Recent Reviews for The Omen
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MCT:July 6, 2008Damien! The son of Evil itself is born and threatens to do away with the Earth. One of the scariest horror flicks of the 70s, and maybe of all time.
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MCT:June 24, 2008So much better than the new one!! this ones like in the moment!! In the new 2006 version you knew what was coming... !! 10/10!!
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MCT:June 22, 2008
"When the Jews return to Zion
And a comet rips the sky
And the Holy Roman Empire rises,
Then You and I must die.
From the eternal sea he rises,
Creating armies on either shore,
Turning man against his brother
'Til man exists no more...
Richard Donner's The Omen is a treatment of the prophecy foretold in the Book of Revelations, and has been the subject of much discussion and fascination since its initial release in the 1970s. In a sense, this is probably the most talked-about horror film in cinematic history due to its demonic themes and references to satanic legends. Previously in the film industry, films in relation to the devil have created some outstanding classic horror productions. Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby commenced Hollywood's obsession with demonic horror movies in 1968. The charm of Polanski's horror movie was that he didn't rely solely on what you see...it's what you don't see. In 1973, William Friedkin made his mark on the genre with The Exorcist. Inferior to the classic Polanski horror movie, but a terrifying atmosphere and plenty of petrifying horror scenes ensured it a position among the world's best horror movies. Richard Donner then continued the tradition with The Omen. Despite this film being inferior to its genre forerunners, Donner achieved a solid, suspenseful, supernatural mystery horror/thriller.
The Omen opens on the morning of June 6th, 1966 at 6am in the morning: Robert Thorn (Peck) is racing to the hospital in Rome to be by his wife's side after the birth of their child. Unfortunately, Robert's wife Katherine Thorn (Remick) passed out during labour and the child becomes a stillborn. Robert learns that at the same time his child was killed, a mother died during childbirth but produced a healthy baby boy. The staff at the hospital offer Robert this orphan as a substitute for him to raise as his own, with Katherine none the wiser and not being forced to suffer the anguish of losing a child. Subsequently, Robert decides that this would be the best thing to do. Soon thereafter, Robert accepts the position of ambassador to England, requiring him to move to London. All seems well and good with the child at first: young Damien (Stephens) seems to be slotting in nicely with the family until things suddenly take a turn for the ugly. A series of disturbing incidents begin unfolding: animals act peculiarly in his presence, churches cause him to freak out, and people begin suffering injury. A seemingly maddened priest named Father Brennan (Troughton) tries to warn Robert that his adopted son is the Antichrist. Robert feels compelled to uncover the mystery surrounding his son, and is forced to accept the truth he original dismissed as lunacy in order to discover more about Damien's natural parents.
All horror buffs simply owe it to themselves to watch The Omen. It's a fascinating take on the source material, executed splendidly by an able group of filmmakers. While the film has been regarded as a classic and a definitive high point in the horror genre, it's impossible to find anyone these days who can regard the film as anything but 'corny'. What was once a milestone upon initial release has now dated tremendously. Although I generally try to respect a film due to its age, it's daunting to overlook the fatal flaws and much of the filmmaking aspects that have severely dated. The visual effects that were once regarded as high class are now seen as amateurish and cheesy. Some of the cinematography will be scoffed at as well. Jerry Goldsmith's music was awarded with an Oscar. Although it sets the eerie atmosphere and terrifying mood, this is the calibre we expect to find in modern B-movies. I also think that the film had the potential to be something a lot more interesting and elaborate. Instead, they opt for something simpler. Evidently, all the rants about this film made my anticipations probably implausibly and unreasonably high. Despite these flaws, the film is still solid and flaunts a number of aspects that the contemporary horror genre severely lacks: character development, and some intense terror that doesn't rely solely on the showcase of gore.
Gregory Peck is an Oscar-winning performer who seems marginally out of place. Clearly, he was chosen due to his veteran acting skills. At times the actor seems disjointed and wooden. At other times, convincing and real. It's disappointing that Peck couldn't deliver yet another Oscar-worthy performance. Lee Remick is a decent addition to the cast, although some of her acting moments now seem like pure cheese. David Warner steals the show: he plays his role sincerely and straight. He is one of the film's redeeming features. Harvey Stephens seemingly left the industry after this movie (he starred briefly in the 2006 remake, though). He is wholly credible as the Antichrist.
Overall, The Omen has dated rigorously since its initial release. It's still a solid horror outing, but perhaps not as definitive as the hype suggested. To be brutally honest, this could have benefitted if supplied with a tighter script and some better talent in the cast. The film flaunts a pretty sadistic, realistic decapitation scene that is probably one of the only moments that still stands unyielding. The film is silly and sometimes pretentious, but The Omen is essential for fans of the horror genre. -
MCT:June 11, 2008one of my childhood favorites! about the anti-christ as a child. very disturbing. highly recommended to any horror fan!
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MCT:June 11, 2008
A really decent thriller. The acting was great and the action equally so (especially for a film that's over 30 years old!) Maybe a bit cliche at times but I don't often enjoy horror films so this film definitely something special.
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MCT:June 4, 2008
this movie was scary when i was a chld, still now everytime that i see it i feel goosebumps! that ending music......!
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MCT:May 23, 2008
The anti-Christ character is one of my favorite ones from the New Testament; the Book of Revelation is also my second favorite book from the Bible. So, yeah, I loved every part of this - especially the ending.
"Let him who hath understanding reckon the Number of the Beast, for it is a human number. Its number is six-hundred and sixty-six...
I left alone... my mind was blank..." -
MCT:May 18, 2008A classic of the genre, The Omen, is more focused into the plot itself rather than into gore or cheap jumps. It's an excellent movie, but when I watch a horror film I wanna be scared and this film didn't scare me at all; surely for some Demian or the female servant are scary, not for me. I should not forget to mention the excellent work done on the deaths, the hanging is awesome, the decapitation is masterful done, and the fall into the ambulance is like a real fall would look like.
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MCT:May 11, 2008
Im not the biggest fan of horror movies. Its one of those genres that I think really ran out of steam after the release of the terrifying classics that are Psycho, Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist. Since then all we've been left with are no-substance slashers and attempts by failed pop icons to reinvigorate their careers. Once and a while a film comes along that scares the #@!% out of you (The Ring, admittedly, made me afraid of the dark for days) but on the whole, there's only so much you can do with horror before all the creative juice is sapped out of it. Unfortunately true Gothic Horror has been laid to rest while its spawn, the zombie thriller, continues to stalk theaters across the country. But, that being said, I do like a good scare so I decided to give The Omen a try.
Just by reading the synopsis I realized that this film wouldent tread any new ground. The Anti-Christ/Demonic possession plot has already been laid out by the aformentioned R's Baby and The Exor. The Omen is more like the bastard child of these two greats, borrowing elements from both but never adding elements of its own. At no time during this movie was I really frightened because I knew what to expect. The one unsettling scene was when the nanny hangs herself at Damion's birthday party.
Dont get me wrong though, its a solid film with descent acting and if your a fan of horror its a must see. On the whole though its a mediocre sum of the parts of all the great classics that came before it. -
MCT:May 11, 2008
It has very creative death scenes,and is very strong in the themathic.The ending is fantastic and couldn't have been done better.
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MCT:May 10, 2008
Such an interesting idea that could have been better...or maybe it's just dated, I don't know. There are several haunting moments, like the graveyard reveal, the reverend frightened of an eternity in hell, the devilish nanny and the excellent score by Jerry Goldsmith; none the less I still think that Gregory Peck (excellent actor) was miscast and the pacing of the movie is atrocious. This is a pretty high score for a movie that I don't really care for.
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MCT:May 5, 2008this being the original, is better, but its very easy to not fully get into it. peck is pretty cool tho. no denying that.
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MCT:April 26, 2008Not really a fan of the demonic, evil-child, end-of-the-world as we know it movies, but it is a little creepy when you compare it political figures you know.
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MCT:April 23, 2008
M'è piaciuto si, inquietante e tutto il resto. Apprezzo certamente certi film "datati" piuttosto che certe cavolate
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MCT:April 21, 2008
Comparatively much better than The Exorcist!!! The music score and the foreshadowing are really gruesome.
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MCT:April 19, 200818/04/2008 - decisamente troppo lungo e in alcuni punti anche abbastanza lento. Peccato, perchè l'idea era davvero bella.
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MCT:April 16, 2008
A decent horror movie with some memorable creepy parts. Gregory Pack is the main character which is awesome, but the ending is annoying and once again cliche.
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MCT:April 8, 2008
Great movie one of the more classic horror movies out there which gave us some of the best death scenes ever that still hold up today even after all the progress that has been made with special effects and what people will wince at.
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MCT:April 8, 2008
The original, if I was cruel to compare it to the 2006 version, i'd say it lacked the "sharpness". However, this was a 76 movie so I suppose that couldn't be helped. You couldn't beat the original Damien thorne. For it's time it was very er, scary?
For the book, it's another must see; because it's THE ORIGINAL OMEN. -
MCT:March 19, 2008
This film is so convincingly real its not even horror, there is a near complete lack of blood, (except for Gregory Peck being attacked by dogs and things like that)
and its really psychological.
Lee Remick plays the mother and wife so well, she really is able to capture such emotion just in her facial expressions alone.
One thing I noticed about this film though that has never been addressed (as far as I know) that in the scene where the dogs are attacking the photographer when he is trying to climb the fence you can see in the right hand corner... people in the bushes, I dunno what they're doing there but they're there. and I don't know what for?
Besides that the film is amazing, the music is wonderfully scary and the acting is top notch.
beautiful cinematography and I love the scene where Lee Remick falls from the balcony, I love how they did that.
Spine Tingling and amazingly well put together. -
MCT:March 16, 2008
very suspensfull,and genuinly frightening. this was probably one of the first horror films i ever watched,mainly thanks to an actor of such high calibre as gregory peck being involved.
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MCT:March 9, 2008
Though not as scary as The Exorcist (but what is) The Omen is still one of those unique movies able to deal with a contrevorsial subject making the viewer uncomfortable, while at the same time providing a great viewing experience.
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MCT:March 6, 2008
Was surprised how creepy this was. I'm only starting to watch the horror movies from this time period so I have a long way to go. Not a disappointment.
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MCT:March 3, 2008
The first hour or so is almost perfect, but I think the last 30 minutes got very long, except the very end. There are so many creepy, eerie, and disturbing moments in this movie that there's no way you can't get scared. Highly recommended.
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MCT:February 26, 2008I hope this movie was scary for the ppl watchin it at the time it came out. But for me, I just couldn't stop laughin at how bad it all was.
Probably just for hardcore fans...
