The Omen Blu-ray delivers great video and superb audio, but overall it's a mediocre Blu-ray release
In this chilling remake of The Omen — that is even more terrifying than the original — man's darkest fears are manifested as an unspeakable terror is unleashed on the world! U.S. diplomat Robert Thorn (Liev Schreiber) substitutes an orphan for his own stillborn baby in order to spare his unknowing wife (Julia Stiles). But after a series of grotesque murders and dire warnings, the Thorns come to the horrifying realization that their child is the son of Satan!
2006's The Omen (666), a remake of the classic film of the same name that starred the
legendary
Gregory Peck, is
another so-called
"horror" movie that relies on anything but genuine tension and fear to scare audiences. Instead, it
brings us more of the same generic scares meant to make you jump out of your seat thanks to
split-second flashes of something out of the norm, accompanied by obnoxiously loud thuds,
screams, or any instantly-loud here-one-moment-and-gone-the-next noises. The best of horror
relies on tension, psychological fear, and atmosphere to make your skin crawl while you unwittingly
look nervously around you in fear of your life, all the while you are transported squarely into the
realm of fear as presented on-screen, coming face-to-face with terror itself. The 2006 remake of
The Omen is not the best of horror. It's a worthless movie that proves itself
as one of the most pointless remakes, horror or not, in cinema history.
Katherine, Damien, and Robert react to the Blu-ray.com review of 'The Omen (666).'
Our story begins in the Vatican. Through the lens of a high-tech telescope, a Vatican astronomer
observes a celestial phenomena in the form of comets that scares him right out of his wits.
Taking this as the
fulfillment
of
Biblical Prophesy as found in the book of Revelation, the astronomer creates a PowerPoint
presentation that ties together some of the biggest disasters since the release of the original
The Omen in 1976, including Ishtar, One Missed Call, Meet the Spartans,
Gigli, and The Omen (666) as signs of the pending apocalypse.
OK,
not really, but I could have taken this movie a bit more seriously had it attempted to parody bad
movies rather than pretend not to be one. Anyway, the astronomer does convince the
leaders of the Catholic Church that these comets represent the final sign of the coming of the
unholy one, the devil incarnate, Damien himself (please, don't name your son Damien; it only
leads
to potential end-of-the-world scenarios and generally bad movies).
That same night, U.S.
government official Robert Thorn (Liev Schreiber, The Sum of All Fears)
learns that his son has died during childbirth and that his wife Katherine's (Julia Stiles, The
Bourne
Identity) womb has been damaged, leaving her
barren. Unbeknownst to his wife, Robert is talked into taking in another newborn, an orphaned
child, as his own, admonished that is wife is never to be told of the dead child and the exchange.
Unfortunately, this child will
make Junior of Problem Child fame look like an
angel since
the exchanged child is really...the devil! So as to maneuver his way into power, the devil
(Damien) kills
the U.S.
Ambassador to Great Britain at 6:06:06 PM (I'm scared now!). Damien's daddy just so happens
to be the
ambassador's number two man, and he ascends to his former boss' position. A few years later,
Damien is a "very precocious five" when
he
witnesses the suicide of his nanny ("Damien! It's all for you!") at a party, which leads to the
hiring of a new nanny, one we know to be unscrupulous the moment we lay eyes on her. Not
only does she say everything Robert and Katherine want to hear, but we're also clued in by the
fact that the nanny agency failed to send over her documentation, which she conveniently pulls
from her purse. Will this demonic duo rule the day, or will Robert and Katherine, with a little help
from Razzie Award
nominee David Thewlis, thwart the devil's plans?
I'm simply shocked that the above-referenced Razzie was the only one for which this film was
nominated. Other deserving categories are: Worst Picture (although it's hard to argue with the
selections nominated, with the possible exception of Lady in the Water),
Worst Actress (Julia Stiles, yikes!), and Worst Re-Make or Rip-Off. Most of the cast recite their
lines like they were reading them for the first time upon receiving the script and there's very little
emotion to these stiff performances. The worst such scene occurs in chapter nine when the
characters Katherine Thorn and Mrs. Baylock argue over Damien's preparedness to go to a
church.
Only Liev Schreiber pulls off an average performance here. Even the child who plays Damien,
Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick (TV's "The Guiding Light") fails to be creepy in the least, but he is the
least of this movie's problems. Almost every scene lifted from the original fails to work here. One
stands out as clearly the worst, while another stands out as clearly the best. The "impaling"
scene works very well here. For once, the movie is taut, scary, and thrilling all at once. The
scene that doesn't work so well is when Damien annoys his mother. In the original, Damien was
making the most god-awful, annoying noises you could possibly imagine, driving not only his
mother insane, but the audience as well. Here, he's simply playing a game which rings out with
the
occasional puny yet repetitive sound. The mother may have very well been annoyed by it, but
the scene proves to a complete failure nevertheless, especially in the shadow of the power of the
scene as played in the original version of the film.
The Omen (666) makes its mark on Blu-ray with an above-average
1080p, 1.85:1 transfer. The image looks fairly good in its bright outdoor locales, best
demonstrated
by
those scenes taking place in Jerusalem near the end of the film. The image is crystal-clear and
highly detailed, not only in clothing and in faces, but in the surroundings as well, especially the
earth-toned colors of the buildings and the ground itself. The goriest scene of the movie is set
here, and it is a somewhat disturbing image that shows quite a bit of gruesome detail that can be
seen in
all
its gory glory. Other fine details scattered throughout the film appear equally impressive,
notably those seen immediately proceeding the ambassador's death in Italy early in the film. We
are privy to the individual bricks on the street, the grime on a tire well, the grooves in the tire
itself, and all of it looks as real as if you were sitting a foot away from it in person. Detail in
close-ups of faces is also fine, as every line, pit, blemish and strand of facial hair is clearly visible.
Much
of the color palette seen in The Omen (666) is slightly dulled. Many whites seem to
have a
slightly gray and blue tint to them, a fact seemingly due to directorial decisions for setting the
lighting and mood of the film. Nevertheless, black levels are nearly perfect. Flesh tones
appear to be a bit off, and some close-up shots appear soft and lack a defined sharpness. Film
grain is
retained throughout the picture, and it adds a depth and sense of dread to some scenes, as do
some of the deliberately hazy-in-appearance shots scattered throughout the film. The
Omen (666) isn't the pinnacle of Blu-ray high definition imagery, but it is solid enough, and
one that
shouldn't disappoint viewers.
The Omen (666) presents listeners with a devilishly good DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack.
This is a
solid, well-rounded soundtrack where dialogue is crisp and natural and the action and
atmospherics of the film are let loose and sometimes stretch the limits of your sound system.
There are several instances of loud, devastating explosions, each one enough to scatter your pets
and leave your ears ringing. There are other pounding moments, such as when
a gorilla attempts to escape from a cage in the zoo. Every beat of its hand against the glass
causes a rumbling tremor throughout your listening area and its repeated thumps emanate from
the subwoofer. Bass rumbles in chapter 12 with a low, tight, powerful effect. Nevertheless,
those less-than-exciting moments of the film present listeners with a sometimes flat soundtrack.
There isn't much in the way of rear channel presence (save for the blending of the score into the
rear) or ambience outside of the louder, more
raucous scenes. In chapter 13, a rainstorm (one of my favorite things to listen to in
high-definition) offers a nice and complete rear-channel presence, and the thunder in the scene
booms and the wind ravages your listening area,
as well as the locale on-screen, with effective realism. Add to that some of those generic, "scary"
howls, screams, moans, chants, and the like that sound good here but don't really add anything
to the movie, and the soundtrack that accompanies The Omen (666) just might be the
only
reason to watch the movie.
The Omen (666) arrives on Blu-ray with a handful of take-'em-or-leave-'em extras. First
up is a
commentary track with director John Moore, producer Glenn Williamson, and editor Dan
Zimmerman. The trio discuss their sole purpose for remaking the movie, the performances of the
actors (plenty of back-patting), and a barrage of generic information that even fans will probably
consider
less-than-pertinent. Abbey Road Sessions (1080p, 10:14) takes a behind-the-scenes
look into
the making of a film score, in this case composer Marco Beltrami taking us into the writing of the
various themes heard throughout The Omen (666). Revelation 666 (1080p,
22:17) is a
History Channel wannabe feature that looks into the secrets of the number 666. Next up
are two extended scenes: Impaling (1080p, 2:07) and Beheading (1080p,
2:05).
Finally, The Devil's Footnotes is a pop-up trivia track that runs for the length of the film,
covering topics such as the fear of the number 666, some Biblical history, and the role of the
color
red in the film.
The Omen (666) drags on, and on, and on, and on, a pointless exercise in futility that left
me
yearning to be watching the original film rather than another Hollywood money-grabbing
remake. This isn't even a re-imaging, it's nearly a straight remake where the biggest changes are
simple, everyday things, such as updating the setting and the times but keeping the story similar to
the
original, so similar, in fact, that the entire point in remaking the movie is obviously a scam to reel in
audiences who find One Missed Call, The Reaping, and other
modern-day horror tripe "scary," and those who never saw the original The Omen (despite
what the filmmakers say in their commentary). I
hope audiences ignore this film and instead indulge themselves in the classic original, a film vastly
superior in every regard to this one. Technically, the disc is sound, with solid video and audio and a
handful of extra materials. Watch at your own peril.
Amazon's Blu-ray Deals of the Week affect Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment's The Omen Collection as well as the Wrong Turn Collection. Through this week, the two bundles are 70% and 50% off their respective SRPs. These deals expire at 12 AM PST/3 AM EST ...
Amazon's Blu-ray Deal of Week has The Omen Collection marked down to $19.99. The set, which includes The Omen, Damien: Omen II, Omen III: The Final Conflict and Omen (666) has been discounted 67% off the $59.99 SRP. The deal ends on October 15th.
Fox Home Entertainment has announced that they will bring 'The Omen Collection' to Blu-ray on September 9th. The four disc set will feature the three original Omen films ('The Omen' (1976), 'Damien: Omen II', and 'Omen III: Final Conflict') as well as the 2006 ...
