The Omen: 06/06/06

The original Omen was released back in 1976. It featured cheesy special effects and your average B-Movie actors. It's now 2006, and what a facelift it received. Directed & produced by John Moore. This movie takes place in a variety of places such as Italy and the United Kingdom. I saw this movie with my family sometime back in mid-June. Despite the abundant reviews that tend to shun this movie, I thought it was filmed and portrayed quite well. The 3 main characters in this film are, Damien, Ambassador Robert Thorn, and his wife Katherine Thorne. Now there are some key factors that made this movie good. They are the filming techniques, character portrayal and the framing of a shot, which all played a significant role.

First up we have the filming techniques. For example, there is this one particular scene where Damien's babysitter is about to commit suicide. In the shot, we can see a rather large courtyard for Damien's birthday party and the large mansion they live in. It is all shot in a "wide angle" view. So the viewer like you and I could view a lot in this scene. Also there is this one series of scenes when Katherine is having nightmares. I really thought this was neat how they did this part. They would show a peaceful atmosphere, such as in a bathroom she would be looking at herself in the mirror, then once she would close the mirror a devil like figure would appear. A very fast transitions of filming really made it intense during this part.

Next we have the character portrayals. Liev Schreiber played Ambassador Robert Thorne. I think he played this part perfect. I can't really think of another person suitable for this job. He also played a good role in the Scream series. Personally, I think he had a unique personality that made it perfect. He wasn't like a typical actor just reading lines and getting the job done. His wife Katherine Thorne was played by Julia Stiles. She played her part alright. There wasn't anything special about her performance. This may be due to the fact that the movies she's typically in, doesn't really go along with The Omen.

Lastly we have the framing of a shot. Very good use of close ups used in this movie. As I have mentioned before about the mirror scene most of that was all shot close up. Also in one of the scenes where Damien is holding his mothers hand in the park. The camera is using a close up and selective focus on Damien. This means that only Damien is in focus, while the rest of the background and surrounding objects are all blurred. This creates a stunning effect. It puts an emphasis on Damien rather than everything that's in the frame.

In conclusion The Omen was a good summer blockbuster. It was not your average run of the mill movie. Out of five stars, I'd have to give it three and a half. The film portrayed a variety of suspense and cliffhanging moments. The film work was done well. The majority of the actors and actresses who played a part in this movie also did a good job. So all in all, this was a pretty good remake of an old classic horror movie.