The Omen (1976) Blu-ray Review

THE MOVIE — 3.25/5

Plot Synopsis: When Kathy Thorn (LEE REMICK) gives birth to a stillborn baby, her husband Robert (GREGORY PECK) shields her from the devastating truth and substitutes an orphaned infant for their own – unaware of the child’s satanic origins. The horror begins on Damien’s fifth birthday when his nanny stages a dramatic suicide. Soon after, a priest who tries to warn Damien’s father is killed in a freakish accident. As the death toll mounts, Robert realizes his son is the Antichrist and decides he must kill the boy to prevent him from fulfilling a cataclysmic prophecy.

Quick Hit Review: The Omen is a movie I thought I had seen many years ago, but remember very little about. This being my first viewing probably a decade, I didn’t really find it all that great, though it had its share of disturbing moments, and the acting from Gregory Peck was pretty damn good, giving the film some weight. Other than that, it never genuinely scared me and perhaps that’s due to the era when the movie was made, although a film like The Exorcist, released only three years prior to this, still holds up very well.

The film was directed by the venerable Richard Donner who, with his cinematographer Gilbert Taylor, gives the movie a real ominous vibe without looking too dark or overbearing, though having an evil child is kind of like clowns, to me anyway, they’re easy to make creepy or downright frightening. Again, probably just me… In any case, while I wasn’t as full on board with this movie compared with others of the same ilk (such as the aforementioned Exorcist), there is still plenty here to appreciate.

SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.75/5

Audio Commentaries:

• Director Richard Donner and Editor Stuart Baird
• Director Richard Donner and Filmmaker Brian Helgeland
• Film Historians Lem Dobbs, Nick Redman and Jeff Bond

Here we get three commentary tracks, each one covering different viewpoints. Probably my favorite is the Donner/Helgeland, a track featuring two filmmakers with Helgeland serving as a moderator and keeps the conversation flowing. The third track is very much an educational type of commentary and all three commentators delve into the background into the project.

Interviews:

• Screenwriter David Seltzer (23:25)
• Actress Holly Palance (13:14)
• Composer Christopher Young (19:05)

All three of these are pretty fascinating. Seltzer and Palance relayed stories from the set with the former discussing his screenplay and being rather humble and Palance talking about this being her first picture. Young’s interview was an appreciation for Jerry Goldsmith.

Vintage Featurettes:

• Richard Donner on The Omen (14:37) is an interview with the filmmaker recorded in 2008.
• The Omen Revelations (24:10) — This one looks at the religious angle of the movie with interviews by members of the clergy as well as Seltzer and Baird.
• Curse or Coincidence? (6:22) looks at some oddities that happened during the production.
• 666: The Omen Revealed (46:18) – Lengthy featurette on the making of The Omen.
• Introduction with Richard Donner (1:56) provides brief thoughts on the film.
• Deleted Scene (1:26) that includes a commentary with Donner.
• Screenwriter’s Notebook (14:53) is an interview with Screenwriter David Seltzer.
• An Appreciation: Wes Craven on The Omen (20:17) — The legendary, and late, great horror filmmaker gives his praise for the movie.
• Jerry Goldsmith Discusses The Omen Score (17:37) is pretty self-explanatory but the wonderful composer, who I guess recorded this not long before his death, provides his process with coming up with the score.

Trailers From Hell (2:46) is a breakdown on the Omen trailer by Larry Cohen.

Rounding things out are promotional materials: Theatrical Trailer (2:25), TV Spots (1:24), Radio Spots (3:51) and lastly four Image Galleries.

VIDEO – 4.5/5

AUDIO – 4.25/5

OVERALL – 4.0/5

Although I don’t hold The Omen in as high regards to some as I never found the plot itself all that enegaing, the film does have its moments and genuine creepiness and a bit of a dark fun factor going for it, alongside the performance from Gregory Peck. This Blu-ray release has good video/audio transfers and a great set of bonus features.