“The Omen” (20th Century Fox)
As Good As the Original
In 1976 Gregory Peck and Lee Remick starred in a super scary film titled “The Omen.” It became a horror classic and spawned two sequels. Now it has been remade and stars Liv Schreiber and Julia Stiles. This is a remake that is comparable to the original and that is saying something. Plus this movie has something the original didn’t have and that is Mia Farrow, who played the son of Satan’s mother in “Rosemary’s Baby,” and in this film plays the son of Satan’s nanny.
The film starts out with Robert Thorn (Schreiber) and his wife Kate (Stiles) living in Rome. He is an assistant to the US Ambassador to that country. While they are there Kate goes into labor and is taken to the local hospital. Robert receives the news from the local priest that his son has died at birth and that Kate has not yet been told. He is offered another baby boy who has been born that same night and whose mother has died. The priest says there are no relatives to claim the child.
Robert takes the child and doesn’t tell Kate it is not their natural son. They name him Damien and raise him as their own. Soon after his birth Robert is named Ambassador to England and the entire family moves to an estate outside London. There they settle into a normal family routine, but as Damien grows up Kate decides he isn’t completely normal.
On Damien’s fifth birthday his nanny commits suicide. This means a new person must be hired, and the best candidate is Mrs. Baylock (Farrow). She moves in and she and Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) instantly bond. He becomes closer to her than to his own mother, who by now is convinced there is something definitely wrong with Damien. And boy is she right!
Schreiber is excellent in the Peck role. He gives it a seriousness and solemnity the part requires. I didn’t care for him in “The Manchurian Candidate” remake but he is very good in this one. Julia Stiles is also good but she doesn’t make you forget Lee Remick who gave the role both a kindness, classiness and vulnerability. Stiles is almost on her level but not quite.
Farrow almost steals the show as the nanny from hell. She looks great and is sweetly sinister. This was the casting coup of the year. Pete Postlethwaite is solid as a desperate priest, and David Thewlis is an asset as a possibly doomed reporter.
The film is rated R for profanity and violence.
“The Omen” is one of those movies that looks like all the budget shows up on the screen. It has lush costumes and scenery, an impacting soundtrack, exotic locales, and beautiful photography. In short it is a well made movie from top to bottom, beginning to end.
It is also a very scary one and that makes it a perfect remake. They kept all the original thrills and added in a few new ones – especially Mia Farrow.
I scored “The Omen” a devilish 7 out of 10.
