mia Farrow as Mrs. Baylock. But we didn't see her too much. It would probably be semi-entertaining for those who haven't seen, or know nothing about, the original. As I have seen it, I feel that this one is incredibly weak. Plus, some of the special effects used in the movie (most prominently the mother falling) I thought were incredibly poorly done. Plus, where the heck is Avi Santini? If you're going to have an Omen movie, you have to have the Avi Santini music somewhere. 2/10.

Final Score: 10.5/40 26% (huh, the exact Tomatometer score) (S).

TRIVIA TIME: 1. The remake is seen largely as a result of two things. Fox wanted to bring a remake of the film to the Japanese market as "creepy kids" seem to be big box-office there, but when John Moore came on board he suggested redoing the story for the world and not just the Asian market. Also, the fact that the date June 6, 2006 was approaching surely must have sparked some interest in doing a remake.

2. The teaser in which Seamus (Damien) is seen slowly rocking on the swing dressed in red was the Seamus's screen test for the role.

3. The role of Katherine Thorn was originally offered to Rachel Weisz who declined because she was pregnant at the time. Other actresses considered for the part were Laura Linney, Hope Davis and Alicia Witt, before Julia Stiles who finally got the part. Stiles and Mia Farrow were both in a play together, and Stiles suggested to director John Moore that they use Farrow for the role of Mrs. Blaylock (Damien's nurse). Initially Moore didn't think that Farrow would accept the role, but Stiles convinced him she would. Eventually he just rang up Farrow at her home and offered her the part.

4. Harvey Stephens, who portrayed Damien in The Omen, appears in this remake as the tabloid reporter who asks Robert Thorn if the deceased nanny "was on drugs".

5. During filming, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick was never told that his character was supposed to be the son of the Devil; co-star Julia Stiles has commented that it was because the filmmakers thought "he was too young to understand it, but he was really obedient when John asked him for the Damien face.".

6. The day after they filmed the scene where Robert cuts his son's hair to reveal the birthmark, the entire scene was completely destroyed.