Review – The Omen (2006)

Here we have yet another movie that didn’t really need to be remade, particularly not like this. Aside from a couple of dream-sequence spots, the scares in this one are no more sophisticated than they were in the original. The casting is odd at best. Mia Farrow’s supporting-role return to devil child cinema was entertaining, but the main characters simply fell short. I wasn’t expecting anyone as good as Gregory Peck, but if Liev Schrieber continues the trend from this production and The Manchurian Candidate he’s going to develop a reputation as the cardboard cut-out god of crappy remakes. In Julia Stiles’ defense, I’m not sure if she was actually wrong for the role of Damien’s mom or if I’ve just got her cemented in my head as the kid from 10 Things I Hate About You and can’t get past that picture of her. I also felt profoundly let down by the soundtrack. The music in the original was ground-breaking stuff, making the fake Gregorian chant into a horror movie cliché. Rather than develop on that, the score here is at best unmemorable. Overall this is a grey little disappointment of a movie. Mildly amusing