» STORY

[Synopsis]

A child that will steer humankind down the road to hellfire has been born, and as his evil flourishes in a world full of hate, the ominous Biblical prophecies slowly begin falling into place in director John Moore’s remake of Richard Donner’s 1976 horror classic. Robert (Liev Schreiber) and Katherine Thorn (Julia Stiles) were as loving parents as any young boy could ask for, but as fate would have it, their new son Damien is far from the typical child. Now, as the mysterious boy’s growth begins to share frightening parallels with the Biblical passages detailing the rise of the Antichrist, and the lives of all who seek to reveal his true nature are cut gruesomely short, Robert and Katherine are forced to face the horrifying prospect that their child has been sent from Satan to hasten the fall of modern civilization, and that there is little they can do to curb his prophesied path of ultimate destruction.


© Allmovie


» CAST

Liev Scheiber as Robert Thorn – Seamus D-Fitzpatrick as Damien – Predrag Bjelac as Padja Bjelac

Predrag Bjelac … Vatican Observatory Priest (as Pedja Bjelac)
Carlo Sabatini … Cardinal Fabretti
Bohumil Svarc … Pope
Liev Schreiber … Robert Thorn
Giovanni Lombardo Radice … Father Spiletto
Baby Zikova … Damien – Newborn
Baby Morvas … Damien – Newborn
Baby Muller … Damien – Newborn
Baby Litera … Damien – Newborn
Julia Stiles … Katherine Thorn
Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick … Damien


Entire castlist @ IMDB

» KATHERINE

“We [the director] felt that by making Robert and Katherine younger, they’d project the image of a couple on the ascendancy of their lives, both personally and professionally. While they’re educated and successful, they’re also young and working hard to make their career and marriage work. It adds to their confusion and shock when they begin to suspect, and then discover the truth about Damien.”

“I stuck Julia Stiles’ picture up on the board, and for weeks there was only one picture there. In fact, hers was the only photo on the board for the role of Katherine Thorn.”

Stiles’s Katherine Thorn is the story’s lone innocent because she’s unaware of the circumstances surrounding the birth of her child. Of all the characters, Katherine required the most updating from her incarnation in the original film. “We couldn’t translate the Katherine character from the original ‘The Omen’ because she was not really that layered,” says producer Glenn Williamson. Adds John Moore: “Social, personal and political perspectives on motherhood have changed a lot in the past thirty years. In our story, Katherine struggles with the fact that she’s a young woman, a stay-at-home mother, living in a foreign country where she doesn’t have many friends. Her personal conflict is agitated as Damien’s true nature is revealed.” Katherine evolves from a happy, confident young woman to a distraught mother full of doubt and suspicion. “Katherine begins to feel a kind of detachment from Damien, which she and Robert cannot understand,” says Stiles. “Over time, she realizes there’s some validity to her fear of her son. Adding to her escalating troubles is the feeling that nobody’s listening to her. She turns her anxiety inwards. It eats away at her until she eventually breaks down.”


» JULIA SAYS

“Actually, I was terrified. The idea of THE OMEN really frightened me. But I knew there was something in John’s vision for the film and character that I could really sink my teeth into.”

Did you see the original?
“Yes, and it scared me. And for the first couple of weeks on location, shooting in Prague, I had nightmares.”


» MONEY TALKS

Domestic Total Gross: $54,607,383
Foreign Total Gross: $64,891,526
Opening Weekend: $16,026,496
Widest Release:  2,723 theaters
Production Budget: $25 million

© Box Office Mojo


» DVD INFORMATION

Released: 2006
Available in DVD Widescreen, DVD Full Frame, Blu ray and Collector’s Edition

Bonus Material:

Unrated Alternate Ending
Director, Producer & Editor Commentary- John Moore, Glenn Williamson, and Dan Zimmerman
Omenisms
Abby Road Sessions
Revelations 666 Featurette
2 Gory Extended Scenes: Impaling, Beheading
The Omen (1976) Collector’s Edition Trailer
Theatrical Trailers
Forced Combo Trailer – Hills Have Eyes / Night Watch / X-Men


More info?


» REVIEWS

Received 43 metascore out of 100 based on 34 reviews @ Metacritic.com [09/29/07]
Overall grade breakdown: A’s: 101 21.1%B’s: 161 33.7%

The Charlotte Observerer
Los Angeles Times
USA Today

More @ Rotten Tomatoes



» NOMINATIONS

1. 2006 Movie – Choice Scream Nomination (Stiles) – Teen Choice Award – Teen Choice Awards
2. 2006 Movie – Choice Thriller Nomination – Teen Choice Award – Teen Choice Awards
3. 2006 Best DVD Extras Nomination – Satellite Award – Satellite Awards

» LINKS

IMDB – Official Site – Wikipedia