The Omen 666

[MacGuffin]

Trailer here.

Release Date: June 6th, 2006 (wide)

Cast: Julia Stiles (Katherine Thorn), Liev Schreiber (Robert Thorn), Mia Farrow (Mrs. Baylock), David Thewlis (Jennings), Pete Postlethwaite (Father Brennan), Michael Gambon, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick (Damien)

Director: John Moore (Flight of the Phoenix, Behind Enemy Lines)

Screenwriter: Daniel McDermott (feature debut)

Premise: An American diplomat and his wife adopt a child, but then they begin to suspect little Damien is the Antichrist.

Based Upon: A remake of 1976's The Omen, directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer.

[polkablues]

Wow, they made 665 Omen movies?  I only saw, like, three of 'em.

[72teeth]

and look at the release date oooOOOooo

[Kal]

Yeah good date maybe for the movie... but they are literally going to hell with that movie release on a Tuesday after X3, Da Vinci Code, and same week as Cars... good luck to them!

[Sal]

Totally opposite crowd though mate.  They'll be fine.

[squints]

so did anyone see this?

probably not

[ThurstonPowell]

I unfortunately saw it last night, though fortunately saw it for free.

Say what you will about remakes in general, but Omen Babies (my preferred non-title) is about the most inessential remake I've ever seen.  It's virtually the same structurally as the Donner version, with none of Donner's panache.  The only differences are some exposition about Damien's birth being the latest in a series of catastrophes predicted by the Catholic church - catastrophes including 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina (too ridiculuous to be offensive IMO), some different set-up for the death scenes (the best is a new beheading for the photographer), and Mia Farrow's girlish, funny performance as Miss Baylock (she has the best line in the movie; its her best work in years).

Watching Omen Babies, the faults of Omen, Sr. are all the more apparent.  For example, Damien is hardly a character; he's more of an object that the other characters react against.  Sure, he's 5, but there are ways for him to participate more in the story, to be aware and even confused or conflicted about who he is.  And the movie's whole 2nd act takes place away from Damien, as the Schrieber/Peck character goes on a quest, accompanied by someone the audience doesn't give a shit about, for proof of Damien's demonic lineage - when he should be home, doing something about his satanic kid.  Those would be easy fixes for a dedicated creative team, or ever just a studio who wants a hit horror movie.  If Dawn of the Dead, which has many more passionate fans than The Omen, can be signifigantly re-thought and strike a genuine cord with audiences, there's no excuse for such an average new Omen.  Omen Babies, you're a missed opportunity.

I blame John Moore.  He had the support of a huge studio and a great cast (who don't all fare as well as Farrow; due respect to Julia Styles, but she doesn't convince as anyone's mom, let alone a pampered, rich, stay-at-home mom) and he couldn't deliver.  Brett Ratner and Michael Bay get all the 'shitty director' press- but with Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix, and now The Omen, it's John Moore who truly deserves the bad name. 

[Myxo]

This movie is horrible? NO!? You're kiddin me..



I thought this line from a review I read was appropriate: "It's a terrible sign for a movie when the sole reason for its existence is a satanic opening date."

[sheshothim]

Hahaha....Omen Babies......I just want everyone to know I cried a little inside when I went to the local theater to see The Break Up tonight and saw it packed with people eager to see The Omen. God damn advertising genuises.

[MacGuffin]

How to Remake a Movie
"The Omen's" director reveals the secrets.

"Hollywood has been criticized for its practice of harvesting old movies for remakes, but if the story is so darn good and has a relevancy, I kind of think why not," says director John Moore, 36, who has directed two remakes over the course of his career ("The Omen" and "Flight of the Phoenix"). "They are still running Shakespeare in the park."

1. Start with good genes. "I think the first thing you have to do is find a great story. There is a Catch-22 there and it is the reason I've come in for criticism. If it is a good story it was probably a great movie and then people want to know why you are remaking a classic."

2. Make it fresh. "Secondly, have an angle on how to recast the movie so it is not merely an echo of the original. In the original 'Omen' for example they cast Gregory Peck. He was a huge movie star, albeit fading, but he had a massive bank of goodwill built in. I don't think anyone exists like him anymore. I wanted to cast younger to make it a little more identifiable. I hope that is how I turned the casting upside down a little bit."

3. Remember film class 101. "I think this may sound trite, but you need a point of view. When we approached 'The Omen,' I thought you have to have a reason to remake this film. It's not just an obvious commercial exercise. It has a modern caustic view of the world. We are shown how bad things have gotten with 9/11 and the Vatican, setting the stage for the antichrist. You have the ability to re-contextualize the film so it is not just, 'Why did they bother?'"

4. Don't feel compelled to reinvent the wheel. "In the case of 'The Omen' we based our remake on the 1975 script. I thought it was so good I didn't want to go tearing things apart for the sake of it. In the case of 'The Flight of the Phoenix' we did a page-one rewrite, but that was a simpler text. 'The Omen' is a very complex detective story. You can't go throwing things out willy-nilly. The film needs these key 20 or 30 beats or the house of cards will come down."

5. Expect to be compared to the original. "It is inevitable so you take it on the chin. But you better have noticeable differences or you will get the beating you deserve. You want to be faithful to the original text, but the more emboldened you are with the differences you made, the better chance you have to make the comparison favorable."

6. Be respectful. "I think finally, if you are going to do a remake, be respectful and be aware of the love that a lot of the people have for the original movie. It's like if you do a cover version of a song, most times people will groove on it if it is respectful and not cynical. Respect for your audience is something that you have to have."

[ᾦɐļᵲʊʂ]

The terrible acting was a bit distracting, Julia Stiles will ruin anything.  All of the scares were cheap one shots, no real terror sustained in the movie. 

Also, was it me, or did Liev Schreiber look like he'd play an awesome Bruce Wayne?