The Omen Review

As anyone who can recall the 1976 original will tell you, "The Omen" tells the tale of an American diplomat (played by Liev Schreiber this time around) who, while working in Italy, decides to adopt a new born child upon learning that his wife (Julia Stiles) has miscarried and will be unable to conceive again. At the same time the Vatican have discovered that the prophecies from the Book of Revelations have come true; world-changing events such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Asian Tsunami have been calls from the Angels, and Damien, the adopted baby, is in fact the Devil incarnate.

Set in Rome, London and Jerusalem, but shot mostly in Prague, the film's budgetary restrictions and tight shooting schedule (it had to be ready for a worldwide release on 6.6.06 after all!) are unfortunately far too transparent, particularly for us Brits - trying to make the streets of Prague look like London's Soho was always going to fail, and not even a super imposed London Eye will convince cinemagoers the action they're watching is actually taking place in our capital city.

Director John Moore's history in TV ads is highly apparent in the film's very clean, highly staged cinematography, which unfortunately removes all the rawness that made the original so gritty and ultimately terrifying. This, combined with poor acting, poor screenwriting, and thrills that are more laugh-inducing than frightening, result in a disappointing film that fails to have any of its supposed relevance in today's contemporary climate, and - as with so many other horror remakes - fails to live up to the original.