The Omen ’06

• (Also known as The Omen: 666)
• Directed by John Moore
• June 8, 2006

A young child that replaces a deceased baby unbeknownst to the mother may be the Antichrist.

Discussing The Omen 2006 (also known as The Omen: 666) would be very much akin to discussing the original movie. Like any remake should what it does is fix things that those making this new version felt perhaps did not work and could be improved upon. This follows the original pretty closely with minor changes here and there. It is not a movie with The Omen name slapped on it. It’s a much more polished presentation than the original was. The original is certainly good and deserves its classic status but in hindsight it felt a little bit like a rough draft of the concept. This version feels more like a finished presentation.

First of all Liev Schreiber is more age-appropriate to be a parent in the story than the significantly more talented Gregory Peck ever was in his film. Not talking smack on either but who really said to themselves that a 60-year-old Peck was convincing as a new dad? It is easier to believe 40-year-old Schreiber as a new dad.

Mia Farrow replacing Billie Whiteclaw as Mrs. Willa Baylock is much creepier than Whiteclaw was. Farrow has enough of that fake charm that you could believe she could get the job and stick around long enough for Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) to off his parents.

When it comes to changes to the script or to the characters Katherine Thorn (Julia Stiles) is much more of an individual than she was in the original movie. She’s an actual character with some beliefs and emotions. She has more substance to her than what the moment supplies. She is a character.

One thing that jumps out at me is that much like the original there’s talk of Damien wanting to stop his future sibling from being born after Katharine learns she is pregnant. In this version mom is all about getting an abortion because she seems to be going through some postpartum depression as well as fearing Damien even if she does not quite get why. So it begs the question why did he even need to cause the falling incident? She was going to have an abortion anyway. It was an unnecessary measure on his part and a needless addition to the story. 

Admittedly abortion is much more acceptable today or in 2006 than it was when the original film came out but it makes Damien’s actions to prevent his possible sibling from being born unnecessary. He just needed to sit back and continue to be creepy.

The Omen 2006 creates an atmosphere and a vibe in the same way as the original. The elements that are redoes are just as shocking as when they were first done. The hanging and the weathervane and the death of the photographer all get a slightly different spin yet are as effective. And most importantly the general accidents that benefit Damien have a possible non-religious explanation to them. That was a necessary element for keeping Damien logically off the radar of characters.

And yet this does not equal the original. While The Omen ‘76 did feel like a rough draft it was still as good as it could get. The Omen ‘06 is not a superior movie but nearly equal to the original. Aside from updating elements for reasons of the progression of time or fixing some weaker things this does nothing superior.

Mercifully The Omen ’06 does not bastardize the name for an unrelated property. It takes the original and polishes. Unfortunately the original was about as good as the idea could get. Maybe not a must see but certainly not a complete waste of your time.