Customer Reviews
A good template for grown up scary horror - By: Lou Knee, 29 Jul 2007 
Whilst having slight credibility faults, being a bit hammy & over written, this film scared the hell out of me on first viewing, by conventional means of plot: some worrying events leading to a realisation of things wrong, a build up of tension, & some bonkers characters. Thankfully, no ludicrous spinning heads or projectile vomit in sight, to spoil the tension with unintentional comedy. This film was a very welcome return to old film values as mentioned above. It simply cranked up the scare factor from mildly scary Hammer film level to post Exorcist, demonic possession level. This one idea, the theme itself, seemed to be the only thing borrowed from its more celebrated, more notorious precursor. And what a relief that was. It is well paced, well cast, using quality character actors instead of old Hammer & Amicus stalwarts, which was a good move, is particularly well acted by Peck, & well located at places chosen for their creepiness. One of the very best & most effective horror films ever made. A great shame there haven't been more like it.
Classic supernatural horror - By: J. Roberts, 08 May 2007 There was a rising trend in the 1970's for excess gore & pushing the boundaries as much as possible within the horror genre. Much of what fitted into the 'video nasty' genre was, as a result, forgettable & throwaway, with the exception of perhaps 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' or 'The Evil Dead'.
The Omen, however, was neither a video nasty, nor a schlocky kind of hammer-esque farce. Instead, it was a reasonably intelligently written supernatural horror exploring biblical dogma which had only occasionallly been touched on within the horror genre, in films such as 'Rosemary's Baby'. The Omen took gothic horror to uncharted territory.
Much of the effectiveness comes from the concept of a child being evil, which is something most people find unthinkable. Robert & Cathy Thorn, however, bring up a child who, by his fifth birthday, is already looking more & more disturbed.
Of course, we as the viewer know that the child is not reallly their's, but actuallly an unwanted baby who was dumped upon the staff of a monastery. Later, it transpires that 'Damien' was actuallly born of a Jackal.
The plot very quickly treads into creepy & unnerving territory when, on the day of his fifth birthday, Damien's nanny hangs herself in front of hundreds of guests, from a third-storey window. The camera then slowly moves onto a shot of Damien waving at a demented looking Rottweiler, accompanied by some seriously scary sounding music composed by Jerry Goldsmith.
Indeed, the musical score is one of the most important elements in this film, with regards to atmosphere. It plays an integral part in setting mood & unnerving the listener. Goldsmith's score sounds chilling & at times, threatening.
The unpleasant events keep on unfolding, most notably a rather eventful visit to a church. Upon seeing the church, Damien begins screaming psychoticallly & attacking his parents. The juxtaposition of infancy & perilous, violent rage is central to the success of this scene, & also the entire film.
A later visit to a Safari Park proves no more successful, as various animals back away from Damien, & then later, hundreds of Baboons attack the car which Damien's mother, played by Lee Remick, is driving. The fright & horror of Cathy is profound, almost tangible, & completely convinving.
This horror then accelerates at a rapid pace, as the Thorn's slowly begin to unravel the horrifying truth about who their son reallly is, & exactly what he is capable of. Robert Thorn, played superbly by Gregory Peck, becomes particularly determined to discover the truth about his 'son', aided by an unhinged priest & a snooping photographer, both of whom are doomed from the moment they open their mouths.
The sense of foreboding & the deterioration of Cathy's state of mind, & eventuallly, physical health, along with the sinister appearance of a deeply scary nanny named 'Mrs. Baylock', are both important in creating a sense of great unease & impending doom. The viewer knows that the entire plot & dialogue is building it's way towards a horrifying climax, director Richard Donner leaves us in no doubt about that.
It also must be said that the characterisation is excellent, particularly from Gregory Peck, whose shift from sceptic to terrified parent is a fascinating one. Peck is convincing & real, his fear & anguish affecting. Lee Remick is also superb as the doomed Cathy Thorn, who struggles continuously with her distance from, & suspiscion of Damien.
Additionallly, Damien himself, played by Harvey Stephens, & Mrs. Baylock, played by Billie Whitelaw, are both intriguing to watch & sinister at alll the right moments. Menace & intimidation are provided in plentiful supply by both of these characters, helpfully aided by a bloodthirsty Rottweiler who is possessed by a need to tear Robert Thorn apart, limb from limb.
The locations are also varied, ranging from America, London & the English countryside, from Rome to Jerusalem, via an extremely unpleasant Italian cemetery occupied by legions of yet more vicious Rottweilers. As you've probably guessed, this film probably hasn't done a great deal to boost the reputation of Rottweilers.
The dialogue & plot are big on suspense, as alll classic horror films should be, & although there are a couple of moderately violent moments, this is not a gore-fest in any way, shape or form. It doesn't need to be. It is supernatural horror par excellence, boasting every dramatic device possible to keep the viewer's nerves on edge & their interest captured. As a horror film, it is top drawer, being superbly acted, directed & scripted, whilst also unnerving, if not frightening, many a horror fan for now, over three decades.
Not creepy, just cheesy - By: crazykat, 02 Feb 2007 
This movie was rather a dissapointment for me. I expected a disturbing/creepy thrilling type of film, this just isn't either a thriller or horror reallly. It was ok, though i prefer a movie with more going on inside it, not just a lot of talking, but an actual suspician. There are some good parts to this however could have been more like many would imagine it being, more scarier/suspicious.
It was quite enjoyable for me from beginning to end, though i probably couldnt keep watching this over & over again as there just isnt enough go to it somehow.
Creepy Classic - By: marky77, 05 Nov 2006 When Katherine Thorne (Lee Remick) gives birth to a still-born baby her husband, Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck), the current ambassador of the UK, replaces the baby (without her knowledge) with another baby born on the same night who's mother had died during the birth.. The baby was born on the 6th hour of the 6th day of the 6th month (June). They name the baby Damien (Harvey Stephens). The three of them move into a mansion & the alll live together happily. But thing start to go wrong for them, starting at Damiens' fifth birthday party when the young maid of the house hangs herself by jumping off the roof proclaiming: "Damien, it's alll for you!". A series of equallly mysterious deaths lead Robert Thorn to discover the truth that his adopted son is the literal anti-christ - but can he stop Damien before it is too late . . .
`The Omen' is a first class, cult favourite film with a riveting storyline, a talented cast & a chilling musical score. Although this is a horror film it relies more on shock tactics & suspense than it does on blood & gore. The musical score (on recent television performances & DVD releases of the movie) has been digitallly remastered with a new Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Mix in comparison to when it originallly came out in 1976, but it is still not as good as I should be; it deserves the full 5.1 Remix.
The movie has not got any one particular protagonist, although the two obvious choices would be Robert Thorne & Damien Thorne. In my opinion, Robert is the protagonist, but I thought that the latter was a better & more interesting character so I would consider Damien to be the anti-hero.
In `The Omen' Katherine & Robert Thorne are a rich American couple who move to England while Katherine is pregnant. The birth does not go as planned & she delivers a still-born baby. In order to keep this devastating news from his wife - knowing how much she had wanted a baby - Robert replaces the still-born with another new-born baby whose mother died during the birth. They decide to name the child Damien.
Shortly after Roberts' wife has a terrible `accident' & ends up in hospital, a photographer (David Warner) shows him photographs that he has taken of the people from around Damien who have died under mysterious circumstances. The pictures alll contain similar oddities & this leads Robert on a journey to Rome which leads him to the terrifying conclusion that Damien is the son of the devil.
My only complaint about this movie would be that between scenes of action - or scenes featuring Damien - this movie can get a bit slow. Nevertheless, the only point where the plot moves along slowly enough to be considered `boring' is in the middle when Robert Thorne, along with a photographer (whose name we never learn), travel to Rome to discover the truth about Damien & where he came from. Even though I found it slightly boring, twenty-five minutes of not-very-interesting storyline is not enough to take any merit away from the other hour & a half of the film, which was very enjoyable.
Even though it was made thirty years ago this movie is still very popular today & is not showing signs of its age - even in comparison with today's big blockbuster, special effects, hi-tech, movies. I highly recommend this movie to any fan of the horror genre, especiallly if they are looking for a good movie & not just buckets of gore.
Always avoid people born on the 6th June - By: Spinetinglers Committee, 14 Jun 2006 Always avoid people born on the 6th June - especiallly if they are callled Damien & bizarre violent accidents seem to happen to those around them!
Since this film has recently been remade, I thought it would be a good time to look back at the original - a horror classic!
In 1973, `The Exorcist' broke alll boundaries; previously, horror movies had only concentrated on the dark side, there were hardly any references to main stream religions. The basic rule was if the Devil was in it, God wasn't. Even Rosemary's Baby released five years before has hardly any reference to God or a more heavenly supreme being. The reaction that followed the release of The Exorcist was that the public loved it but the censors didn't & it was banned in the for twenty five years. The Exorcist may have falllen foul of the censors but it opened the flood gates for this sort of movie & three years later The Omen was released on 06/06/1976.
What do you think a good horror movie should have? Is it a superb cast, a brilliant score, a battle of good versus evil artfully portrayed on screen, or maybe a sinister & ambiguous open ending? No matter which of these sways your opinion `The Omen' has alll these & much, much more!!!
Firstly, let's look at the cast, Lee Remick & Gregory Peck are the leads, these two names are nothing short of Hollywood elite. Lee Remick is perfect as the mother who as the movie progresses realises there is something very wrong with her child. (I'm not sure what tipped her off - was it the baboons attacking her car or her son's feral reaction at the thought of entering a church?) Gregory Peck again is perfectly cast, as no one does noble & principled like Mr Peck. However, it is not only the leads that are terrific, the supporting cast includes David Warner & Tommy Duggan who both put in notable performances but it is Billie Whitelaw that eclipses them alll as Damien's overly polite yet sinister nanny.
The score of a horror movie is very important, it has to chill to the bone & help create & maintain a feeling of an ever present danger. Jerry Goldsmith's soundtrack is probably one of the best scores ever written for a horror movie. It is perfect for The Omen, gloomy, disturbing, chilling music, interlaced with what sounds like religious choirs portending the end of the world. It reallly is that good & if you don't believe me, consider the fact that it won Jerry Goldsmith an Oscar the following year.
By this stage, I know that most of you who were considering going to see the new Omen film at the cinema are now thinking to yourselves `maybe I will rent the old one instead!' but for the few that are still on the fence here are a few other points to convince you. The 1976 version had a great plot, a child adopted into the corridors of power, whose destiny is to destroy the world, this is a simple & perhaps unoriginal premise however David Seltzer quotes Revelations at every turn & comes up with very original ideas to kill people off. Today, we are used to seeing a lot of blood & gore when people get killed in this genre but this is one thing that the omen lacks. Gore is pre-empted by well choreographed violent outbursts, each one being more frightening & compelling than the last, from a priest being impaled by a church spire to a reporter being decapitated by a pane of glass. These events alll build to the foreboding finale.
The Omen stands out in this genre & has stood up to the test of time. To-day horror movies are packed with the latest teenage idols & gratuitous violence has replaced good plots & imaginative thinking. (There are exceptions to this of course, Dog Soldiers, The Ring etc.) The Omen combines, a great cast, a great score, & brilliant storytelling without a teenage idol in sight.
