31 days of Fright, Day 29: The Omen

Welcome to day 29 of 31 Days of Fright here at Road To The Movies! In today's episode, something frightening happened to Jonathan, he thought about it, and it turns out it was...

THE OMEN
1976
Rated R

I was rather stuck on what movie to review for today. Hundreds of movies were rocking around in my brain, begging to be chosen, when suddenly, Gabe mentioned that neither of us had done a review of an antichrist movie. So why not go with quite possibly the scariest one: The (original) Omen. It’s been about 9 years or so since I’ve seen this movie (although I have seen the remake quite recently) and even today it’s easy to remember why this film scared me half to death. It really is genuinely that scary. It could just be nostalgia talking, but this movie takes me back to my childish self, before I became so jaded and calloused, and that’s saying something.

It all starts with the newborn son of a couple dying shortly after being born. The husband is convinced by a priest to substitute the child with a baby born recently whose mother died right after she had him. He agrees without telling his wife, because he’s worried that she’d lose her mind if she found out. They happily decide to name the child Damien. And then shit gets weird (to say the least).

A lot of people today have either seen the original, the remake, or read the books, so many of you know what happens next. But, for the sake of people who haven’t experienced the grisly glory that is The Omen, I’ll stop there with my description. There are too many surprises and out-of-nowhere violence to go any further. And really, that’s one of the things that make this movie great. It’s creepy on two levels. There’s an almost timid, yet horribly unnerving, creepiness about Damien and the way he looks and talks (or doesn’t) and moves, and then there’s the in-your-face gore and mayhem throughout the movie (and trust me, there’s a lot of it). They balance so well, you have to give props to the director for pulling it off. It really isn’t easy to make a good horror movie that doesn’t feel one-note, because so many people stick to a set structure. This movie re-wrote said structure.

And it doesn’t stop there. The acting in this movie is superb, but I did have a few problems with how overly expository the dialogue was, but that’s a problem with the time period, not the writer (see my Exorcist review for more on this by CLICKING HERE). Also, they had the writer of the novel write the screenplay. I have no way to express how much I love when this happens. A lot of authors usually don’t write their own screenplays simply because scripts are an entirely different style of storytelling than books. There’s almost no room for description in a screenplay, and everything has to move a lot faster, and mostly through dialogue. There have been several flubs from authors who really just didn’t know how to adapt their own work, but in this case, it worked marvelously. David Seltzer (the author of both the book and the film) really kept to the story he wanted to tell in both formats, and it comes though extremely well. The music only adds to this. It’s ominous and creepy, yet strangely happy and upbeat at certain parts. It almost contradicts itself, but that really makes the viewer more aware of the terror right in front of them.

If you’re sick of the same-old and the mundane, I highly suggest giving this movie a try. It’s genuinely creepy and a really fun ride. It’s hard to find someone who has seen this movie and really didn’t like it, and it’s actually scary, much unlike all these crazy Japanese remakes and PG-13 horror made specifically to pander to middle-school kids. But if you’re curious, watch it for yourself and see, it scared me (and still does) and it’s a wonderfully made film, for you film buffs out there. So remember, “If something frightening happens to you today, think about it. It may be... The Omen”

9.5/10

-JONATHAN



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