Movie Review: The Omen (2006)

[xrr rating=5/5]

The Omen
2006, 110mins, R
Director: John Moore
Writer: David Seltzer
Cast includes: Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Mia Farrow, David Thewlis, Seamus Davey Fitzpatrick, Michael Gambon
Release date: 6th June 2006

Horror remakes have a fairly terrible rep in today’s society and deservingly so, each year many ill thought out and poorly structured retreads hit theatres and make a few quick bucks before making a swift DVD debut. This has proved an effective money making plan for studios who make the films on tiny budgets and without the intelligence and heart which is vital in the creation of a worthwhile horror venture. “The Omen” is an oddity in that it marks a remake which is not only better than its original but also a genuinely superb scary film, a movie which thanks to excellent casting and a more serious take on the material manages to exceed expectations to an almost unbelievable degree.

 

Robert Thorn (Liev Schreiber) is informed on the night of his son’s birth that his wife Katherine (Julia Stiles) has just lost her baby and that complications during birth has badly wounded her uterus. A priest Spiletto suggests to Robert that another child that lost his mother could be the substituted for his son, and Robert accepts the child and raises him as his own, whilst Katherine believes that the boy she is raising to be the infant she lost. However this works well as the baby now named Damian is brought into a happy home and the family exists peacefully and in harmony. Fast forward several years and Robert has become the ambassador to Great Britain, taking Damian (Seamus Davey Fitzpatrick) and Katherine with him. However on arrival odd things start to occur around the boy and numerous people bring dire warning as to the child’s origins. Robert initially shakes it off but as Katherine becomes mentally unstable and deaths start to pile up he decides to investigate and put his adopted Childs story straight.

The film opens with a slightly altered beginning in which priests and bishops at the Vatican predict the coming of the Anti-Christ and are preparing for the Armageddon. This however is the only large change director John Moore has made to the material, staying close to David Seltzer’s original script. Some will hold this against the picture but unlike faithful remakes like “Psycho” Moore’s vision is an improvement on Donner’s, the new director creates a more menacing and serious horror film than the occasionally camp 70’s effort. The lean and efficient nature of the story feels more powerful and satisfying when taken in a less jokey context, I find the original to be an enjoyable film but this is a cut above in terms of quality.

The classic story fits well in today’s world and remains no less compelling than the original. Alot of the film’s success comes from choices made by director John Moore, and his talented crew. The first one of these ideas, to cast “actors” instead of “movie stars” is a really brave and ultimately inspired one. Casting thesps Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles in the lead roles along with award winners Mia Farrow and Pete Postletwaite really makes the movie a classier affair, indeed a lot more talent is involved here than in most horror films never mind remakes. Its Stiles in particular who shines putting in an extremely focused and tense turn as the spawn of Satan’s foster mother. Stiles pushes the envelope as far as it will go without descending into camp, her portrait of Katherine is brutally effective, perfectly showing how such a nice person can be so degraded by mental instability. Certainly Stiles is alot less wooden and far more grounded than lee Remmicks interpretation in 1976. Schreiber also engages the audience and admittedly it’s he who is onscreen for the best part of the feature. As Robert an actor has to create a sense of strength and yet weakness, to show that even the best and whole hearted of people are willing to make exceptions for the ones they love. In the original Gregory Peck played the role in a much more hammy and directly entertaining nature but with Schreiber you get alot more humanity and emotional investment, the man turns Robert into someone worth rooting for and easy to relate with.

As Damian Seamus Davey Fitzpatrick certainly has a scary look and delivers his lines in an eerie manner, which in all honesty is all the role requires. David Thewlis is an effective piece of counter programming to Schreiber as his co-star in solving the mystery, Thewlis is a much more gruff and mercenary entity but easily as sympathetic. Finally as Damian’s Nanny Mrs. Baylock a fantastically evil Mia Farrow delivers the film’s most memorable turn, her sweet and sour turn is probably the film’s most entertaining and easily a more impressive than Billie Whitelaw in the original.

The visuals are excellent, Moore has provided lush and eerie cinematography to spook his up market cast, the wonderful use of reds and blacks adds a menace to the scenes that can’t be bought The Irishmen displays keen knowledge of how to stage a fright something Hollywood should exploit as soon as possible. The wonderfully stylish presentation also makes the film look alot more expensive than it actually was, made for a paltry $25 million “The Omen2 looks closer to $40,000,000 when up on the silver screen.

The most infamous death sequences all remain in their gory glory but Moore also injects his script with a couple of extra little boo moments sure to catch even enthusiasts of their guard and indeed one in particular involving a mask and a bath is sure to hit a genuine scare. The better treatment of the material means that Moore is also able to draw a more disturbed reaction from his audience, by planting the film firmly in our world he draws an extra layer of dread the original was missing.

The movie was released on the 06/06/06, offering it a wonderful marketing gimmick and indeed one that even cynics must think at least kind of cool. Its nearly a year ago now but still it’s a nice touch worth remembering.

The movie had a brilliant opening day at the Box Office taking in some 14 million domestically. Sadly Sales slowed up and by its exit from the theatrical run “The Omen” had made a profitable but unexceptional $115 million worldwide, a disappointment for distributers Twentieth Century Fox. At this point it looks unlikely a sequel will be made (maybe a good thing as the originals sequel “Damien Omen 2″ was fairly uninspired) but there is no debating this is one of the best Horror remakes around. The point of the matter is that this is a superior version of what some already consider a classic and for that reason alone it deserves a life on DVD. This new version of “The Omen” is a more relevant and classier affair that the initial 1976 version. A remake which may actually better the original, “The Omen” proves that sometimes rethinking something can end in the most glowing nature.