MovieChat Forums > The Omen (2006) Discussion > Absolutely dire remake.

Absolutely dire remake.

posted 14 years ago by Trent_Redfield
15 replies | jump to latest

It's an utterly, utterly useless remake. I'm pretty sure it garnered enough money to make the producers happy, but the product is just rotten. Shame, really, because the ingredients were all there and they made a complete hash of it.

The death scenes are not shocking enough like in the original film, specially the nanny's suicide; in the original film her body crashes into the window, but in the remake, her body crashes on the wall and the director opted for a close-up shot of her shoe falling into the punch bowl. What the hell was that about?!

Mrs. Baylock played by Billie Whitelaw (she's priceless in Hot Fuzz, btw) was spooky, but Mia Farrow's Baylock is a pointless dullard. And what's with the howling sounds? Every scene there is a howling sound. Again, what the hell was that all about?!

Oh and it felt like a Lexus commercial at some point...

I could go on, but if John Moore and David Seltzer couldn't be bothered making a decent remake, then I couldn't be bothered to go on listing the various faults in this film.

Frankly, I hated it.

[–] mesircow 14 years ago

I agree, I hated it too. I think most of my hatred comes from me loving the original so much, which was perfect for what it was in my mind.

I just think they were lucky with the original in that so many things feel into place that worked well, the score, the kid they cast, the effectiveness of the nanny death. These are things that you can't recreate because they are so difficult to match. Even the decapitation in the original was shocking for a big budget film of the time, these days its not at all.

So....if these things can't be recreated and matched, then why make it!?

($Kaching$)

I hated every change they did to the story. I hated it how Damien acted more aware that he was evil in this film. Hated how much more elaborate they made the decapitation scene. Hated the "updating" by adding 9/11 links. All the changes came on too strong and artificial.

I wish this film had failed so no other horror remakes would be made, but alas, nightmare on elm street is being raped in theatres as I write this.

[–] martyohenry 14 years ago

Yeah overall that's one movie they shouldn't have done. The first one was way above this.

[–] Halo572 14 years ago

You could say that about most classic films, there is no need to remake them, unless you could get the original cast and that wouldn't work either being as they would have aged so much.

I think the argument is introducing great films to a new generation of audience, and I'm sure that the takings don't hurt either.

Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull, boring. Near the end I was using the skip 30 second button to get through the dullness.

And the two main actors both fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. Only thing that made me uneasy about watching it was their faces.

[–] ofumalow 14 years ago

This did suck, hugely. When I first saw the original I thought it was crass but entertaining. Seeing it since, it's obvious how much craftsmanship Richard Donner and the actors brought to potentially ludicrous material. They really put it across, and then some. But this remake had no flair for action, no interest in really using a talented cast's potential (Mia Farrow was a particular washout), and nothing much else. It was totally flat. I don't think of the original as really a "classic"--save as a pop-culture highlight--but it certainly is in contrast to this pathetic remake.

[–] aran190 14 years ago

tbh the original wasnt great either

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Guardia 13 years ago

That's right. I thought this new one was a valid update.

Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.

[–] kellymariekitty 11 years ago

The original is brilliant. I love everybody in he original, the actors were all amazing including Damien. This remake is complete waste of time

[–] Edren 14 years ago

Frankly I agree.

[–] WarpedRecord 14 years ago

I had extremely low expectations for this, yet I was still disappointed. Everything about this film seemed wrong, from the casting to the direction to the pacing.

But kudos to you for crediting Billie Whitelaw, who was even creepier than Damien in the original "Omen." It's too bad she didn't become a "name" actress, because she certainly had the talent. Another reason to hate this remake: Mia Farrow just seemed too nice here as Mrs. Baylock.

Bloody awful, and not in the good sense.

[–] m-vaskes 14 years ago

The remake is unnecessary, since the original is great and don't think I needed updating to appeal to the modern viewer or whatever Hollywood's excuse for making so many remakes is.

Nevertheless, think The Omen (2006) was still pretty good. I particularly like the death of Katherine. It was way better than in the original, I give them credit for that. In fact, it's one the most disturbing death scenes I've ever seen on film, and I've seen my share.

To light a candle is to cast a shadow...

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kellymariekitty 11 years ago

Horray someone who thinks like me. Is this omen remake film a joke? Live schrieber or whatever ur name is, sorry your just awful, just.......awful. Gregory peck could wipe the floor with you. (Shakes head in disbelief)
Why did movie makers waste their time and money making this crap, this remake sucks. Acting is dreadful, cast is dreadful and since when did the devils dog become what looks like a black collie?? My cat is scarier than him. Even the original Damien was creepier than this little kid. Gutted, what a pile of *beep*

[–] SuCue 9 years ago

One of the dumbest moves was adding in the death of the Pope at the end, as if either Big Nick or Little Nick killed him to hide their plans for world domination. But the whole College of Cardinals saw the SharePoint slide presentation in the beginning, not just the Pope. They would have to kill off the entire College of Cardinals to keep their big "secret", at which point people would surely start to notice a pattern. I think the Vatican scenes were a cheap attempt to cash in on the Dan Brown craze.