omen2006

THE SYNOPSIS

Rome. On the 6th hour of the 6th day of the 6th month, a son is born to young Deputy Ambassador Robert Thorne (Schreiber) and his lovely wife Katherine (Stiles) at a Catholic hospital. Sadly, it dies at childbirth—so informs hospital administrator Father Spiletto (Radice). But the priest has an alternate idea for the Thorns.

Devastated by Katherine’s former miscarriages, Robert agrees to adopt another boy whose mother also died giving birth at the precise moment that his own died. New father visits new mother with new son, Damien, and a happy trifecta is formed.

Several years later, the Thorns move to England where Robert has accepted the post of the U.S. Ambassador Of England (after his boss suffers a most horrible and fiery death in an auto accident). They move into a beautiful country estate and settle in. Katherine adores her son Damien (Davey-Fitzpatrick) and Robert adores his family.

Cheery. Until...

Damien’s 5th birthday party, where things start to get really spooky. First off, their young nanny decides to hang herself—right during the festivities.

Then, some strange priest, Father Brennan (Postlethwaite), starts hounding Robert with quotes from the Book Of Revelations—the chapter of the Bible that deals with the reckoning of the Anti-Christ (Satan’s son) and the end of the world.

The arrival of the sunny new nanny, Mrs. Baylock (Farrow) seems to bring balance to the family. However, other strange things begin to happen.

Like the animals at the zoo freaking out in unison when Katherine brings Damien around. Or when the kid freaks out during a trip to a church. And I mean really freaks out!

Something’s waaaay off here...

And what’s with Mrs. Baylock? She’s got way too much attachment issues with her young ward.

After more hounding from weird Father Brennan, Robert agrees to hear him out. According to the priest, Damien is really the Anti-Christ and he must be destroyed. However, it is Brennan who dies as a mysterious storms brews out of nowhere and causes a church steeple spire to break loose and impale the frightened cleric.

Robert learns the poor man’s fate through a meeting with wily photographer Keith Jennings (Thewlis)—who’s been covering Thorne’s career in England—up to and including the nanny’s death and the priest’s stalking.

Jennings sheds some light on the events occurring around the Thorns by showing Robert many of his photographs. Like the one with a weird, shadowed-line going around the dead nanny’s neck; or the one where a nasty shadow-line intersects Father Brennan in all of the photos. Jennings himself is involved because of one photograph of himself revealing a shadow line on his neck...

More research (by the resilient Jennings) uncovers many clues that all point back to Damien. It also turns out that Father Brennan was at the Rome hospital the night of Damien’s birth.

Back at the estate, Katherine—who has become depressed and estranged from her son--does some chores; unbeknownst to her, Mrs. Baylock (who is really Satanic nun Baalock) goads her master to cause great harm to his foster mother. Katherine ends up in the hospital with broken bones and a concussion.

Robert visits her, only to have to leave with Jennings to Rome for some answers. The hospital Damien was born in had burned down after his birth. One of the survivors was Father Spiletto, who lives (though barely) in a monastery north of Rome. Turns out he’s a disciple of Satan also, by the way.

He sends them to a desolate and ancient cemetery where Damien’s real mother is buried. The two men find the tomb, but discover the carcass of a jackal and a baby’s skeleton (with it’s head crushed in). Robert and Jennings discover the truth, but nearly die in the process when they are attacked by a pack of rabid rottweilers.

Back in England, Katherine’s not doing to well either as she is murdered by cheery Mrs. Baylock in her own hospital bed. After learning of his wife’s demise, Robert decides to murder the boy. From Italy, the men travel to Israel, where they meet an old professor, Bugenhagen—whom was referred by Father Brennan.

It is this loony scientist who knows how to destroy the Devils’ child—involving several nasty daggers. On the way out, Robert has a change of heart about killing Damien—but changes his tune again when he witnesses Jennings’s freak beheading.

Back home, he discovers for himself that Damien really is the Anti-Christ—after finding the 666 birthmark in his scalp—just like Bugenhagen said. Grabbing the screaming child and the daggers, Robert heads for the nearest Church, but not before running over a rabid Mrs. Baylock, who’s just trying to protect her master.

Before he can kill the child in the church, Robert is gunned down by London’s Finest. At the funeral, Damien holds our President’s hand while he turns his head and smiles right at us…

THE CRITIQUE

The new OMEN is part of the recent cycle of film remakes that differs from most of the others by 2 factors: a decent budget ($60 million) and the retaining of the original’s R-rating. Other than that, there really is no point in remaking a brilliant classic.

As good a cast as this one is, Liev Schreiber is no Gregory Peck. The younger thespian is a good actor--but lacks the former’s gravitas. Julia Stiles is also a fine actress--but she is way too young to pull off the goods...and she lacks the late Lee Remick’s upper-class nonchalance in her interpretation of Katherine Thorn.

Better in the casting department are David Thewlis, portraying the doomed Jennings--the role inhabited in the original by wonderful English actor David Warner. Heck, Thewlis always reminded me of a younger Warner anyway.

Also good here is other English actor Peter Postethwaite, although I gotta tell you--the original Brennan, late great Irish actor Patrick Troughton makes for a much creepier cleric...and if you don’t believe me, watch the original and tell me if that pallid skin, sharp blue eyes and vault of arching, thick eyebrows doesn’t creep YOU out. Wonderful actor, though.

Oh yes, gotta mention Mia Farrow as the evil Mrs. Baylock. She was well-cast in the role--which is kind of a role-reversal of her Rosemary Woodhouse character in the classic horror film Rosemary’s Baby (1968)--which I believe was an inspiration for the original Omen (1976) in the first place.

The one iffy-casting choice I have is that of Damien himself.

Young New York actor Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick is a fine-looking lad who could succeed Cameron Bright (that young, bright-blue eyed kid who has appeared in movies like X-Men: The Last Stand/Ultraviolet/Birth) as the go-to creepy kid in Hollywood. However, I found young Seamus to be creepy right off the bat; too bad, because I like the original’s Damien (Harvey Stephens--who has a cameo in this one as a reporter)--a cherubic, precocious little demonic tyke.

Okay, okay, okay: it’s totally obvious that I like the original better!

Behind the scenes, things improve in my humble opinion (and if you didn’t give a rat’s patootie about my opinion you wouldn’t be here, right?). Kudos are in order for:

Director John Moore (2004’s Flight Of The Phoenix/Behind Enemy Lines) does a fine job of helming here. At least the dude knows where to put the camera, right? Solid job that could’ve been better with different leads.

Another kudo should also go to the velvety & textured cinematography by up-and-comer Jonathan Sela. But why this film was shot in boring, flat 1.85 aspect ratio instead of glorious 2.35 scope is a mystery to me. Maybe the budget went to feeding all of the rottweilers in the picture. Who knows?

Aside from the scenario, another holdover from the original is screenwriter David Seltzer--who returns for this one with a few updated world catastrophes and... not much more. Oh well, at least the original script still rocks!

Scream 1-3 Composer Marco Beltrami reworks the late, great Jerry Goldsmith’s Oscar©-winning score to decent effect while other tech credits (editing, production design, soundtrack, etc.) are solid as well.

By the way: Prague stands in for most of the locations (guess they spent most of the budget on dog food.)

THE BOTTOM LINE

The real question here is: will this new OMEN scare today’s audiences who are weaned on the horrors of the 6 ‘o clock news? Doubtful. Today’s audiences are much more sophisticated than those of 30 years ago.

The original worked so well because it was subtle. The heightening terror ratcheted itself throughout the picture without even letting the audience realize what was happening until it was too late. Here we get terror, kicked up to 11--if I may pun a great line from This Is Spinal Tap (1984).

Don’t get me wrong: there are some stylish, visual flourishes in this one; but nothing beats Remick’s character falling through the air (twice!) in the original. All in all, a decent time-filler. But pop in the original; that’s what I told the kids in the theater next to me.

“Yup,” I told the wide-eyed lads, “the original was better. After all, the Devil is in the details...”

CAST: Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Mia Farrow, David Thewlis, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Pete Postlethwaite, Giovanni Lombardo Radice & Michael Gambon

CREDITS: Director: John Moore; Producers: Glenn Williamson & John Moore; Screenwriter: David Seltzer; Director of Photography: Jonathan Sela; Production Designer: Patrick Lumb; Editor: Dan Zimmerman; Costume Designer: George L. Little; Music: Marco Beltrami

AC/AL/V 2006 110m ENGLISH