Shortly after his wife Katherine loses their own child, Robert is coerced by a priest into switching the deceased child with one whose own mother died at nearly the exact same moment, without telling his wife of the change that has transpired. The boy is named Damien, and for several years, he grows up rather normally, until one day at his fifth birthday party, Damien's nanny commits suicide in his name. Things begin to unravel about the origin of Robert and Katherine's "son," and there exists a strong possibility that the young lad is more "devilish" than his parents thought.
Before you say it, yes, prior to today, I had never seen the original 1976 The Omen. I'm uncertain as to why it took so long, given that it's had a profound impact on the genre, and historians remember it as a great film, regardless of classifications. Hell, Iced Earth even wrote a song about it.
This was one of the last notable and big roles Gregory Peck had in a motion picture, but I thought his sort of "old style" acting wasn't the best fit for this character. It's that super stern style of acting which, while I admire, is something that can only be seen in the past. The character of Robert felt more like Kathy's father rather than her husband (this isn't necessarily a knock on Peck's age either). Lee Remick is pretty good, and it's quite interesting to see her character breaking down with the more that keeps happening. Billy Whitelaw however, is delightfully devilish as Damien's new nanny following his previous caretaker's suicide, like Mary Poppins if she was the devil's right hand (wo)man. Speaking of Damien, the choice to mostly keep him silent was smart, and I'm surprised nobody bothered to cast the kid playing him in anything else. Perhaps casting directors were too frightened to do so.
David Warner has a pretty interesting performance as a photographer who begins to examine and connect all of the accidents following (and including) the nanny's suicide, but he's pretty much just playing David Warner. There are some good suspenseful moments too, like a scene at the zoo involving the local animals' reaction to the "Unholy One"'s presence. Some moments do tend to drag on for a bit, such as Peck and Warner's trip to Rome. That particular segment, while important, lacked a tremendous amount of light in certain scenes, making it a tad bit difficult to tell what exactly what was going on.
Despite a few moments that don't age well, I still like The Omen and can recognize its importance. I'm not sure what the 2006 remake offered audiences (other than an admittedly amusing release date of 06/06/06), but I can almost be certain that it lacked the memorable score (kudos to Jerry Goldsmith) and the standout performances involved with Richard Donner's original movie.
Maybe I'll save that for next year. That and the three sequels that followed.
Tomorrow, we review...nothing! We've reached the inevitable conclusion of this year's blog, and I can safely say that like last year, I've had a hell of a fun time doing this. There were some bumps along the way, and I personally would've liked to have reviewed even more, but we're entering holiday hours at my store, so time is valuable.
As with last year's iteration, there were quite a few films that didn't make the list for various reasons. Blood and Donuts, Sometimes They Come Back, and The Langoliers were all possible entries, but were mostly "alternate" titles in case something was hard to obtain or removed from Netflix's Instant Streaming. There was actually quite a mixup with the video service "Crackle" as well, as [REC] 2, Idle Hands, and Bats were all originally scheduled for viewings, but were taken off without warning (though two of the three have since been put back up. Figures). I was even considering breaking from home video and checking out Sinister, but I don't wish to spend $10 to watch a horror film in a theater. If I haven't voiced my frustrations with horror audiences before, perhaps I'll save it for a later date. I was considering making a Top and Bottom 5 for this year's list, but felt it would be too frustrating to choose just 5 for each category. So you'll just have to read my thoughts (like originally intended).
Until then, enjoy your Halloween folks. Eat plenty of candy, drink plenty of drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic alike), and enjoy the company of others.
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