Critic's Grade: D+

Every since the terrorist attack on September 11th, I have believed that perhaps the life on earth will soon be ending. As more events arise, a war, the destruction of the space shuttle, the sunami, the possbilities of this seem even more likely. That is one of the new techniques used in the John Moore's remake of the Satanic classic, The Omen.

I remember watching Richard Donner's The Omen a few years ago, on AMC's annual monsterfest in which I regulary tune in. I was especially shocked at some of the techniques used during the film such as the chilling storyline, and the fatal imagery of Katherine Thorn (Lee Remick) falling from one of the balaconies overshadowing the many stair cases in the Thorn Mansion, to the ground. It has been a few years since I have seen this film, but the scene is unforgettable. The consistant use of reds on objects in the scene, symbolizing passionate evil, and of course Damien's (a very young Harvey Stephens) red tricycle.

The plot is simple, the American Ambassador to Italy, Robert Thorn ( Liev Schreiber), and his wife, Katherine (Julia Stiles) are having a son. After a very damaging birth to Katherine, Robert learns from a priest working in the ward that the child did not survive. The priest suggests that he take an abandoned child, better to give his love to the living. Without Katherine even being aware of the loss of their real son, they raise the new child, Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) as their own.

Later Robert is named Ambassador to England and the new family moves, and after two years strange events begin to occur. The nanny (Amy Huck) comits suicide by leaping of the roof of their mansion, with a noose around her neck during Damien's fifth birthday party. Julia later begins to suspect Damien may be evil after a series of quite traumatic nightmares and odd looks shot by her son towards her. When Robert is approached by a Priest, Father Brennan (Pete Postlethwaite), informing him that Damien is indeed the Anti-Christ.

The story is exactly the same, the script is exactly the same, and one of the only few changes in the film is that it is modernized. So, what the hell (no pun intended) happened?

I was convinced that I may be actually watching a good movie until one of the most important death scenes in the movie in which Father Brennan is classically impaled by one of the spokes of the Cathedral in Britain. I vaguely remember the same thing happening, but the way it is shot is completely opposing to the original. The lightning strikes the spoke on top of the church as Brennan is attempting to open the doors, but an unknown force has locked him out. We watch the electrical force move down the spoke, clear it from the rooftop and then somehow moves at an unstoppable speed through a sheet of stain glass and impales the poor man. For some reason we ride the back of the projectile, sail through the glass, and then watch it from a very wide shot go through his chest. This technique is used all too much in modern gore flicks and gives a Final Destination spin to any scene. A film worth nothing more than entertainment to a thirteen through twenty-nine age group.

Cinematographer Jonathan Sela (Soul Plane) intermixes different techniques and it is hard to tell what type of film he is attempting to achieve. At some instances the shots are basic and quick, such as the death scenes, others are in slow motion, and others are documentary style, shaky but occassionally with a purpose.

The dialogue and storyflow is almost completely direct. The film is modernized and new topics are introduced into the film. David Seltzer rewrote some of his own original screenplay to incorporate these new elements. The fact that it is modernized we get the famous tricycle scene replaced with one involving a red wheeled scooter. I believe that the fact that is was modernized steals from the affect of the film on the audience. A tricycle represents a lot of innonce and the early playful years of childhood. A scooter, at this day and age, sort of shows that even small children can do things kids of most ages can. One of the added scenes to the films I thought wasn't awful, but at the same time unecessary. It involves a monk spying out into the heavens using the Vatican Observatory and viewing a series of meteors sailing across space, a similar image to that of the explosion of The Columbia. This somehow and someway prophesizes the coming of evil. This portion of the film sort of nods to those internet bible tricks, revealing actual events that have happened were foretold in the bible.

Other scenes are changed, the memorable safari ride through the zoo in which Babboons attack the car is replaced by a dull school field trip to the zoo in which Gorillas pound at the plexiglass. The accompanying investigative photographer (Keith Jennings) with Robert show him photographs taken of the Nanny and the priest before their death. The pictures contain flaws that seem to resemble the way in which the characters are murdered. This is slowly evolving into a clich?, I can first recall something similar in children's horror writer R.L Stein's Goosebumps book,
"Say Cheese and Die!" and again in Final Destination 3. I believe Katherine's nightmare scenes were added, but the mysterious ways they are done are indeed loud and creepy (a woman a row in front of myself yelped in fright).

The performances are acceptable, Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles play the everconcerned parents about their strange son and events surround ing the family and both seem equally adequate. Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick plays the little Anti-Christ, Damien. At age seven years old we can't expect him to act as anyone else would in the film, but the fact that he always carries an evil smirk ruins the vibe the original gave off, evil given from innocence or in this case evil given from obvious evil. His hair is jet black and his blue eyes are piercing into your mind, definitely dark looking, not the wanted effect.

The shock value that the first film had is gone and is fading as we speak. The innocence of childhood has faded into the twentieth century and this final point reminds me of the final scene in the original film where Robert is attempting to kill Damien inside the London Cathedral. I remember thinking, "he's only a child, don't do it!" You were split between the side of the father and that of Damien's. In this more recent release I thought, "Just do it so we don't have to see the sequels again."

All Reviews by Max Einhorn [Home page]
If you are the author of this review, you may edit it by signing in.