I am not entirely convinced that The Omen (1976) needed to be remade, but having seen director John Moore's take on the anti-Christ infancy, I am glad that it was.
The Omen (2006)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:158
Fresh:41
Rotten:117
Average Rating:4.6/10
Consensus: Even with the force of a "classic" behind it, remake fever can't hold up the hollowness of this style-drenched Omen.
Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
US Box Office: $54,484,565
Synopsis: Many believe the prophecy from the Book of Revelation provides a map to a terrifying future…or it presents fragments of history that have come to life in our time. The signs, they claim, are all... Many believe the prophecy from the Book of Revelation provides a map to a terrifying future…or it presents fragments of history that have come to life in our time. The signs, they claim, are all around us: terrorist attacks, extreme weather… the list goes on. The passage specifically points to the arrival of the Anti-Christ, who is branded with the numerical sequence “666”: the mark of the Beast. The Anti-Christ will receive his power directly from Satan to establish a counterfeit kingdom on earth, signaling the beginning of Armageddon… Robert Thorn is unaware of such dark prophecies. Thorn, a senior American diplomat, has other things on his mind. His wife, Katherine, has endured a difficult delivery and she’s as yet unaware their newborn child has died. Devastated by the loss, Thorn’s concern turns to Katherine, who had suffered two previous miscarriages. The news will surely devastate her. The hospital priest, Father Spiletto, presents Thorn with another child born that night, whose mother died in childbirth. The priest compels Thorn to take the infant boy as his own; Katherine will never know the truth, and their son, which they name Damien, will be raised as their flesh and blood. Katherine embraces the child as her own, blossoming in motherhood; Thorn, it would seem, has made the right choice. Thorn’s career ascends – he becomes the U.S. ambassador to Great Britain – and the family settles into an estate outside London. But certain events, all seeming to revolve around the now five-year-old Damien, are deeply disturbing: Damien’s nanny hangs herself at the youngster’s birthday party; a strange priest brings dire warnings to Thorn; a children’s trip to the zoo results in a panicked frenzy; Damien becomes hysterical during a drive to church; and blurred movements in a series of photographs portend shocking deaths. The troubling incidents multiply, pointing to something wrong – terribly wrong – with Damien. Enter Mrs. Baylock, Damien’s new nanny, who seems to have a preordained devotion to the child. Then tragedy strikes closer to home. But only later does Thorn comprehend the truth: Damien is no ordinary child; he is the long-prophesized Anti-Christ. Now, Thorn must make the ultimate sacrifice to prevent the unspeakable terror that awaits the world. The prophecy is clear, the signs unmistakable: Armageddon is upon us. On 6 / 6 / 06, the omen is revealed...and our darkest fears are realized. -- © 20th Century Fox [More]
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Mia Farrow
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Mia Farrow, Josh Hutcherson, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite
Director: John Moore
Director: John Moore
Screenwriter: Dan McDermott
Composer: Marco Beltrami
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Reviews for The Omen
There is absolutely nothing new here, nothing to justify why it was made and nothing of redeeming value short of a few jump scares
While not a shot-for-shot copy of Richard Donner's far superior 1976 original "Omen," David Seltzer --the screenwriter of both films%u2014barely updates his original script for this gratuitous remake.
... it's as if someone took a corpse, embalmed it to preserve the external appearance, slapped on a layer of fresh makeup, and then stuffed it full of animatronics to make it move and speak.
If you thought Van Sant's "Psycho" reshoot was weird, check this out. It's a community theater version of that old classic "The Omen", filled with all your favorite scenes.
will no doubt divide viewers into those who agree that it is high time that the original received so slick a makeover, and those who wonder whether there is much real point to a retooling of such devilish fidelity to its source.
John Moore's The Omen is not as frightening as Richard Donner's 1976 version--Moore resorts to scare tactics rather than impending horror.
...the second half of the film, devoid of the cheap thrills and subliminal images that fill the first half, moves along smoothly...
The times may not be as apocalyptic as they once were, but this is still an Omen for the age of irony.
In his zeal to creep us out, [director] Moore forgot the subtle brilliance of Damien's portrayal in the original, which was largely as a pawn.
As is the case of any virtual carbon copy, this version isn't quite as sharp.
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