Disney's OMEN Prequel - April 5th - SPOILERS

[AndyDursin]

They're doing an EXORCIST sequel, retapped HALLOWEEN for a trilogy, regurgitated PET SEMATARY, made a sequel to THE SHINING nobody watched, so let's keep the totally CREATIVELY BANKRUPT manta of Hollywood going. And no way it's going to theaters with a director having "shot every episode of some Syfy Channel nobody's ever watched".

https://deadline.com/2022/05/the-omen-p ... 3c03564ab0

[AndyDursin]

For all those who wondered how Damien's birth mother got pregnant -- well here you go.

This year's EXORCIST: BELIEVER in-coming -- but at least Disney didn't spend $400 million.

[AndyDursin]

Lots of positive "this is so messed up!" reactions for this one but everytime I read about this film I'm subjected to the director's pompous BS about female mutilation and a screed against the Catholic Church. And how awesome Disney has been helping her preserve the movie from an NC-17!

At this point I'd expect Disney to support Satanists more than Catholics, for real.

https://www.fangoria.com/original/the-f ... 17-rating/

"We were so excited about the script, it was already in such a cool place. I loved The Omen franchise, I grew up on it, but it is a story about men. When I opened the script and the main character was this young novitiate, I just thought, this is awesome.

It’s strange making a movie about forced reproduction and body autonomy right now. It’s really important to be talking about right now. It’s strange to be talking about it with Disney. It’s a surreal experience that feels extremely empowering. It feels like you’re traveling around with a really big hammer. It’s like Mickey Mouse is my bouncer. To have their support, I don’t even know how to put it in words. It’s beautifully surreal.”

[Eric Paddon]

Oh I'm sure they do. And just how in the world do you get a "prequel" out of this unless we're going back to an ancestor of Bugenhagen killing previous would-be sons-of-Satan?

The funny thing is people really don't get why "The Omen" was such a hit in its time. It struck a chord with a good many people in the Protestant faithful who saw it as mainstream Hollywood grabbing hold of the popular "end times" books of Hal Lindsey and what Christian film companies were doing poor cinema versions of a generation before the "Left Behind" series. That element is what makes "The Omen" distinctive from "The Exorcist" and "Rosemary's Baby" because of the tie-in to that particular strain (I'm sure David Seltzer and Richard Donner never understood that either) The reason why the other two films failed is because they don't have the more intelligent grounding in "end times" works that the first film has.

[AndyDursin]

I've read enough reviews to know this is what I thought it would be, and that's one of these "it's connected but not really connected" things that doesn't at all evoke, stylistically or otherwise, the original series. You can tell from the trailer the OMEN is a name to springboard off with Disney hoping this will turn into some kind of CONJURING like franchise for them.

Anyway that it attacks the Catholic Church is enough to get today's critics to cream in their jeans. I'll pass until Disney sends me the digital code.

[AndyDursin]

Dismal sub $1 mil in previews, bad for a "brand name" horror entry thats typically front loaded to begin with. Was beaten by MONKEY MAN!

On the other hand I have enough points to see it for free Tuesday so I'll check it out anyway. Gotta get out of the house sometime

[Monterey Jack]

8/10

This was kind of...awesome...? For a mercenary franchise-extender, it's surprisingly shocking, stylish and well-acted, with a rustling, eerie score by Mark Korven that's not Jerry (until a climatic usage of "Ave Satani" that made me grin from ear-to-ear), but, by today's standards, is terrific (I can't remember the last time I heard slapping, col legno strings in a movie score). The only moments that fall a bit flat are the ones where they directly ape (or clumsily attempt to connect to) moments from the original movie, but considering how bad this could have been, I was pleasantly surprised. I might have enjoyed it even more had it not arrived so closely on the heels of the very similar -- and similarly good -- religious horror picture Immaculate. Whose bright idea was that?

[AndyDursin]

Glad we're going Tuesday. Between the C grade Cinemascore and a horrifying $8 mil weekend gross this one will be streaming in a matter of weeks.

[Monterey Jack]

[AndyDursin]

James Flower's takes I usually am in sync with. I'm guessimg, based on the pretentiousness of the director, that this is mostly an A24 wannabe with some not really synced up connection with the original films thrown around.

Remember this was a Hulu movie with no stars so the fact its tanking isn't the end of the world for Disney. They've had bigger bombs lol

[AndyDursin]

Box-office disaster worldwide open of $17 million.

Maybe this will show Disney the Fox catalog has little value and they should sell it off. I mean the APES is a "modern franchise" so it'll make $$ but how much is another ALIEN movie even going to make now. Especially since it's, like FIRST OMEN, another no-name cast streaming movie they decided to dump into theaters.

[AndyDursin]

6/10

What a weird movie.

I think director Arkasha Stevenson was more interested in making a pseudo-arty supernatural religious commentary than an overt horror movie, which might explain the fact that -- for whatever good this film does -- there's no suspense in it at all, and nothing pulling the viewer forward as it rolls to a preordained ending...sort of.

For one thing, the first hour is so dull I felt like I was watching "Paul Schrader's THE FIRST: A PREQUEL TO "THE OMEN". I liked the performance of "Nell Tiger Free" as Sister Margaret and some of the touches Stevenson throws in are effective enough but all the "weird strings", wailing choir and hushed voices in Mark Koven's score are as terrifying as being in elementary school and some kid going "ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo scary". Loads of talk, loads of set-up -- and I guess if I had never seen THE OMEN I would have possibly been more interested in what was happening, but it's an awfully slow-going opening half to be sure.

That lack of tension permeates really through all of this film. We all know, after an hour of nothing, things are going to go crazy in the final hour -- and they do, but it's entirely predictable and barely worth the payoff. "Retconning" THE OMEN so that it's all (SPOILER) the work of some crazy Catholics trying to up dwindling church attendance (!) by rebirthing the Anti-Christ is just asinine and probably the worst sin of this screenplay (couldn't they have bankrolled a remake of GOING MY WAY instead?). It doesn't gibe at all with the original movies (so much for the "satanic network of disciples" Damien had in those films) -- and if you're going to the trouble of awkwardly tossing in things like Gregory Peck's photo and (ooohhh!) a frantic reprise of "Ave Satani" in the final minutes, then veering so far off the narrative line of those movies seems to be a curious idea.

But then so does the virtually inexplicable last scene -- which gives off serious vibes of the planted TV pilot seen in the final minutes of the SALEM'S LOT mini-series. In fact, I'm surprised they didn't pull or reshoot it, it comes off like a deleted ending in a special features supplement (and any hopes of this story continuing in an OMEN WARRIORS type of series seems dead and buried after this OMEN's anemic box-office in-take).

Artistic credits are passable but this does seem like a "cable movie" in its limited visual trappings. Despite the inherent lack of commercial appeal in her overall approach, credit Stevenson for still doing a better job than, say, the horrible OMEN IV TV movie -- or even the unnecessary 2006 remake -- but the real wiz here is whoever packaged Fox's trailer for this movie, which was a LOT eerier, creepier, and less conventional than the film it was actually trying to sell.

[Eric Paddon]

*********"Retconning" THE OMEN so that it's all (SPOILER) the work of some crazy Catholics trying to up dwindling church attendance (!) by rebirthing the Anti-Christ is just asinine*******

That is the kind of asinine plotline that only the anti-Christian bigots of Hollywood could conjure. So utterly divorced from reality on all levels, and a comment more on their pathetic bigotry. There is simply no other word for it. Substitute the word "Jewish" for "Catholic" and you end up with the same kind of mindset that gave us the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The only difference of course is that anti-Christian bigotry is respectable and "mainstream" for these people who if they had their druthers would put traditional believers into jail for not kowtowing to their social agendas.

I'm sorry but I have more than had it with the hateful obsession this industry has for anything Christian that doesn't subordinate itself to their agendas.

[mkaroly]

Andy, your review sounds more like it was a 3/10 than a 6/10. Lol...either way, I have no interest in seeing it.

[AndyDursin]

That is the kind of asinine plotline that only the anti-Christian bigots of Hollywood could conjure.

Agree Eric. It's insulting and they get away with it because Christians right now are just easy grist for the mill. I knew it was over when Father Brennan (who goes from an apparent heretic trying to right himself in THE OMEN to an outright hero here) started off saying to the heroine "there are two churches..."

Beyond that it's also just so profoundly stupid. They birth Damien so he does all this nasty stuff that's going to get people to go back to church and send their kids to CCD? How are they supposed to control him? He's not bringing about the end of the world?

And that ending -- literally the two main female protagonists are left alive at the end plus the "surprise birth" of Damien's twin sister (talk about a retcon, it's like the end of OMEN IV!). So still alive and kicking are the lead nun who's unsuspectingly birthing Damien; some teenager thrown in as a red herring; and Damien's sister, who are able to run away and are all living the good life, somewhere, years later. It's like you're watching HANNA!

Either way it's pretty clear none of the people who made this movie really understood what made THE OMEN so successful from a religious/theological viewpoint -- there aren't any Biblical quotes from the Book of Revelation nor any understanding of it -- nor did they understand why the original was such a hit. Why it worked is because it threw normal, everyday people into an apocalyptic, nightmare situation. This is just the horrific situation, filling in details you didn't need to know -- and that's why the film is having difficulty playing to audiences who are turned off by it.

And very obviously none of them had seen what happens in THE FINAL CONFLICT either! If they actually continued this series, I'm sure "girl power" would have taken down Damien. Religion would've been the last thing that would have based on the negative view of it the filmmakers are clearly obsessed with here.