The Omen (2006) (www.the-usher.com)

"It's all for you Damien"

During the sixth minute of the sixth day of the sixth month, a baby dies as another one is born. As Robert Thorn (Schreiber) tries to come to terms with the death of his first-born, a priest offers him a solution. A mother had died in childbirth and her son had no one, so Robert decides to lie to his wife Katherine (Stiles) and tell her the boy his theirs. Five years later, on Damian's (Davey-Fitzpatrick) birthday strange events start to take place, people are killed and a priest approaches Robert to warn him that his child has to die because he is the Anti-Christ, the son of the Devil.

Hollywood's obsession with remaking 1970s horror classics continues but the remake of 'The Omen' has another reason for returning to the silver screen is it's theatrical release date, 6/6/06.

There was absolutely no way that Hollywood would miss the opportunity to cash in on devilishly fiendish date and a remake of the film that brings the Book of Revelations to the big screen. In 1976 director Richard Donner and stars Gregory Peck and Lee Remick brought terrifying tale of the Thorn family's realisation that their son was in fact the son of the Devil who would lead the world into Armageddon. Thirty years later and with a date to match the mark of the devil, 666, director John Moore brings the story into the new millennium but the problem is film isn't that evil, its just bad.

After a promising, if controversial opening that sees a Catholic Cardinal revealing to the Pope that the signs foretold in the bible are coming to fruition and the end of days is about to begin. Director John Moore uses images from the modern world such as the 9/11 attacks, the Asian tsunami, the space shuttle exploding and the war in Iraqi, trying to highlight the presence of evil in the world and fictionalising the fact that we are in fact heading towards Armageddon. After this we return to the virtually the same plot as the original 1976 film.

Again we have a prominent US couple who lose their own child during birth, only to take on newborn Damien as their son. After five years strange things start to happen. People die, animals get spooked, he reacts violently when taken to church and people start to become manipulated by and drawn to him. This leads his parents to question were he came from and who he is, drawing them into the fight between good and evil.

Instead of the heady talents of Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as the Thorns, we have younger actors in the lead roles in the shape of Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles. While there is no denying that they are both talented actor but they are seriously miscast as the Thorns. Schreiber has the task of making you believe that he could be the youngest US Ambassador and he would be given the position in Great Britain and unfortunately he doesn't succeed. In this modern day and age it is very difficult to believe that a man in his position could travel around Europe and Israel without a security or Secret Service attachment and for a man in the public eye he could not get away totally dropping off the grid without been noticed. Julia Stiles as Katherine Thorn also struggles but the main reason is that she looks far too young for the part, even though she is now in her mid twenties.

The rest of the cast fair a little better but they have limited screen time. Pete Postlethwaite plays the tormented Father Brennan, who is the first to tell Robert the true origin of his son. David Thewlis is investigating photographer Keith Jennings. Mia Farrow hams it up as the overprotective nanny Mrs. Baylock. Michael Gambon has little to do as the man who is working with Brennan, Bugenhagen.

The casting of Damien is key however but unfortunately Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick is a little too cute for the role. With little to say throughout the entire film, all he does is scowl when he supposed to look evil but he just doesn't look creepy enough to make you scared of what he is about to become.

'The Omen' is another example of an unnecessary remake, with the only reason for its return been the 6/6/06 date. Without the brilliant soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith that made the original so chilling in the first place, this is a lacklustre remake that only has some inventive death scenes that make it watchable. If you want some real scares, watch the original and be afraid of a sequel on 6/6/66.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented extremely well.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary by John Moore, Glen Williamson and Dan Zimmerman
The director, producer and editor come together to talk about remaking a horror classic. Here they reveal the pressure of the announced release date and the problems that occurred on the movie. They also talk about the controversial opening sequences and why the thought it was the right time to remake the story of the Anti-Christ. We also heard about how the production came together and what it was like filming in Prague in the Czech Republic. This is a chatty and informative commentary from three men clearly invested in the film.

Omenisms (37.17 mins)
Director John Moore, producer Glen Williamson, production designer Patrick Lumb, visual effects supervisor Matt Johnson, stunt coordinator Pavel Cajzi, stunt person Zuzana Drdacka and stars Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick and Mia Farrow take you through the production of the remake of 'The Omen'. We discover how the director, crew and cast became involved in the movie and the problems that occurred on and off set as the pressure built over the fixed release date. This is a fly on the wall featurette that shows both the good and bad sides of a film set which is extremely refreshing from the usual patting on the back and self-congratulationary behind the scenes featurettes that we are used to.

Abbey Road Sessions (10.15 mins)
Director John Moore, composer Marco Beltrami and head of 20th Century Fox Music Robert Kraft talk about creating the new score for the remake. It doesn't mention the reason for changing from the original's brilliant horror score however but it does give you an insight into how a score is written and recorded.

Revelation 666 (22.05 mins)
Director John Moore, screenwriter Dan McDermott, film scholar Sophia Siddique Harvey, professor of communication, USC Stephen O'Leary, Christian author Tim LaHaye, professor of religious studies, IMC David Sanchez, conspiracy hobbyist Gene Routh, music promoter Barry Richardson, warlock from the church of Satan Brian Moore and Rabbi Dan Greyber come together to talk about the history of the 666 number, the theories behind it and the increasing level of evil in the modern world.

Extended Scenes and Alternate ending (6.49 mins)
Entitled 'Impaling', 'Beheading' and 'Alternative ending', these extended or alternative scenes suffer from the lack of an introduction or a commentary track to explain the difference between these and the versions in the final cut of the film.

Trailers
Watch the teaser, two theatrical trailers and a preview of the DVD release of 'The Omen 1976 Collector's Edition'

Coming Soon
Previews of '24: Season 5', 'Reeker' and 'The Sentinel'

OVERALL

As with all Fox releases, this is a packed DVD. The behind the scenes featurette is first rate and the commentary track is also very good, revealing how much work actually when into remaking a classic. While this might not make the film any better, fans of the remake should be extremely pleased with this release.

DVD

The Omen (1976)

The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2006