| 75 |
Chicago Sun-Times
A faithful remake of the 1976 film, and that's a relief; it depends on characters and situations and doesn't go berserk with visuals.
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| 75 |
New York Post
Kyle Smith
Director John Moore has added some creepy visuals and assembled an unusually strong cast for a horror flick.
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| 70 |
Washington Post
The remake is directed by another slickster, the Irishman John Moore, who is no deep thinker (as his "Behind Enemy Lines" confirmed) but, like Donner, he's an able hack -- smooth, stylish, clever, soulless and a hoot. And so's his damned movie. And it is damned.
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| 63 |
Charlotte Observer
The casting is weaker this time. Watching Peck crumble under fear and doubt was like seeing a skyscraper implode; Schreiber's more of a whipped puppy for most of the film.
|
| 63 |
Philadelphia Inquirer
The Omen remake is creepily efficient. Unlike one of the newfangled horrorfests, it doesn't drown you in brackish atmosphere and surround-sound you with techno music.
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| 63 |
TV Guide
There are no surprises for anyone who's seen the earlier version, and younger horror fans may find the modest body count and restrained gore unsatisfying.
|
| 60 |
Film Threat
Seriously, that kid is creepy as hell.
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| 60 |
Los Angeles Times
Despite slick camera work by Jonathan Sela and intense, naturalistic performances by Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles, The Omen retains the aura of ceremonious kitsch of the first movie, favoring a well-lighted, upscale Goth aesthetic punctuated with flashes of well-timed, cymbal-crashing shockers and giggly camp.
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| 60 |
Empire
Competently made, and enjoyably played. But you do really end up wondering what the point was. Cinematic déjà vu is the most likely response.
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| 60 |
Variety
Will a movie that scared the bejezus out of moviegoers 30 years ago pack the necessary wallop and carnage to satisfy fans of blood-soaked modern horror? The answer is a qualified yes.
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| 58 |
Baltimore Sun
Besides offering the giddy pleasure of seeing Mia Farrow play a demonic nanny, there's not much to the film that a repeat viewing of its earlier incarnation couldn't provide.
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| 50 |
USA Today
The devil has a new spawn, but this one is not nearly as creepy as its progenitor.
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| 50 |
New York Daily News
Rent the original. It tells exactly the same story, with a better cast and with special effects that are as good or better.
|
| 50 |
Newsweek
Devin Gordon
At least in the new Omen, the filmmakers have the sense to keep evil Damien's dialogue to a minimum. His villainy is all in the dimples. But is it too familiar to be scary anymore?
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| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle
The remake is a solidly crafted movie with a lot of good scares, but it also raises the question: Why even bother with an update?
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| 50 |
Village Voice
Jordan Harper
If the movie didn't take itself so seriously, it could have been a great popcorn muncher. As is, it'll still work fine for those willing to forgive its trespasses.
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| 50 |
Christian Science Monitor
This is one of those movies that profits from very low expectations. If you go in expecting something dreadful, be assured: It's only near dreadful.
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| 50 |
Miami Herald
In a move reminiscent of Gus Van Sant's "Psycho," some shots are lifted directly from the original and much of the screenplay is identical.
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| 50 |
Portland Oregonian
Transplanting so much of the original story to a 21st-century setting only amplifies how badly the story has aged.
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| 50 |
Chicago Reader
This new version is an almost scene-for-scene remake, which is good news in the first half and bad news in the torpid second.
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| 42 |
Entertainment Weekly
There's one moment that achieves the camp shiver of the original, when Damien's nanny hangs herself at his birthday party (''Damien, it's all for you!'').
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| 42 |
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Pretty much everyone in the cast is wildly overqualified, including Pete Postlethwaite and David Thewlis in key supporting roles.
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| 42 |
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
New director John Moore just doesn't have original director Richard Donner's filmmaking flair, so the same scenes done the same way on phony-looking Prague locations without the benefit of Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-winning score just seem terminally slow and flat.
|
| 40 |
Dallas Observer
Jordan Harper
There's a fascinating movie buried inside this story, but it's not the one the filmmakers decided to make. This Omen is simply too big for its britches.
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| 40 |
New York Magazine
David Edelstein
Yet another remake no one needs is The Omen.
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| 40 |
The Hollywood Reporter
The release date is the most original thing about it.
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| 40 |
LA Weekly
The actors sleepwalk through their roles (save for Rosemary herself, Mia Farrow, chewing the scenery with termitelike gusto as the boy's satanic protector), while Moore, who previously directed "Behind Enemy Lines" and the "Flight of the Phoenix" remake, seems completely at a loss without any planes to crash.
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| 40 |
Austin Chronicle
Utterly pointless remake.
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| 38 |
Chicago Tribune
Michael Phillips
Schreiber and Stiles are good actors, and they're actually acting, if not to any actual avail. In the silliest recasting, a comically exaggerated Mia Farrow takes over for steely Billie Whitelaw in the evil nanny role.
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| 38 |
ReelViews
Fans of the original will end up doing shot-by-shot comparisons. On every level, The Omen isn't just bad filmmaking, it's bad storytelling.
|
| 30 |
The New York Times
Terminally glum and waterlogged.
|
| 25 |
Boston Globe
It's a terrible sign for a movie when the sole reason for its existence is a satanic opening date.
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| 25 |
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Compared to Al Gore's new global-warming documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," The Omen makes the Apocalypse look comforting and child-friendly.
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| 25 |
Rolling Stone
Not since Gus Van Sant inexplicably directed a shot-by-shot remake of Hitchcock's "Psycho" has a thriller been copied with so little point or impact.
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