Weekly Review -- Halloween spirit takes over :-)

Ghost stories conquering TV channels and grinning pumpkins mingling with crunchy leaves in the autumn air can only mean one thing -- Halloween is on our doorstep. I felt like watching a horror film today, but still felt wary, so I decided to rent the remake of a film I had seen about ten times earlier, since it seemed like a safe bet. My reasoning was also professional, since the original film was one of the films I wrote my M.A. thesis about, so I was really interested to see the similarities and differences between the two versions.


The Omen (2006) -- I had no idea what to expect from this remake. As far as I could make out from the trailer, it could either be a rehash of the 1976 original à la Van Sant's Psycho, or one of those revamped, updated remakes like You've Got Mail. The film offers both kinds of elements and is actually quite enjoyable. Diplomat Robert Thorn (Liev Schreiber) and his wife Katherine's (Julia Stiles) baby dies at birth. Since he knows Katherine would be crushed by the loss, Robert makes a deal with hospital officials -- a baby boy whose mother just died will take the place of their biological child, without Kate ever knowing. The boy, Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick), grows up healthy and happy, but things are far from idyllic in the Thorn household. Bizarre tragedies start occurring, including Damien's nanny (Amy Huck) committing suicide and some other people meeting their untimely demise, forcing Robert to research the identity of the child, which proves to be more horrifying than anyone can fathom.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

The film's script mostly sticks to the 1976 version -- probably thanks to the fact that the original writer, David Seltzer, also authored this screenplay -- but this faithfulness is a double-edged sword. The biggest problem is that the original is so iconic, so well known and discussed, that the new film does not really have anything new to offer. We know what is in store, which makes it hard for this film to offer even one shred of unpredictability.

Having said that, there are some unnecessary add-on scenes and dialogues. For example, why emphasize that Katherine is a stay-at-home mom? Her status was much more effective in the original, where it was a subtle topic for discussion, rather than a politically correct acknowledgement. Katherine's death scene is also changed, presumably in order to needlessly up the gore and brutality factor. The usage of the color red to signal upcoming crucial events was already essential to some other films (I will not say which ones, since I do not want to spoil anything), so the gimmick loses much of its significance here. Contrary to the original, the cinematography feels more stylized than spontaneously frightening and, personally, I did not think that the bright colors and attempts at subliminal imagery contributed to the themes. I liked the beginning of the film a lot, though. The church scenes added a sense of urgency to the proceedings and some of the current events were well incorporated into the Bible references. Throughout the film, the locations are appropriately ghastly and the Thorns' bewilderment by their son's behavior is not forced, but increases gradually, with each "accident".

As far as the casting and acting goes, Schreiber is somber enough for the role of Robert, going from a don't-mess-with-my-family attitude to realizing the inevitable. His scene in the Rome hospital and the one in which he learns about Kate's death endear him to the viewer. David Thewlis and Pete Postelthwaite provide nice touches as the unassuming paparazzo and doomed priest, respectively. On the other hand, I did not buy Julia Stiles as the mother. She is a decent actress, but her youth gets in the way for this particular role and, at times, she looks like she is playing dress-up. I stand firm in my belief that this role should have been played by an actress who is at least near Schreiber's age; someone like Nicole Kidman or Monica Bellucci would have been much more convincing. Besides Schreiber, Mia Farrow is another terrific part of the cast, adding deceptive sweetness to the poison that is Mrs. Baylock and chilling each scene to the bone.

When it comes to the central role of Damien, I have to say that I preferred Harvey Stephens to Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick. The reason why Stephens was so spooky in the role is that he would never let the Devil side overshadow his facade of innocence and childish smiles; however, Davey-Fitzpatrick frowns throughout the film, letting us know he is the creepy kid from the beginning. Damien's evil is just too obvious for my taste here.

The Omen remake is, in my opinion, one of the better remakes to come out in the recent couple of years. It does occasionally suffer from a style overdose, as well as from some unnecessary changes, but the story is pertinent to our world, as I suspect it always will be.

7/10