The Omen

Rating:
Summary: A classic.
Review: Although, not a gorefest or action packed, The Omen nonetheless stands the test of time and is truly one of the better, if not best, suspense movies to have ever come out.

The story entails a young boy who is discovered to be the Anti-Christ because of a variety of signs and hints that expose him. Those who suspect this meet unexpected, surprising and dramatic fates to prevent anyone from discovering his identity. The story and suspense increase dramatically as the movie progresses.

The acting (including, especially Gregory Peck) is superb and the plot is excellent. The ending is extremely dramatic. Overall, a great movie which I thought was far better than "The Exorist" -a similar movie which preceded and probably influenced The Omen.

Rating:
Summary: Not as scary as I remembered
Review: I rented this DVD recently after having rented The Excorcist and having a good scare out of that one, I thought I would revisit this movie that scared the heck out of me when I was a kid. For some reason this movie does not scare or impress me much now. I think Gregory Peck gives a really wooden performance in this film. I can't seem to care about the characters. There is no warmth whatsoever. The early "love scenes" seem like a commercial for Hallmark or something. One thing that scares me is how ugly and dorky looking the kid who plays Damien is! I also thought the decapitation scene looked really fake, like a big dummy. The scene in the graveyard looks equally fake, obviously shot on a sound stage. I also think the music is highly overrated. Maybe I can't take it seriously after seeing that episode of South Park?? The music seems to substitute for any real feelings of terror. This part is supposed to be scary so lets throw in some scary music!!! Also on the DVD is a version with Directors commentary. This is terrible. This director comes off as a real jerk. He is making fun of his own film and does not seem to take it seriously at all. He also talks a lot with some English guy who cut the film and they spend the whole time complementing each other on how great the shots are. They also do not even seem to remember what happens in the movie. Like a couple of guys who saw the movie a long time ago as opposed to guys who made the film. The director also mentions that he comes from a backgroung of made for tv movies. That is ultimately what this film reminds me of. A big dumb made for tv film. I guess I give this film 2 stars for nostalgia and the concept. Good idea for a movie, just a crummy execution.

Rating:
Summary: Truly Frightening
Review: When I first saw this movie on DVD, it knew it would become a cult classic. While possesing shocking scenes and blood 'n gore, this film also has a highly interesting story. The plot conerns the American ambassador to Britain (Gregory Peck) and his wife (Lee Remick), who unwittingly adopt Damien, the Antichrist. Peck is just fine as the ambassador who ignores a minister's warnings about his son. The most horrifying scene I think is when Damien's governess hangs herself at the child's birthday party. That scene had no blood, but it is so unexpected and revolting that it nearly blew my boxers off!
If you're looking for a highly-frightening horror/mystery film, check out "The Omen". Directed by Richard Donner (who did some of the "Die Hard" movies), the film is fascinating, shocking, and at times, emotionally draining, particuarly the scene in which the suspicious photographer is killed. The Oscar-winning Jerry Goldsmith score is intense and superb.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Horror Movie!
Review: This is the real suspense and horror movie without any gore, blood and nudity. If you do believe in and want to enjoy serious horror cinema, this is the movie. It creates the same fear as The Exorcist. It seems this is actually happening somewhere in some part of the world. Believe Me!!!

Rating:
Summary: Not just a horror film ,a thought out mystery.
Review: I first got into this film by hearing the song "Damien" by Iced Earth (The Omen fans need to hear that!). This film is not a regular hack-and-slash dsgusting no-plot film. This film is easily the best horror film. Gregory Peck plays the father, who adopted the son Damien in Rome. Damien is the AntiChrist, but Gregory doesn't know it yet. There are many gory parts, such as the part with the tractor (don't want to spoil it). Best part was the climatic ending. It makes me want to see the sequel. Really good.

Rating:
Summary: Damien................
Review: Very chilling... very creepy. the Omen is a great film, while the plot is not based on the bible, it is just as scary. Very chilling music the plot is also great. WARNING: It is rated R for no swearing, no nudity, just Violence. The acting is just great, Gregory Peck could not be better himself.
I love this movie, and if you whatch it carefully you should like it!
P.S. Don't expect the sequals to be as good.)

Rating:
Summary: Good Thriller, yet not disturbing
Review: After seeing The Exorcist, I knew I would try this movie. Gregory Peck and Lee Remick are excellent as the parents of Damien. The child who plays him is equally creepy. Some people say this is as disturbing as The Exorcist, I don't think that. Although this was entertaining, it was not as disturbing as The Exorcist. The concept of Satan's son roming the earth and the unknowing parents who adopt him is the only disturbing part.

Good to watch, but not as thrilling as some think it is.

Rating:
Summary: An unpretentious classic
Review: For every "The English Patient" or "Reds" - "prestige" movies that are respectfully reviewed, win some Oscars, and then are more or less forgotten - there is a "Die Hard" or "The Omen" - unabashedly commercial works that maniuplate the elements of genre so masterfully that they become genuine classics, remaining ever fresh and popular.

All of which is a "prestige" way of saying that a quarter of a century after its creation, even after you've seen it several times and know everything that's going to happen, "The Omen" is still scary enough to make you mess your drawers. The celebrated deaths (directed with nasty efficiency by director Richard Donner, who later paid homage to the ambulance dive in his "Lethal Weapon"), the shrieking medieval chants (by composer Jerry Goldsmith, much of whose string work here seems to have gone unaltered into his score for "Alien" three years later), and the Mick Jagger-with-babyfat face of Harvey Stephens (whose final appearance in the film is one of the seminal horror images of all time) have nothing subtle about them but they sure work.

Interestingly, the only good acting performance in the whole shebang is that of Billie Whitelaw as the literal nanny-from-Hell. (Trivia note: she was one of Samuel Beckett's favorite interpreters of his work and premiered several of his female roles.) She dives headfirst into the Velveeta of David Seltzer's script and delivers lines like "Have no fear, little one. I am here to protect Thee" with unsettling conviction. (Bonus trivia note: Seltzer, who had aspirations of being a serious novelist, said of his smash hit, "Selling out was easier than I thought it would be.") Gregory Peck, surely one of the most constipated leading men in cinema history, reacts to the murder of his wife as if he has misplaced his Geritol and David Warner, who perhaps foresaw his future doing voice-overs for computer games, puts as little as humanly possible into his work here.

Rating:
Summary: Not at all scary.
Review: My husband went on and on for years about how scary the Omen was when he watched it as a twelve year old. I remembered bits and pieces of it from network television and decided to sit down and watch it to see what all the fuss was about. After having watched it, I still don't know.

While I don't think that it's necessary to have a lot of blood, gore, and special effects to make a movie genuinely scary, if you're NOT going to use these devices then you'd better have some damn good acting and a good plot line. "Have no fear my little one", "Gave you a fright, did he sir?" are the most unrealistic examples of dialogue I've ever heard.

Animals in the zoo running away from Damien? Well no offense, but plenty of people are attacked by bears at Yellowstone and lions on safari and no claims their victims are the anti-christ. And a woman hangs herself because a dog looked at her? I didn't really get the connection. For a movie about the anti-christ coming to reclaim the Earth, Damien himself never does anything remotely scary or even interact with his "victims" in any way.

All in all it's just one long, boring, unrealistic movie.

Rating:
Summary: I love this movie
Review: The first time i saw this movie, I was scared out of my wits. To begin with, the music by Jerry Goldsmith is extremly effective in creating a demonic presence. Gregory Peck is wonderful as the ambassador as is the priest, Oh yes, the priest played by Tom Duggan. This man was so convincing with those dark piercing eyes and his warnings to the ambassador about Damien that it made him one of my favorite charactors in the movie. The part where he locked himself in the room with the ambassador and told him " You must take communion. Drink the blood the blood of crist and eat his flesh" and the part of him in Bishops Park was to die for. The Baboon scene. The church scene where you see Damien scared to death. The tension mounts as he approaches the church with his parents. You see the fear in poor Damiens face. The climax occurs when the the statue of christ on top of the church points down at Damien and the Chorus yelling at him sounded like the very voice of god. This sent Damien into a rampage .... You must see this movie.. Theres too much for me to mention. Scene after scene of effective terror