1978's concept of the Antichrist, and still one of the best ever made, The Omen shines a spotlight on Damien Thorn, a young child destined to bring about the biblical apocalypse. The only thing standing in his way is adoptive father Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck), who at first refuses to believe his son could be evil, but eventually realizes the awful truth.
A critical and commercial hit, The Omen received two theatrical sequels that charted Damien's journey from child to teenager to adult. A young Sam Neill even played him in Omen 3: The Final Conflict. Both those sequels have their good qualities, although the later made for TV sequel Omen 4: The Awakening is best left forgotten. Beginning in the 2000s, just about every iconic horror movie started to get remade, and The Omen was no different.
As with all movie remakes, there's no rule that says an updated take on The Omen had to be bad. Unfortunately, the creative direction taken with the remake ensured that it would never stand a chance at emerging from its predecessor's shadow.
What The Omen Remake Got So Wrong
The Omen's 2006 remake definitely had the potential to be a good film. Its two leads are the very capable Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles, and the ing cast includes reliable veterans like Mia Farrow, David Thewlis, and Michael Gambon. The main problem is that the remake offers absolutely nothing new of consequence to viewers. The Omen 2006 is not quite a shot-for-shot remake, but it comes extremely close, and uses the same story beat to beat. In fact, it even used the exact same script, with 1978 writer David Seltzer once again credited. To make matters worse, it's directed by John Moore, a far cry from original director Richard Donner. Moore has also helmed such stinkers as A Good Day to Die Hard and Max Payne.
This makes The Omen remake a reheated copy of the original classic, but directed by a much lesser filmmaker. When faced with the choice, why on Earth would anyone ever choose to watch the 2006 movie when the superior, almost identical 1978 film exists? Topping things off, the few additions to the remake add nothing of any value, and in the case of a scene that attributes 9/11 to the Antichrist's coming arrival, actually risk offending some. The Omen 2006 isn't a particularly terrible film on its own merits, but it doesn't exist in a vacuum, it exists in a world where the 1978 movie does every single important thing it does, but better.
