Yes of course. The horror classic “The Omen” did not urgently need to be remade because it is still scary enough. This circumstance probably explains most of the very harsh criticism that director John Moore (“Die Hard 5”) received when he released the remake in theaters thirty years after its release. In any case, it’s probably not really his version of “The Omen”, as it offers good and sometimes really intense horror entertainment with more than adequate performances from the actors. Here’s how our 3.5-star FILMSTARTS review describes it.
“The Omen” can be seen today, January 10, 2024 at 10 p.m. on Tele 5. The station offers a repeat that same evening at 2:30 am. If these dates are scheduled too late for you, the film is available at any time Available as part of your Disney+ subscription*. The same applies, by the way the original* from 1976 “Lethal Weapon” director Richard Donner.
Alternatively, you can order “The Omen” on Blu-ray or DVD from online retailers like Amazon. The FSK 16 title can also be streamed there as paid video-on-demand:
“The Omen” on Tele 5: that’s the story
It’s June 6 at 6 a.m. in Rome: Katherine (Julia Stiles), the wife of high-ranking American diplomat Robert Thorn (Liev Schreiber), has just had a difficult birth. She still has no idea that her child did not survive. Even devastated by the loss, Robert is deeply concerned about his wife’s mental health. After all, Katherine had previously had two miscarriages.
Then Father Spiletto (Giovanni Lombardo Radice), the priest at the hospital, comes up with a solution: he offers Robert to adopt as a son another boy born that same night but whose single mother died during childbirth. Robert agrees without telling Katherine about his decision. The couple names the child Damien and is initially overjoyed.
A few years later, Robert is appointed American ambassador to Great Britain. The family settles on a feudal estate near London, where disturbing incidents soon occur. Damien’s babysitter (Amy Huck) hangs herself at his birthday party, an eccentric priest (Pete Postlethwaite) issues dire warnings when he sees the boy, and an innocent visit to the zoo ends with animals going crazy and mass panic. Finally, bizarre deaths are occurring more and more often in the immediate vicinity of the Thorns.
Katherine is soon convinced that Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) has evil within him. Meanwhile, Robert dismisses her theory as nonsense. But then photographer Keith Jennings (David Thewlis) shows him some gruesome photos he took of the recent victims, in which strange apparitions seem to predict the manner of their respective deaths…
The Omen Franchise
The star-studded “The Omen” is a simple, slightly altered remake of the classic with modern means, set in the present. John Moore’s work is so closely based on the original that the American film and television industry writers’ union (Writers Guild of America) even banned the creators from crediting Dan McDermott (“Eagle Eye”) as a screenwriter in the opening or credits. Instead, only the name David Seltzer, who wrote the script for the 1976 film, was allowed to appear there. And this despite the fact that Seltzer was not involved at all in the new edition.
When “The Omen” was released in theaters, the film received mostly negative reviews. But not only we at FILMSTARTS, but also the worldwide audience liked the work – and so the title immediately went to the top of the US charts and managed to gross an impressive 120 million on a budget of only 25 million dollars.
‘The Omen’ was a great success. That’s why it’s surprising that – as is not only common with horror hits, but almost mandatory – a sequel was not immediately worked on. The only plausible explanation for this is that the three sequels to the original film were all disappointing at the time and perhaps that is why restraint was exercised.
After the first film made horror history in 1976 with Hollywood icon Gregory Peck in the role of the father, “Damien – Omen II” and “Omen III: Barbara’s Baby” – despite significantly higher production costs – each fell far short of the box office receipts. first time back. With “Omen IV – The Awakening,” the studio 20th Century Fox seemed to have finally lost faith in the franchise. Although the title appeared (rather unsuccessfully) on the big screens in Europe and Australia, it was sent straight to television in North America.
In 1995, Fox attempted to bring a TV series to fans, also under the original title “The Omen.” A pilot episode was produced and shown on its own American channel. Oddly enough, though, the plot seemed much more focused on “Poltergeist.” The reviews were devastating and the public ignored it completely, after which the planned series was of course cancelled. A second attempt at a series, launched in 2016 in the form of ‘Damien’, was only slightly more fortunate. This time the focus was on the title character as an adult. After just ten episodes, the American cable channel Lifetime pulled the cord.
That seemed to be the case for a long time with ‘The Omen’ franchise. But in 2022 there was suddenly news that the studio, which now belongs to the Disney Group, has apparently not completely given up on reviving the scary fairy tale.
Of “The first omen“The prequel to the first film (and therefore also to the 2006 remake) has already been shot and is in post-production. Series director Arkasha Stevenson (‘Legion’, ‘Brand New Cherry Flavour’) is responsible for the prequel starring Nell Tiger Free (‘Servant’), Bill Nighy (‘Love Actually’) and Sônia Braga (‘Shotgun Wedding’). “) in the leading roles. It is not yet known when and how we will see the film.
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