The Omen Information

The Omen (also known as The Omen: 666) is a 2006 remake of Richard Donner's The Omen of 1976 and a part of The Omen series, serving as a partial reboot. Directed by John Moore and written by David Seltzer, the film stars Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, and Mia Farrow. It was released worldwide on June 6, 2006.

Plot

Robert Thorn, an American diplomat stationed in Italy, is told that his son died during birth. Unknown to his unconscious wife, Katherine, Robert adopts an orphaned newborn, due to the suggestion of the hospital's Catholic priest, Father Spiletto. Naming him Damien, Robert and Katherine raise the boy. Robert's career ascends over the course of the next five years. He is named Deputy Ambassador to the Court of St. James in the United Kingdom. Following the bizarre death of the previous ambassador, Robert assumes his position and settles in a large estate just outside London. However, disturbing events begin to transpire, including the suicide of Damien's nanny at his birthday party.

Robert is approached by Father Brennan, who claims to have been involved with events surrounding Damien's birth. Meanwhile, photographer Keith Jennings finds that several of his photographs contain mysterious omens, including premonitions regarding people's deaths. A new nanny, Mrs. Baylock, is hired. Tension rises when Baylock starts to make decisions without their consent, including adopting a Rottweiler for Damien's protection.

Following an incident near a chapel, in which Damien attacks Katherine, she begins experiencing vivid dreams about Damien, each involving a red-hooded jackal skeleton. When the Thorns visit a zoo, the animals react violently at the sight of Damien. Katherine begins to wonder if Damien is not all that he seems to be. Father Brennan confronts Robert, telling him that Damien's mother was a jackal, making him the Antichrist. He explains that Damien must die and a man called Bugenhagen, located in Megiddo, could assist. After being rebuked, Father Brennan is killed in a freak lightning storm.

Katherine discovers she is pregnant and is determined to get an abortion, in fear of having a child similar to Damien. Soon afterward, Damien severely injures Katherine with his scooter, causing a miscarriage. In the hospital, Katherine confides with Robert that Damien is evil. Robert decides to rendezvous with Jennings and search for Damien's biological mother, Maria Avedici Santoya. They discover the hospital where Damien was delivered has since been incinerated. They then go to Subiaco and meet Father Spiletto, who directs them to a graveyard. They find the grave of Santoya, who is revealed to indeed be a jackal. In the neighboring tomb, Robert discovers the corpse of his murdered biological son. He and Jennings are attacked by a pack of dogs and barely escape.

Baylock visits Katherine in the hospital and kills her via an air embolism. Learning of Katherine's death, Robert goes to Megiddo, meeting Bugenhagen, who instructs him to kill Damien with seven sacrificial daggers on consecrated ground. Bugenhagen tells Robert to examine Damien for the 666 birthmark. Robert refuses to kill his son, while Jennings picks up the daggers. Jennings is suddenly decapitated by a falling sign.

Robert arrives home and is attacked by Baylock's Rottweiler, which he subdues. In Damien's room, he finds the 666 birthmark. Baylock attacks Robert, but he fends her off and after killing her with his car, escapes. Pursued by the police, he drives to a church to kill Damien, but is killed by a Diplomatic Protection officer.

As the Pope simultaneously dies, Robert's funeral is attended by the President of the United States, who holds Damien's hand. Damien then looks at the audience as the credits roll.

Cast

• Julia Stiles as Katherine Thorn
• Liev Schreiber as Robert Thorn
• Mia Farrow as Mrs. Baylock
• Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick as Damien Thorn
• David Thewlis as Keith Jennings
• Pete Postlethwaite as Father Brennan
• Michael Gambon as Bugenhagen
• Harvey Spencer Stephens, who portrayed Damien in the original movie, has a cameo role as a reporter

Production

Principal photography began on October 3, 2005 at Barrandov Studios in Prague, Czech Republic, where the film was shot mostly. The ?Jerusalem' scenes were filmed in Matera, Italy.

Release and reception

The film was released on June 6, 2006, at 06:06:06 in the morning (i.e., 2006-06-06 06:06:06). This symbolically represents the number 666, the biblical Number of the Beast.

Box office

The film recorded the highest opening Tuesday box office gross in domestic box office history in the United States, by earning more than $12 million. Fox initially stated that the film earned US$12,633,666 on its first day, but later Bruce Snyder, Fox's president of distribution, admitted that they were "having a little fun" by manipulating the figure to contain the number of the beast in the last three digits.

The film ended grossing $119,498,909 worldwide, making it a modest success on a budget of $25 million. It finished as the 59th highest-grossing film of 2006, the 12th highest-grossing R-rated movie of 2006 and the 2nd highest domestic gross of The Omen series when adjusted for inflation. The 1976 original remains the top earner in the series.

Critical response

The film received negative reviews. The film currently has a rating of 43 out of 100 on Metacritic denoting that overall the film has received mixed feedback or reviews of an average nature. 26% of reviews collected on Rotten Tomatoes were positive.

James Berardinelli commented: "On every level, The Omen isn't just bad filmmaking, it's bad storytelling." He especially criticised the film's similarity to the original film, which he also greatly disliked. Rolling Stone also made the latter point: "Not since Gus Van Sant inexplicably directed a shot-by-shot remake of Hitchcock's Psycho has a thriller been copied with so little point or impact".

Roger Ebert, however, gave the film "thumbs up" and "three stars" in contrast to his negative review of the original, praising John Moore for letting the strong story unfold itself rather than foregrounding visual effects, while the Washington Post's Stephen Hunter praised the film: "It's handsome in the way it's fast-moving: sleek, well-engineered, full of gooses and honks. Some of the casting seems a little off. Still, it works."

Other critical quotes are as follows:

• "John Moore's remake " while arguably better than its source " can't help but feel a bit stale." " BBC fim review
• "This film is for people who've never seen the original, and who are easily scared by mediocre horror films"- Eric D. Snider
• "Director John Moore has added some creepy visuals and assembled an unusually strong cast for a horror flick." " New York Post
• "Competently made, and enjoyably played. But you do really end up wondering what the point was. Cinematic déjà vu is the most likely response." " Empire Magazine

While Seamus Davey-Fitzpatricks performance did win him a Chainsaw award from Fangoria magazine for "Creepiest Kid", David Thewlis was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor in 2007, but lost to M. Night Shyamalan for Lady in the Water.

Home media

The film was released in the US as a Region 1 DVD on October 17, 2006. It was released in the UK as a Region 2 DVD on October 23, 2006. It was released in Australia as a Region 4 DVD on March 7, 2007.

The film was released on Blu-ray on November 14, 2006.