Religious conspiracy films are all the rage this week. Hot on the heels of The Da Vinci Code comes a remake of the iconic 1976 horror movie, The Omen. (Released on the 6/6/06 no less...) Back in the day, next to William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973) and Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968), The Omen was one of the "devil movies" that scared 70s audiences silly.
Directed by a pre-Lethal Weapon Richard Donner, this story of "the Anti-Christ on Earth" originally starred Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as parents who must fight the evil threat of their 666-branded son Damien, who is prophesised by the Catholic Church as the "son of the Devil". (NZ actor Sam Neill went on to star as the all grown up Damien in the 1981 sequel The Omen III: The Final Conflict).
The original screenwriter David Seltzer is again on board, sticking very faithfully to the original story and characters., with the occasional attempt at updating it for a new Omen-free generation.
He is aided and abetted by Irish director John Moore (Flight Of The Phoenix) and stars Liev Schrieber (The Manchurian Candidate) and Julia Stiles (The Bourne Supremacy).
And so the story goes: the Catholic Church has been alerted to a series of world events foretelling the arrival of the "Anti-Christ" as outlined in the Bible's Book Of Revelations. There is war in the Middle East, the devastating tsunami of 2005, attacks on the World Trade Centre towers, and an errant comet in the skies.
At the same time diplomat couple Robert and Katherine Thorn - Schrieber and Stiles - are about to have their first baby in a Rome hospital.
When their son is stillborn a shadowy monk convinces Robert to switch him for a living baby orphan, keeping this secret from his wife. Fast-forward five years to London where Robert is now a high-ranking ambassador and Katherine a mother living in fear of her evil-eyed boy, Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick).
Warned by a zealous priest that Damien is in fact the "devil incarnate", Robert is forced to face the terrifying truth and a battle that could affect the future of humankind...
This remake includes a heavyweight supporting cast, including UK actors David Thewlis playing photographer Keith Jennings, a very hammy Michael Gambon as another crazed priest and Pete Postlethwaite as the tormented Father Brennan.
And behold! The mother of Rosemary's Baby also appears, Mia Farrow, playing Damien's evil protector nanny, Mrs Baylock.
With a cast like this - and its nods to the original - you might think you'd be in for a treat' Not so unfortunately.
The original Omen was a heavy emotional ride, a serious look at family dynamics, mental illness, and it was a tangibly haunting horror movie.
This remake however is lightweight and laughable despite some disturbing scenes towards the end. It suffers from being style over substance, really a missed opportunity that, had Seltzer used the script to explore contemporary faith and family life (instead of simply rehashing his old screenplay), might have made it an interesting take on faith and religious fervour. (Stigmata from 1999 is one such modern devil/religious film).
A shame he didn't have a red hot go... If the only scary thing about the new son of Satan is his menacing squint, I say stick with the original. The Devil may care but I didn't much...
