RUTHERFORD ON FILM: ‘The Omen’: More Natural Than Original, But Schreiber Cannot Begin to Replace Peck
By Tony RutherfordHuntington News Network Writer
Huntington, WV (HNN) -- For those uninitiated, most of s already know the answer to “there’s something about Damien.” When his film odyssey first began, the chilling supernatural “Omen” signaled a subtle mainstream moviegoer exposure to Biblical prophesies from the books of Revelation and Daniel.
Updated, the re-make takes advantage of terrorism and natural disaster to cement the warnings about “when the Jews return to Zion and a comet falls from the sky…”
Lightly peppered with the original’s then horrific imagery ( impaling and beheading), those of us who have survived the Jason/Freddy/Michael slashers and Tarantino’s blood fests barely bat an eye at the remakes occasional carnage. Like its predecessor, the increasing intervention of Satan certainly justifies the brief violence. Instead of attempting to insert more stomach crunching, director John (“Flight of the Phoenix”) Moore lets the f/x improvements suffice or by extending one scene’s impact by allowing the hanged nanny’s shoe to fall from her foot crashing the red punch bowl on a buffet table.
Unlike many remakes, “The Omen,” originally released in 1976, sticks closely to the original concept and script. Abandoning a solid ‘name’ cast in favor of relatively unknowns. The 2006 version touts a more naturalistic feel, instead of the melodrama of the first one. Still, Liev (“Manchurian Candidate,” “Scream 3”) Schreiber can not replace the commanding presence and unquestionable integrity of Gregory Peck, but his quandary of hesitation when confronted by Abraham’s sacrifice conveys greater doubt than the daunting Peck’s portrayal.
Notions of the onrush of the forthcoming apocalypse have a tartness, rather than an anxiety ridden outcome, which virtually tabulates the feature’s excitement quotient onto the rim of that punch bowl without the urgency of a crescendo.
While the score still singes and the devil’s child (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) retains a vested creepiness by his sorta sanguine acts (skateboarding in the house), the original boasts suspense and tension in contrasts to the re-make’s higher believability quotient.
Of course, having seen all the sequels spawned by the original, my standards may be skewed by memories enhancement, but, unlike the 70s audience which gulped and screamed, this audience remained quiet.