THE OMEN 666: What Happens When You Have a Date First...

[AndyDursin]

Honestly, Pearl Harbor better than A.I.? At least Spielberg's film, despite some flaws, had some ambition and gorgeous visuals and fine performances, while Bay's film reduced one of the most pivotal moments in 20th century American history to the level of an Archie comic book. Shameful. Mad

To me PEARL HARBOR functioned adequately as a very old-fashioned, romantic war movie -- an updating of the very same kind of studio film that would have been made decades before, with an unabashedly soap operaish plot, but enhanced by modern visuals.

I didn't find the actual attack itself comic booky -- I thought it was a dynamic set-piece on every level, fabulously directed and edited, and like most folks, worth the price of admission by itself. Nothing "shameful" to me (or most of the vets who saw it) about how that sequence functioned or related the events of the attack.

The rest of it I could take or leave (no question it had its problems), but I felt the whole movie was reminiscent of romantic, primarily unrealistic old-time war flicks, and it worked well enough for me on that level...kind of like HANOVER STREET or another film of that ilk. If you were looking for PLATOON or SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, PEARL HARBOR simply wasn't that kind of movie (and wasn't looking to be, either).

[mkaroly]

...and a movie second?

Fox's THE OMEN 666 is now in production for release on (when else?) 6/6/2006. According to USA Today, "casting is underway" and filming will begin shortly in Budapest.

Now, I'm not going into a rant about remaking a "classic." Quite honestly I've enjoyed THE OMEN all my life but I'm never going to say it's a classic film. Hell, there's even room for improvement should they decide to do a trilogy remake -- OMEN II and FINAL CONFLICT each failed to follow through on their promise. If it weren't for Goldsmith's scores, would people even be watching these films today?

We shall see...

WHY???? I think THE OMEN is one of the more disturbing horror films to come out of the 70s- the kid was creepy looking, Mrs. Blaylock was downright evil, and the visuals had that eerie 70s "feel" to them. I'll never forget how much the hanging suicide freaked me out ("It's all for you Damien!")..... sorry, but there's no way any remake could top it, so why do it?

I'm getting sick of this trend- what makes any studio think that they can make a better horror movie by remaking a "decent" horror film and updating it with current technology? Whatever- I'm very disappointed in this news.

And no one will top Goldsmith's score-

[Eric W.]

And no one will top Goldsmith's score-

Quoted for truth and the win.

[AndyDursin]

Well this one is hard to figure: apparently Liev Schrieber and Julia Stiles are playing Damien's parents.

That's right...JULIA STILES. All of 24 years of age!

The kid playing Damien is supposed to be in this ZATHURA movie (or JUMANJI IN SPACE as it appears), so we're supposed to believe Stiles has either had this kid at age 14...or if the movie "flash forwards" after Damien's birth....Stiles will be playing a role roughly 10 years older (or more) than she herself is.

Either way, that's pretty good casting there, don't you think?

This actually has become a real pet peeve of mine: the amount of actresses playing mothers of young, precocious kids -- even though, in reality, they would have had to get pregnant as teenagers (and we're talking YOUNG teens, like 13-16 years old) in order to make it happen in relation to their actual ages.

[Eric W.]

Just when I think it can't get any worse...

Are they trying to shoot this thing as a complete farce? Because that's surely what it's shaping up to be, intentional or not.

[mkaroly]

I think these filmmakers/writers/studios are pandering too much to the younger generation and trying to remake stuff that teens and young adults nowadays can find significance in...in general. Why in the world would a studio remake THE OMEN and cast young people in it if not to try and include some subtext for today's younger audiences? This remake can't possibly be as good as the original- it can't! What horror remake in the past 20 years was better than its original?

I have been very disappointed in the horror genre for quite some time. The last really good horror film I saw that actualyl made me jump and kept my attention was THE RING- outstanding film. Heck, even though I was sick of hearing about it, I thought BLAIR WITCH was refreshing. Throw in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and SE7EN in there, and what else is there?

I think if people are going to make horror films they should concentrate on ghost stories rather than remaking past triumphs. Ghost stories are just freaky (which is why I liked THE RING so much); if done right you should walk out of the theater feeling a bit uneasy.

I don't know- I'm not making a good point here. Point is that there's too much pandering to a younger crowd and the movies are just terrible. But I guess each generation needs some film genre to represent their troubles and issues: horror's doing that but poorly. And stop with the remakes already. Reading Andy's post does nothing for getting me even remotely interested in the film.

[Monterey Jack]

What horror remake in the past 20 years was better than its original?

Not quite the last 20 years for the first two, but...

-Invasion Of The Body Snatchers '78

-The Thing '82

-The Fly '86

-Dawn Of The Dead '04

Kaufman's Snatchers and Cronenberg's The Fly are better than the originals, Carpenter's The Thing is roughly as good as the first (although both films are so different it's really apples & oranges), and Zack Snyder's DOTD is just a hair less excellent than the original. Granted, the first three remakes were by excellent fimmakers with strong personal styles (DOTD may have been a happy fluke, but I'm certainly going to keep an eye of the future work of Snyder), but I'm growing rather weary of the mindless chants of "remakes suck!" Yes, the sheer volume of remakes in recent years has been wearisome, but I prefer to be open-minded. Hell, I thought that the DOTD remake had a lot to live up to, and it turned out to be one of the best studio horror pictures in years.

As for the casting of Stiles...ugh! I agree with Andy about the puzzling and rather icky recent trend of portraying mothers with actresses so young that they must have gotten pregnant in their mid-teens (see also Carla Gugino in the first Spy Kids, a then-29-year-old actress playing the mother of a 12-year-old!). Also, one of the reasons the original Omen has held up so well despite the inherent schlockiness of the premise is the gravity and old-school Hollywood charisma brought to the project by Gregory Peck. While I like Liev Schreiber (he was superb in last year's remake of The Manchurian Candidate), I can't see him commanding that same sense of tragedy that Peck brought to the role.

Mostly, though, this new Omen has to fight against 30 years worth of baggage the original film (and it's countless sequels and rip-offs) has left in it's wake. If jaded teenage audiences laughed at The Exorcist during it's 2000 theatrical reissue (yes, I witnessed this absurdity first-hand, and was appalled), what chance does a new spin on The Omen have to raise the heebie-jeebies of the original? We'll probably see a huge opening weekend followed by the customary 60% dropoff the next week.

[AndyDursin]

Mostly, though, this new Omen has to fight against 30 years worth of baggage the original film (and it's countless sequels and rip-offs) has left in it's wake.

Let's not forget one thing: THE OMEN was panned critically when it first opened. It was NEVER regarded as a classic film. Even now, IMO, it's nowhere near a classic movie. Entertaining? Certainly. Well made? Completely. But NOT a classic. It's a '70s exploitation film, completely influenced by the success of THE EXORCIST and a studio's desire to milk cash out of the blossoming genre marketplace. They hired big stars to fill out a trashy script that's pretty pedestrian in most respects -- that's just my take, but I think it's entirely style over substance.

Jerry Goldsmith's score was more than influential and is a classic in its genre, but the movie isn't. It's like good junk food, and I'm guessing that's all this movie will be too (and if it's actually good, I'll be thrilled!).

One big problem is seeing a young actress like Stiles handle the issue of Damien -- it's true, what kind of dramatic weight is that going to have? Simply casting a VETERAN actress like Lee Remick gave THE OMEN a touch of class that really overcame some of its pulpy deficiencies. And as underrated an actor as Liev Schrieber is, he's not overly sympathetic, nor will he simply deliver the kinds of INSTANT goodwill that Gregory Peck gave to the original (simply by showing up, at that!).

If I were making an OMEN trilogy remake, I'd ADD elements to the story. It's too simplistic and straightforward to work as a mere remake -- and not so much because times have changed in 30 years as Jack wrote, but because the original ISN'T ALL THAT GREAT to begin with!

For me, as much as I grew up watching the movie on video and enjoyed it, if you take a step back and rewatch the film (apart from nostalgic memories), you can see just how mediocre the movie is in many respects -- especially Seltzer's script, which is quite elementary and obvious in every regard. Donner's direction, Goldsmith, and the cast bailed that film out of the abyss.

They ought to add characters for this OMEN (like develop Damien's future entourage, as well as potential good guys who could carry the fight against the anti-Christ into possible sequels), really flesh it out to lead into other installments -- and in that respect they could EASILY top the 2nd and 3rd films in the series, which were very disappointing.

But something tells me hiring the director of BEHIND ENEMY LINES and Julia Stiles (who I don't think is a bad actress, just a miscast one here) isn't going to get the job done...and I can't wait to hear what kind of score Marco Beltrami will deliver! It's sure to sound like the kind of countless, Richard Band "hack" scores written in the wake of Goldsmith's Oscar winner.

[AndyDursin]

Kaufman's Snatchers and Cronenberg's The Fly are better than the originals, Carpenter's The Thing is roughly as good as the first (although both films are so different it's really apples & oranges), and Zack Snyder's DOTD is just a hair less excellent than the original.

And some would take issue with just a few of those comments

I do agree with you on THE THING, however...

[AndyDursin]

As for the casting of Stiles...ugh! I agree with Andy about the puzzling and rather icky recent trend of portraying mothers with actresses so young that they must have gotten pregnant in their mid-teens (see also Carla Gugino in the first Spy Kids, a then-29-year-old actress playing the mother of a 12-year-old!).

One of the most egregious examples was Disney's HAUNTED MANSION -- sure, a "who cares" movie, I know.

But I did watch it, and couldn't help but notice Marsha Thomason (who played Eddie Murphy's wife) was all of 26 when she made the film...and her kids were supposed to be pre-teens (12 in one instance, roughly 13 or 14 in the other!).

[romanD]

in the AMITYVILLE remake wasnt the wife 25, too, but had kids of the age of 14 or something?

anyway... I used to like THE OMEN, but I watched it recently again and I have to say the movie itself wouldn't be famous or popular at all if it hadnt those spectacular death scenes (the score is not an issue here). The story isn't strong, the pace tedious and if there wasn't any blood it would be pretty uninteresting. Of course it is competently made (as the quasi remake OMEN II showed), but I think that there is plenty of room of improvement over it. Hard to tell whether the shock sequence can be topped, but overall it is worth a try. Mix the storylines of all 3 movies together and then something interesting can come out of it.

Nevertheless the FINAL DESTINATION movies are more or less remakes of the basic concept, especially the upcoming part 3 as the doomed kids can see on pictures or their digicams signs of how they will die.

We'll see...

btw, the trailer for the FOG remake looks pretty good and like they have a couple of new and original ideas...

[AndyDursin]

btw, the trailer for the FOG remake looks pretty good and like they have a couple of new and original ideas...

I think it's a LOT easier to justify a remake when the original certainly could use improvement.

THE FOG is a cult movie (and I gladly have it in my collection), but it is a VERY flawed film -- remember that it had to be substantially re-shot because the first version (as Carpenter even notes in his commentary from '96) was incredibly poor.

The resulting film has some great atmosphere and a couple of effective scenes, but it's really hit-or-miss and has a pretty thin, unsatisfying plot...one that, frankly, they COULD well improve upon in a remake.

[AndyDursin]

in the AMITYVILLE remake wasnt the wife 25, too, but had kids of the age of 14 or something?

Exactly!

Melissa George was 28 when the movie was made, and the kid playing her son was 15!!

That may be the most ridiculous example of them all so far.

[mkaroly]

I forgot about THE FLY (one of Cronenberg's best)......and even though it didn't fall into my 20 year range, JC's THE THING is a Halloween tradition at my house- I watch it every year (along with some other horror film that guy made about Halloween).....

I never cared for THE FOG- good idea, bad delivery. I haven't seen it in years, but wasn't it essentially a ghost story? At least it was watchable- I sincerely doubt THE OMEN remake will be worth the price of admission. And I guess I'm in the minority here, but THE OMEN freaked me out more than THE EXORCIST- I can watch THE EXORCIST anytime, but THE OMEN is just too creepy and disturbing. Perhaps I'm looking back on it nostalgically- I don't know. It's probably the score and some of the imagery- that dude who played Damien just looked evil!

Anyway- I haven't seen a trailer for THE FOG remake. I am tempted to see it, though.....

[AndyDursin]

And I guess I'm in the minority here, but THE OMEN freaked me out more than THE EXORCIST- I can watch THE EXORCIST anytime, but THE OMEN is just too creepy and disturbing.

Actually as a young teen who rented both of these films several times, I would agee with you. THE OMEN always made me cringe, and I never found EXORCIST all that scary either -- though THE EXORCIST is such a more interesting film from its story, characterization, and subtext level.

These days I'm not creeped out by either flick, and I've begun to see why THE OMEN was pretty much panned when it first opened. It's a heavily flawed movie.

THE THING is always going to be a favorite film of mine too, but THE FLY.........yuck! I'm no Cronenberg fan, and that movie made me sick then and still does now.