The Omen

Starring: Mia Farrow, Julia Stiles, Liev Screiber
Directed by John Moore
Rating:**

The only interesting twist in John Moore’s remake of the 1976 horror flick is that it casts Mia Farrow, the Rosemary of Roman Polanski’s much more evolved and scary cult classic Rosemary’s Baby, in the role of Mrs Baylock, the kooky and demonic nanny of the devil-child, Damian. The irony of the casting apart, Farrow’s is the only performance, in fact, the only thing to take back home.

Moore sticks diligently to the original. Of course, there’s an attempt to give a contemporary spin to the setting by referring to catastrophes like 9/11 and the tsunami as manifestations of the Antichrist. Beyond this, Moore refuses to display any bone of originality. Robert and Kathy Thorn loose their new-born and unknowingly adopt Damian, the son of Satan and a jackal. Damian is the harbinger of evil in the world, he is the Antichrist and the only way out is for Robert to kill him. Largely, the film is about a series of accidents by which each of the characters that dare to challenge Damian is killed. Moore shocks you in exactly the same way as the original, why, he even retains the (in)famous beheading scene. The only difference here is that it’s not the sheet of glass that does the needful. There are the other familiar eerie scenes: the suicide of the young nurse, the deadly hounds, Damian’s frenzy on being taken to a church, the panic-stricken animals in the zoo that Damian goes visiting, the impalement of the priest and, of course, the killing of Kathy herself. So, have we told you all? Well, we have. 

The most tingling aspect about The Omen films is that they show the possibility of evil residing in innocence. The fright stems from seeing the diabolical in a child. However, it’s the kid that lets this film down. His scowl and general bad behaviour is more irritating than eerie. You feel like giving him a tight slap than hiding from him in fear. 

The film doesn’t leave you with bad dreams. It just makes you wonder: what’s the point watching this remake when dvds of the original are at hand? Worldwide, the film has only meant a good marketing gimmick. It was released at 6.06 pm on 06.06.06 (666 being the sign of the devil). 

High Fives

Bollywood

1. Fanaa
2. The Da Vinci Code (dubbed)
3. 36 China Town
4. Tom, Dick and Harry
5. Gangster

Hollywood

1. The Break-Up
2. X-Men: The Last Stand
3. Over the Hedge
4. The Da Vinci Code
5. Mission Impossible III

Western Classical

1. No Boundaries
2. The Flying Dutchman
3. Chopin: Nocturnes
4. Sentimiento Latino
5. Golijov: Ainadamar: Fountain

Courtesy: Film Information