The Omen (1976)

Disappointing by aging

Creepy: "When the Jews return to Zion / And a comet rips the sky / And the Holy Roman Empire rises, / Then You and I must die. / From the eternal sea he rises, / Creating armies on either shore, / Turning man against his brother / 'Till man exists no more." Fake quotation from the Bible of some Yeats-like poem, hardly supported by the Book of Revelation. Apart from that bigot filiation to texts that are absolutely transcending in their inspiration and here reduced to some superstitious unfounded belief. We have to go over this vision and the unacceptable use of dogs to protect the son of Satan, the Antichrist, a direct allusion to the dogs of Allah, to the Moslem creed actually more rather than less hinted at with Jerusalem and the discovery of the roots of Christianity on a background voice-over of a Muezzin calling for prayer. Then the film is an archetypical matrix for so many films to come that will describe the coming of the Antichrist. Yet no film will ever be as short and as powerful as Yeats' "The Second Coming". The film is a masterpiece in cinematographic form, though it is rather easy and uses some techniques (hiatus and ellipse) that are so common that they need some renewing to be as effective as they could be. That is to say that this film has aged because it uses techniques of cinematographic story telling that have been so much improved and multiplied over the last three decades that they seem slightly weak in this film. In a way that's a shame because it remains a matrix of that type of horror stories but it has lost a lot of its bleakness and terrifying effect. I even find it weak in some sections, like the killing of the devilish son. Weak and tamed and softened and many other things. Thirty years ago killing a child of five could seem horrible. Today, I just wonder if it is not something we are born with. After all the genocides of the last twenty years and all the suicide bombers, even at times women with child, we have the right to wonder if that insanity is not in-grown in our memory from beyond birth and death, like some genetic inheritance, some genetic re-incarnation. I was expecting something a lot more powerful because I will definitely consider that the religious gibberish in the film is just what it is "gibberish". John did a lot better in his days, even if he was not the only one to hold the pen that wrote the Book of Revelation.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
November 24, 2008

THE OMEN - Really Good Horror Film of 1976

The Omen was a good four star horror film that I saw in 1976 which had an excellent story and good special effects. The gated cemetary guarded by hounds from hell was fantastic, and as far as atmosphere and pure horror this scene was on a par with the old Universal movies. The musical score was very effective at establishing the mood for the film.

What I don't understand was the absolute rave that came out of Hollywood for this film at the academy awards which had dozens of dancers on stage and vocalists chanting in Latin. This was entertaining but didn't really make any sense. All of Hollywood turned out to say this film was the best thing for horror since Universal's Frankenstein. I thought it was good but not deserving of all that praise.

This was the first horror film I saw with my wife after we were married in 1976, and I really had to work to get her to see it. Actually, it worked out well for both of us as she appeared to like this film, minus the explicit gore. This was the first of the Omen films and set the series off to a good start for years to come.

This film received extensive advertising on posters, NYC subway stations, newspapers, radio and television and got many fans talking about it prior to release. It was an exciting time for horror at the movies again and I understand and agree with the average Amazon reviewer. May 11, 2008

Classic Horror

The Omen is remastered in this DVD 2 disc set and looks fabulous. DVD extra features gives the backstory to the "curse" of The Omen during filming. One particular documentary covers the entire series. I loved it and am very happy to have this in my horror/thriller collection. May 10, 2008

A Classic

"The Omen" is one of those few, infact very few realistic horror films. A story that is based on a real fact. Excellent chemistry between Greggory Peck and Lee Remick, the romantic score by Jerry Goldsmith is simply delightfull. Billie Whitelaw was fabulous as the evil Governess, she was very expressive and done her part really well. David Warner as usual gives his best performence. Last but not the least the child Harvey Stephens does very well, the evil expressions that easily potrayed from the little child. Haunting music from Jerry Goldsmith. Excellent scenarios and wonderfull direction makes the film a true classic. If you love classics, trust me you will definately love this one too. April 26, 2008

Still great even today

When it comes down to my horror movies. The slasher usually reigns supreme with the supernatural not too far behind. The Omen ranks at the top with the first Exorcist. What I love about the Omen mostly is the accurate references to the bible. For some reason that always gives me chills. In fact, the Omen is the only one that effects me in that way today.

This classic was blessed by some of the best acting. Everyone was believeable in thier roles. Young Damien(Harvey Stephens) did a terrific job portraying the hellbringer with an innocent face. Plus Gregory Peck and Lee Remick delivered some outstanding performances as well.

The overall atmosphere of this film set the tone for some of the most memorable scenes in horror to me. It was almost as if I can feel the evil in some of the most tense scenes. The priest running to the church is the best example for me. The death scenes even though not very gory. Still have a heavy impact and at that time especially were something really sick.

I can go on and on about what makes this an excellent horror movie. Of course nothing I'm saying is new. But I just want to give my take on where I see this movie. If anybody speaks about great horror movies. The ORIGINAL Omen should always be mentioned. Now the sequels, well that's another story. A horror fans collection is far from complete if they don't have this. January 19, 2008

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