The Omen (2006): A Review

The Omen, or at least this version, was written by David Seltzer and directed by John Moore. The film, as I alluded to above, is indeed a remake and, according to public reception, is a pale shadow of the original. Although I have not seen the 1976 version, after viewing the 2006 edition, I would certainly be inclined to agree. This film, unfortunately, just completely misses the mark.
After a brief introduction to the prophecy regarding the omen, the movie then moves on to an Italian hospital, where the main character, Robert Thorn, is anxiously awaiting the birth of his son. The birth, however, does not go as planned and his wife, Katherine, not only loses the child, but also is damaged in away that may very well prevent future pregnancies. Robert, traumatized by this fact, agrees to adopt another infant recently orphaned in the hospital. We are then introduced to Damien, who is, unbeknownst to his parents, the spawn of Satan. Thus the plot is set, and the story begins.
As the film moves on, we are given the background information on our two mains. Robert works for a United States ambassador stationed in Italy, while Katherine is a at home mom trying her best to adapt to her surroundings. Soon after, the family moves to London, where Robert will perform as the ambassador to England, following the death of his boss. Once in England the drama is turned up a notch as we see Damien’s mother slowly beginning to suspect that her son is far from normal. We are then subsequently introduced to two new characters, one a worried priest, the other a curious reporter. The priest, present at the birth of Damien, tries to convince Robert of the danger he faces, and subsequently moves the plot forward. The reporter, while nothing special in himself, takes on the position of pushing the story forward, after the priest is removed. Finally, our last supporting character is introduced. After Damien’s last nanny’s tragic death, a new one is found, while seemingly perfect to Robert, she actually becomes Damien’s protector in the days ahead. As the movie nears its half way point, the story continues to take a dark twist as Katherine, after a series of strange events, truly begins to believe there is something wrong with her son. Robert’s own plot line also becomes slightly more insidious, as he receives another dire warning from our priest and our reporter makes a startling discovery.
Robert’s troubles increase after a dramatic meeting with the priest, as his wife slowly falls to madness, frightened to death by their own son. This is brought to a terrific climax, as Katherine’s worst fears are realized. We next see her in a hospital, near death, after an accident brought about by Damien and his nanny protectorate. Robert is at a loss, his wife in the hospital and his mind still reeling from his meeting with the priest. After the priest meets his end, his place is taken by the reporter, Keith Jennings, who calls Robert with a most troubling discovery. After Keith convinces him that something must be done, Robert follows the urging of our late priest and travels to Rome, in hope of finding the one man that might be able to help them. After several scenes of startling revelations and small spots of action, Keith and Robert discover the location of their mysterious helper, marred only by the news of Katherine’s death. Upon meeting their mysterious benefactor, however, the drama heightens as Robert finds out what he must do to save the world. He must kill his only son. Robert tries to run from this horrid fact, but is stopped short upon the Keith’s untimely death.
Spurned by the Keith’s death, Robert returns to London, where he must do the unthinkable, kill his son. Hope drives him, for he clings to the fact that if his son does not have the cursed mark of Satan, he will not have to go through with the task set before him. His hope, however, is short lived and upon the realization that his son is, in fact, the spawn of the devil, the final drama comes to climax. Robert begins his hurried race to the church, fighting possessed nannies and well intentioned police along the way to the final battle between father and son. Reaching the church just in time, he hurls Damien onto the altar, intent on destroying the evil he has raised. But, in the end, love overcomes Robert’s determination, and Damien, his last trick played out, wins the day. The movie then ends with Robert’s burial and one final look, at the triumphant Damien.
As I mentioned above, this film just completely misses the mark. The writing was nearly identical to the first, so the real problem was the directing. While really, the film is not horribly directed, the pantheon of small mistakes and missed opportunities come together and, in the end, ruins the film. Most horror films today are grouped into two categories, gore and suspense. This film aimed for both and as a result missed both. It simply was not scary.
The gore that the movie showed, failed to shock, because it was so easy to see coming. The director actually slowed time to show exactly what was happening to, in the end, cause the variety of freak accidents. The problem was, the viewer was not in the least surprised, because you knew exactly what to expect. Moore would have been much better off to have left the speed alone, and let the audience gasp a little bit, even if the audience was slightly confused as to what took place. After all, not knowing what is going on is scary in itself. The style of direction used would have been much better placed for one tragic scene in a different type of movie, rather than in a horror film.
The suspense was also a letdown, a large part of which is due to the soundtrack being so out of sync with what was going on. A key factor in this type of movie is to have a soundtrack that reflects what is going on in the film to heighten the fear. This movie failed rather spectacularly in this. Another few missed opportunities, were the nightmare scenes. They were too surreal; you knew she was dreaming. Part of what makes a film scary is the unknown, when you know that a given situation is not real, it takes a significant part of the scary away. When everything seems normal, and then, suddenly you know it’s not, and then just as suddenly you realize it was all a dream is scary. The calm, FEAR, then calm again, albeit a slightly raised heart beat, is what is needed in a horror film.
Unfortunately the one truly, jump out of your seat scene, is the final one. It is sad that the director finally gets his act together in the final scene. If he had only so successfully filmed the rest of the movie like he did there, I have no doubt that this would have been a truly scary movie. As Robert captures Damien to take him to the church and the subsequent scenes after, the music finally synchronizes with the rest of the film. The action is shot perfectly, keeping you right on the edge of your seat, with the demented nanny popping up to force you to jump back into them again. The acting is perfect, Damien finally seeming like the innocent child he is supposed to be, with the evil that is his true self lurking just out of sight, caught only in short glimpses. This is really the movie’s only saving grace, just barely keeping it from being a complete waste of time.
In the end, I would have to stand by my earlier statement; the movie simply is not scary. While it does have a few memorable parts, really just the last one, it just cannot compete with other films of its genre. Hopefully, this will not be the last of the Omen films though. It really is quite the idea. Maybe in the future another brave soul might try and breathe life back into the franchise, and give us something that truly makes us sleep, a little less soundly.