Thirty
years later, the makers of “The Omen” barely have. They’re
exceedingly faithful to the original–too much so, actually–including
the return of “Omen” screenwriter David Seltzer to tweak
his own script.
It’s
not a shot‑for‑shot remake like Gus Van Sant’s
pointless “Psycho” from 1998, but it’s close. The structure,
characters, setting, events, along with giant chunks of
dialogue, are all the same. One can only assume the intention
was to appease the purists, but in doing so, director
John Moore (“Behind Enemy Lines”) has breathed no new
life into the material.
Tiny
changes here and there inevitably contemporize the film.
It takes place in the modern day, so the characters have
cell phones.
When
Julia Stiles–filling in for Lee Remick as Damien’s unsuspecting
mother–begins to think there’s something wrong with her
child, she immediately goes into therapy.
And
Liev Schreiber–standing in for Gregory Peck as the father
who surreptitiously brings the demon spawn into their
lives–cries way more than Peck ever would have dreamed.
Peck’s Robert Thorn choked up a little when he learned
his wife had died, but mostly he held it together; here,
as troubles mount, Schreiber is wiping away tears half
the time. It’s the sensitive‑man remake of “The
Omen.”
But
in the most feeble effort at modernizing the material,
this “Omen” vaguely attempts to be politically relevant.
A montage of photographs at the start suggests that the
devil is everywhere, all the time–on Sept. 11, at Abu
Ghraib, et cetera–and we just don’t know it. The visit
to an ancient biblical city toward the end of the film
features flashes of flags, both Israeli and Palestinian.
Such references seem tossed in.
More
importantly, though, it isn’t even scary. It’s so similar
to the original that we already know what’s coming. And
because it adheres so closely, it only serves as a reminder
of the superiority of Richard Donner’s original.
Robert,
an ambassador in Rome, agrees to take a newborn whose
mother has died during childbirth because his own newborn
is dead, unbeknownst to wife Kate. The ends justify the
means, he tells himself, and besides, Kate has taken to
the boy instantly.
Flash
forward five years as Robert moves his family to London.
Soon, the nanny hangs herself in front of dozens of shocked
guests at Damien’s birthday party (and even says the same
thing beforehand as the nanny in the original). A creepy
priest (Pete Postlethwaite) stalks Robert with warnings
that the boy is the devil’s son and talk of Armageddon.
A photographer (David Thewlis) notices eerie shadows in
a series of pictures that end up being prescient.
From
there you know the rest of the story: death, destruction,
mayhem, all of which Damien delivers with a gleam in his
eye and a smile on his face. (No offense to young Seamus
Davey‑Fitzpatrick in his first film role, but the
original Damien, Harvey Stephens, accomplished more with
less to say.)
Having
said all that, there are some solid performances here.
Schreiber is as versatile and esteemed an actor as you
could wish for, and he certainly carries himself with
enough gravitas for the role. Stiles, meanwhile, always
exudes a maturity beyond her years but looks too young
here; the 13‑year age difference between Schreiber
and her feels more like a chasm.
Thank
heaven for Mia Farrow–the “Rosemary’s Baby” star returning
to supernatural territory–as the satanic disciple sent
to protect Damien by posing as a replacement nanny. This
is a rare instance of the new “Omen” improving on the
old one. Instead of oozing menace and doom from the second
she appears on screen, as her predecessor did, Farrow
is all fair‑haired sweetness and light, with that
girlish voice and angelic presence.
It’s
the scariest part of the whole movie.
“The
Omen,” a 20th Century Fox release, is rated R for disturbing
violent content, graphic images and some language. Running
time: 110 minutes. Two stars out of four.
