The Omen (2006)

2 Stars (out of 4)

Problem Child

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Yet another in the seemingly endless parade of horror remakes, The Omen is neither good enough to be worthwhile, nor bad enough to be interesting. It somehow attracted a top-flight cast, however. Liev Schreiber stars -- channeling Gregory Peck's upright performance in the 1976 original -- as Robert Thorn, an American ambassador in London. While serving as a deputy ambassador in Italy, Robert's wife (Julia Stiles) suffers complications during childbirth, and he agrees to "adopt" an orphan baby to save her from the crushing heartbreak. The child, Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick), grows up with a demonic blank stare and dark circles under his eyes and causes people to die of freak accidents or bizarre suicides. A priest (Pete Postlethwaite) tries to warn Robert, and a British photographer (David Thewlis) tries to help. Mia Farrow gets the most juice out of the movie as sinister nanny who protects the evil spawn.

The chronically uninteresting Irish director John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix) can't quite decide on a pace, and when the movie speeds up, his camera responds by shaking like an engine pushed to the breaking point. He has no gift for horror and merely copies some of the creakiest tricks around (including the one where someone shuts the mirrored medicine cabinet, "suddenly" revealing something standing behind them). Michael Gambon co-stars in a welcome, hammy bit part. Veteran screenwriter David Seltzer, who wrote the original, takes solo credit for this new one. (His other credits over the years have included Prophecy, Bird on a Wire and My Giant).