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Banquo13 2012-05-24 17:12:41

What the Devil?! This one doesn't hold up well....

I remember this movie being just the scariest movies ever; I actually recallreading the movie ads as a 7 year old (yes, even then!) and thinking GregoryPeck's first name was "Georgy." :)Anyway, I remember finally getting to see the Omen on cable and being quiteimpressed; however, I saw it recently and am sad to say that it does nothold up well at all.The whole "Child-as-Satan," "Dog-as-Satan,""Anything You Want as Satan"themed movies are now cliche almost 30 years after this film came out, sothere's one reason why it looks so cheesy after so long. I noticed isalternately quiet (sometimes filled with overbearing dialogue)and terriblynoisy (I hit the mute button during the scary dog attack..! Dogs barking,the 2 men yelling, and that horrid Satanic Mormon Tabernacle Choir going totown! My ears!!)I guess another thing I disliked was the altogether SERIOUSNESS of themovie....is there anyone who smiles in this movie just because they'rehappy?? Okay, maybe Lee Remick. Once. *SPOILER* I still recall the MadMagazine parody where as Gregory Peck's character is about to kill Damien,he tells the cops, "But you don't understand, this child is the DEVIL!!" andthe cop responds, "Eh, my kid's no angel, either, but I'm not gonna KILL himfor it!" LOL I would've liked to had a couple jokes thrown in here andthere...someone with a pitchfork, Damien learns his multiples of "6" veryquickly...a cameo by Marilyn Manson...ANYthing to lighten themood!Kinda funny that Holly Palance (Jack's daughter and used-to-be co-host ofRipley's Believe it or Not) plays Damien's dedicated, yet tragic firstnanny.Anyway, a sad letdown...

2012-05-24 11:29:21

Classic Horror

This review is from: The Omen (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (DVD) Damien is the son of Satan, the Antichrist who has been switched at birth for the real son who died at birth. The parents have no clue about thier son until his 5th birthday when his nanny dies. Things get creepier when the photographer from the birthday party notices strange details in the pictures which happen to be premonitions/warnings of how the victims were going to die. Once the father and photographer discover this they are go on a mission to destroy the kid before he destroys the world. I give it 5 stars because it's one of the very few horror movies that actually scared me. Afterwards I couldnt stop thinking about it. It had the perfect atmosphere of fear/dread and managed to get under my skin. In my opinion it still seems to hold up well and have as much of an impact as it did 30 years ago. Definitely in my top 5 horror movies ever. It's timeless. Special Features: Commentary by the Director Curse or Coincidence Featurette Jerry Goldsmith discusses The Omen Score Still Photo Gallery Deleted Scene with Commentary Documentaries 666: The Omen Revealed and The Omen Legacy Screenwriters Notebook An Appreciation: Wes Craven on 'The Omen'

Holdjerhorses 2012-05-24 19:05:00

"First is usually best . . . "

I remember dinner at a restaurant with two friends, one a second-tierexecutive at 20th Century Fox, a few months before the premiere of "TheOmen." "'The Omen' is gonna make 'The Exorcist' look like a tea party,"he enthused.It didn't.Here's why."The Exorcist" had been a publishing phenomenon several years earlier,in 1971. William Peter Blatty's terrifying, believable and well-writtennovel had taken the country by storm -- like nothing, perhaps, sinceMargaret Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind." The film of "The Exorcist"two years later was an equal phenomenon. No one had ever seen imageslike these, heard lines like these, or so starkly faced a graphicallyhorrific cinematic depiction of Evil like it before.Then, a few years later, along comes "The Omen." The entire project,from conception to realization to novelization felt like, and is,another in the long history of Hollywood cynically cannibalizingsuccess.The book, written simultaneously with the script, by David Seltzer, isan evolving example of "synergistic marketing." But neither the booknor the film ever achieved the legendary status of "The Exorcist" noveland film.It DID make money, however. Particularly for Gregory Peck, whose dealgave him a percentage. It became his most financially successfulendeavor.Aside from the "me too" cynicism underlying the creation of "The Omen"trying to capitalize on the worldwide success of "The Exorcist," otherfactors worked against it.First: the Stars. Lee Remick and Gregory Peck were terrific actors.They were also household names.NOBODY in "The Exorcist" was a household name at the time, with thepossible exception of Lee J. Cobb. That lack of instantly recognizableactors helped anchor the "realism" of "The Exorcist." These peopledidn't look or act like movie stars: they looked like us.Gorgeous Lee Remick and handsome Gregory Peck, on the other hand, hadbeen movie stars for decades. No matter how wonderful theirperformances (and "The Omen" was hardly the high-point of eithercareer), they were still glamorous movie stars acting out lives ofincredible wealth and prestige as the parents of Damien.Despite Ellen Burstyn's portraying a screen actress in "The Exorcist,"we never get even a hint that she's particularly rich, or a glamorqueen. She's a working actress, that's all.Basically, then, we've got old Satan at work in a supposedly real-lifestory of an exorcism which first became a massive best-selling noveland then a massively successful film, about "real" people beingpossessed by the Devil . . . versus a derivative film about incrediblyrich and glamorous people (what was Gregory Peck? An Ambassador?)unknowingly raising the spawn of Satan -- in the form of anot-terribly-convincing child actor who subsequently went into realestate in real life. A wise consideration on his part, since what's thekid gonna do? Continue playing in ever-less-respectable sequels like,"Damien Hits Puberty," "Damien's First Date," "Damien Does 'The View'?"No. Real estate is the logical choice. Harvey Stephens is no Haley JoelOsment.Had "The Omen" come before "The Exorcist," either as a novel or film,it might have gleaned more respect than it does today.Even admiring comments here admit the film has not aged well.Its original release was considered "disappointing" compared to "TheExorcist." The fright value was less. The quality of everything fromthe script to the direction to the production was less. The acting in"The Omen" was fine. But, "if it ain't on the page, it ain't on thestage." "The Omen" suffered, then, by comparison to "The Exorcist." It stilldoes. It always will. It's second-rate.The original is always best.

2012-05-24 04:27:36

Damien ain't no Micheal Myers!!!

This movie has a very good plot, but is lacking in special effects.Since Damien was supposed to be the anti-christ, I do think that he should have done most of the evil deeds.

jon_muddafuggin_kaulay 2012-05-17 18:48:20

Don't watch the remake see this!

some of you might recognize this title as it was remade in 2006. Let mejust say that the 2006 remake is a pointless and useless movie. Theremake did not elaborate on anything that The Omen (1976) didn't allready do. In fact, it is almost a shot for shot remake. So what thehell was the point in remaking this f*cking movie!? I understand if youwatch a movie and think, "Hey I can do this better" and then youattempt to do so, but the remake was the same movie with nothing new tooffer at all. So save yourself the trouble and see the original so youdon't have to watch Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles try to act.The original Omen also had a huge impact on horror film making. It isone of the first movies to have outlandish death scenes. Like thefamous decapitation, which ,to this day, still is one of the bestdecapitations ever filmed. Future horror films would follow The Omen'slead, especially during the slasher craze of the 80s, and have violent,bloody, and original death scenes.Do yourself a favor and see this classic movie and skip the weakremake.

Miguel Angel Diaz Gonzalez 2012-05-17 12:58:09

Great film

A classic horror film. That's The Omen. Starring Gregory Peck (what a greatactor) you discover a sane and intelligent man who loves life and loves hisfamily. You soon identify with him, and then is when the circumstances startto change the way he sees the world. Desperately slowly (we as the audienceknow the truth) he finds himself deeper and deeper into a hole from whichthere is no escape. Finally, he loses all the emotional links he had withlife and escapes by the only exit available from his destiny pit: Toeliminate the origin of all that horror that has destroyed his life. At theend of the film he is still a sceptic man, but he's no longer sane. As afinal act, he won't kill his own son to save the world. It's just a personalrevenge against the evil. And the evil is stronger. So the result was yetwritten from the beginning. That's the most shocking aspect I find in thisfilm. No matter what the world would do the destiny would always be thesame...Gregory Peck's performance is outstanding. He does a really good job.Without him this film wouldn't have been the same. The music is marvelous(did I say that John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith are my favorite ones?),and the cinematography and editing are simply perfect. I specially like thatscene at the beginning after he reveals to his wife he's been nominatedambassador in London. Instantly it changes to a dynamic scene where they arecrossing London's streets in a Rolls. That scene is cinematographic art byexcellence. The wide angle images and the music are prodigiouslymelt.Also, the child is quite good. You see him learning from life, but from thedark side of life. You feel his innocence and, as his father, you feel sorryfor him.All in all, this is one of the greatest horror films evermade.8-9 out of 10.

2012-05-13 16:12:58

A good illustration of The AntiChrist's life

I am a Big Fan of the Omen trilogy because the story is Original. We know many story of The Bible, but watch this movie... This movie have an excellent Vision of the AntiChrist's moderm life. The actors, Gregory Peck and Lee Remick are very good. Another reason that movie works, is the Music. Whitout the fabulous Score's of Jerry Goldsmith, the film doesn't have this atmosphere. A very good movie, like the other (Omen 2 & 3). A classic for the fan. I really recommend this...

2012-05-13 14:07:11

You little devil, you...

It's amazing how a third of a century can change one's perspective. At its release, "The Omen" was considered a cheap, stupid, excessively / gratuitously violent horror film. And it arguably still is cheap and stupid. But by today's standards of violence, it's positively staid.It's not anywhere nearly as bad as I remember, probably because so many much-worse films have come down the pike. This is partly due to the "slow build", combined with (thank Heaven) GREG-ory PECK's refusal (or more likely, failure) to fall back on his irritating mannerisms. It's one of his better/less-bad performances.Donner's direction is little more than competent. His apparent decision was to let the material speak for itself, rather than playing up the suspense, or horrific elements. Paradoxically, this allowed Jerry Goldsmith to "fill in the blanks", resulting in his only score to win an Oscar. It's difficult to understand how "The Omen" got Donner the director's chair for "Superman", but it did.It's a pleasure to see Patrick Troughton as a deranged priest trying to convince Peck that his child is not human, and needs to be offed, pronto. Troughton was the second actor to portray The Doctor, and in my view, was the best ever to assay the role. Similarly, it's nice to have the late Leo McKern as the Biblical archaeologist who gives Peck the knives he needs to slice the son of Satan.This Blu-ray transfer is by far the darkest I've seen. This greatly helps the cemetery sequence, which was shot on a soundstage with a near-exquisite hand-painted backdrop. Donner is lavish in his praise of the work of the woman who came out of retirement to create it.Donner's running commentary is only intermittently informative. It's typical of Donner -- a mixture of self-absorption and self-deprecation. He does, however, inveigh against digital imaging, and avers that "The Omen" was good precisely because its budget was less than $3M -- a pittance, even in 1976 --- and the production crew had no choice but to do everything "on the floor", in real time.Whether "The Omen" is a classic, I leave it for the viewer to decide. But it's worth seeing once.

2012-05-10 21:46:29

Classic horror thriller receives deluxe treatment

Richard Donner's classic horror film "The Omen" scared the heck out of me when I saw it at 16. I hadn't seen "The Exorcist" yet (although I did see it the next year). This supernatural horror film creates a sense of forebodding and craftsmanship that many film directors have forgotten how to do. Featuring a powerful performance by the late Gregory Peck (whom I met once and what did I ask him about? Not "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "Spellbound" two other films I admire. No, I had to ask him about shooting "The Omen" silly 21 year old that I was)and a sharp, powerful score by Jerry Goldsmith, "The Omen" continues to horrorify to this day because of the craft that went into making the film.We open on June 6, 1976 a US diplomat Robert Thorn (Peck)rushes through Rome to get to the hospital as his pregnant wife Katherine(Lee Remick in another nicely textured performance)goes into labor. Their son is stillborn but the priest at the Catholic hosptial offers to let Thorn adopt a child whose mother has died at the hospital. What he doesn't know is that the child is the anti-Christ bearing the Number of the Beast (666). After Damien reaches his fifth birthday, strange things begin to happen including the death of many around the boy. The Thorns take in a new very strange nanny (Billie Whitelaw)into their home. Things go from bad to worse for the Thorns and all those around them as the boy discovers his destiny.This new anamorphic widescreen transfer looks marvelous. There's a number of terrific extras including a 45 minute documentary on the making of the movie featuring new interviews with some of the cast and crew. There's also a great commentary track from director Donner and editor Stuart Baird. The late Jerry Goldsmith provides interesting insights in a short featurette where he discusses his favorite musical themes from the film (which was nominate for an Academy Award).There's also the original theatrical trailer and a new stereo mix of the soundtrack.For a frightening night at the movies catch "The Omen" the best of the three films produced in the trilogy.

John Murray 2012-05-10 13:56:34

The devil kid scares the hell out of you!!

The devil kid scares the hell out of you!!The Omen,26 years after it'srelease,remains one of the classic horror films of all time,and theprogenitor of a very successful series of films.It's directed by one of thebest in the business,Richard Donner.David Seltzer's script is excellent.Thescore by Jerry Goldsmith is one of the best horror film scores ever andtruly deserved the Oscar it got.Atypical casting for the leads helped.Gregory Peck,one of the all time great actors,delives a powerful andconvincing performance as Ambassador Robert Thorn.His journey,from horrorand disbelief to globe-trotting sleuthing out the mystery of Damien,toacceptance and action agaianst Damien is harrowing to behold.The beautifulLee Remick gives a terriffic performance as Kathy Thorn,a troubled womanmade even more so by the inexplicable events surrounding Damien. DavidWarner and Billie Whitelaw are also excellent as the eccentric paparazziJennings and the nanny from the bowels of hell,Mrs Baylock.Excellent evennow.10 out of 10.

Katherine 2012-05-05 09:30:46

Some bits are silly, some good, and some downright brilliant.

I decided to rent this after the (sob) death of Gregory Peck. First, Iviewed the trailer on the DVD and even that was kind of funny. Direct quote:"American Ambassador Robert Thorn and his wife Katharine are very happyabout the birth of their son, Damien." My brother and I cracked up at that.Amazing, how much a few movies can affect people's association with Satan.Okay, that aside, here's the gist:Robert Thorn (the amazingly talented and handsome Gregory Peck) is anAmerican ambassador who lives in Rome with his wife Kathy (the amazinglytalented and beautiful Lee Remick). He learns, before she, that their newand first child is stillborn. Robert goes to a church where some nuns showhim a live baby that was also born at that time (June 6th at 6 AM, by theway), and offers him to Robert, as he could pass as their son. This putsRobert in the lose-lose situation of either telling Kathy the baby she hadis dead or lying to her and saying that this baby is theirs. You canprobably guess which one he chooses, since it's a matter of whether or notthis movie would have been made. Anyway, they take home the cute littledevil named Damien, and soon they have to move to London. Now, before Idescribe the first silly (supposed to be creepy) part, I'll explain that Iunderstand Kathy and Robert are very much in love. I mean, she's absolutelygorgeous, and he's Gregory Peck, for crying out loud, but that's no excuseto be so fascinated with each other as they go for a walk that they brieflylose sight of Damien, now a toddler. And then after that there's a hangingscene (not gory, just kind of spooky), a scene where a spear stabs throughan important someone (not gory or spooky; you can see it coming a mileaway), two scenes where the same person falls from a high point (painful towatch, but that's good), an attack in a graveyard by about ten rottweilers(pretty bloody and subsequently followed by a sharp peak on a fence stabbingthrough someone's arm), and a REALLY AWESOME decapitation scene (a littleblood). I normally hate gore, but c'mon, you have to praise the sfx peopleof 1976 to do that scene so well. Basically, Robert learns that Damien isthe son of Satan. Now, although the first third of the film is unintentionally silly andsometimes over-acted, the rest is quite good, with some bits shot quitebrilliantly. For instance, anyone who's seen a single Peck film has to knowthat he can save a movie most of the time. Anyway, Peck is brilliant asusual, as is Remick. The kid was SOOOO adorable, but did have a littledevilishness about him. Billie Whitelaw (the creepy nanny) had me hating herfrom the second she walked into their house, especially after what she doeslater on (more about that later). And the score scared the hell out of me(no pun intended). When Peck walks into his house for the last time and wehear a mixture of the dog panting and a choir whispering and chanting "AveSatani," I had goosebumps. Some of the little bits I loved and/or thatscared me (some spoilers): Robert's frustration that he has to stab Damien,when he and the photographer unearth the skeletons of both Damien's motherand Robert's real son with a hole in its skull, and Kathy's blue eyeswidening under that veil-like cover-up as she sees the creepy nannyapproaching with that sick smile (even though it was an awful part, I haveto say that was when Remick looked the most beautiful, almost like an angel,therefore the nanny had to kill her). Also (BIG SPOILER), I felt Robert'spain when he was about to stab Damien as he said, "No, Daddy, no." And youhave to love Damien's smile at the end....

2012-05-05 04:50:12

Outstanding Horror Movie!

This is the real suspense and horror movie without any gore, blood and nudity. If you do believe in and want to enjoy serious horror cinema, this is the movie. It creates the same fear as The Exorcist. It seems this is actually happening somewhere in some part of the world. Believe Me!!!

Jakedelicness 2012-05-04 18:55:05

Um.....Why a "Horror" movie?

I watched this movie really late at night, so maybe I was too tired tounderstand well enough, but i was highly disappointed by it. I was highhoped, I guess, because of it's reputation and my grandmother told meit scared the hell out of her when she first saw it. When I watched itI found it more funny than scary. It's like everything about the movieis fine but flaw full: The plot's OK but it's been seen before, theactors are OK but not convincing, etc... That's basically it. It's an"Ok, but..." movie. I must say though, there were some interestingmoments of the movie. But in overall, I was disappointed. If You findthe son of the devil scary, I guess you'd find it scary.

I_Am_The_Taylrus 2012-05-04 00:09:41

Devilishly Good

SPOILERSI love horror movies. This was better than I thought. The Omen is abouta husband and wife having a baby and that baby got swapped with theDevil's son. I don't like the fact that they name their son Damienbefore they knew he was the son of the Devil. Overall, I liked thismovie. There are great death scenes in The Omen. Here they are.1. A nanny hangs herself joyfully.2. A priest skewers himself on a lightning rod.3. A woman is pushed out a hospital window.4. A man is decapitated from a piece of glass.5. A woman gets stabbed with a fork.6. A man gets shot by the police.Jerry Goldsmith's music is wonderful. That creepy opera-type music.This is a very well-done horror film.9/10Recommended films: The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby

SlayerRob 2012-05-02 08:57:46

Fantastic Horror Film

If you were to find out that the reason your child had been acting funny wasthat because not only was he the epitome of all evil, but also the son ofSatan, what would YOU do?That is the dilemma faced by Gregory Peck's character in this film, in avery suspenseful, eerie tale of diabolical nightmares.The acting in this film is terrific, and Gregory Peck's performance isimpeccable, which really takes the film to another level. The pacing of the film works very well, with many suspenseful buildups ofimpending horror, including some of the most classic scenes of alltime.The decapitation, Priest impaling, Damien's famous "tricycle ride", Damien'sfirst signs of trouble at the church at a wedding, and the gravesite dig'srevelation that Damien's mother was a jackal are all fantastic scenes,classics.The film paces itself so well so that up until the very end you can feel thehairs stand on the back of your neck.The second film was good, but didn't touch this one, and the third sufferedfrom inconsistencies and continuity problems within the series. But thisone is almost flawless.

moonspinner55 2012-05-01 21:53:17

Better than most of the "Exorcist" rip-offs...

Wealthy Ambassador is told the baby his wife was carrying was deliveredstillborn, and that yet another infant in the ward was born healthy butthe mother died; he agrees to a secretive switch, but lives to regretit. Once "The Exorcist" took off, every studio in Hollywood had to cashin on the devil-cycle with stories of the occult. This one has a largebudget (which accounts for its handsome, chilly-gray look) and a goodcast, but it continually warns of frightening prophecies and thenproceeds to throw outlandish killings at us. Poor Lee Remick sufferstwo different falls in a disgraceful bit of bad screen writing; GregoryPeck and David Warner fend off a pack of devil dogs at a cemetery in abattle which would've left them dead (here, they stagger away). Thefilm clobbers the viewer with distress, with bodies piling up as iffrom a slasher movie (this film is really no different, it just has aslicker look). Gripping and occasionally suspenseful, but always in anunpleasant, distasteful way. Followed by an extremely woebegone batchof bad sequels. ** from ****

Jo Nanite 2012-04-26 17:03:53

Two ways to watch

This is one of the few movies that truly has two completely different butequally enjoyable ways to watch. (Off-hand, the only others I can think ofare 'The Princess Bride,' serious romance vs. tongue-in-cheek fairy tale,and the original 'Evil Dead,' too-cheap horror vs. knowing horror spoof.) You can watch it alone, late at night, with all the lights off, and begenuinely too scared to sleep that night; or you can watch it one day withall your best movie pals and laugh your head off at the over-the-top acts ofsatanism, way-too-serious plotline and the idea that large, easily confusedRottweilers are the harbingers of impending doom. It's to this movie's credit that it manages to pull off an idea as hard toswallow as the literal birth of the Antichrist with a completely straightface, and still manages not to scream 'B-movie badness' with every line. Though almost every element of the movie on its own seems ridiculous(Gregory Peck as the father of the Antichrist!?), it all somehow comestogether in a solid, above-average horror flick that everyone ought to seejust to realize that it can be done-- that there is a decent, and veryenjoyable, middle ground between your laugh-a-minute 'crawling horror' flopand the all-out grotesquerie of 'The Exorcist.'

pinkglitterflower 2012-04-26 02:30:37

Excellent movie

This movie is amazing. Lee Remick was amazing and gorgeous as usual.This is different from all horror films. Greggory Peck was great but abit too serious with his famous line, "Kathy I love you". Some partsmake you laugh, some cry, some scream. It is one of those movies thatdon't try to scare you but just give you the creeps. I highly recommendto keep the lights on while watching this one. Damien is quite adorablebut don't be fooled by him. The baboon scene is a classic for those ofyou who have seen it. This is supposed to be one of the scariest moviesof all time. I like that nothing jumps out at you at all. Lee andGreggory are a very convincing couple. By wathcing them they make youbelieve what you are watching is very real and is happening. They are amatch made in heaven. Mrs. Baylock (Billie Whitelaw) was outstandingand very chilling. She always gave me goosebumps when I saw her. All inall the movie is a great classic. If you love horror films then this isa must see!!!

2012-04-20 07:42:54

One of the best horror movies ever

This is my favorite horror movie and one of the best of all time.

fletch5 2012-04-19 19:56:53

Terrific in its type.

I don't usually care much for this sort of thing, but after reading a goodreview on a local paper I decided to check out "The Omen" and liked it morethan I thought I would.This is a carefully crafted film that relies more on creepy atmosphere thangory use of violence, although there is a fair amount of that as well.Richard Donner's direction is very self-confident with hardly any flaws, andthe film is visually quite appealing.As a pure shocker, it's a tremendously effective product--mostly thanks toJerry Goldsmith's irreplaceable background score. Gregory Peck does well inthe leading role, but the biggest impression is made by Billie Whitelaw asthe nanny straight from hell.