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.
Omen IV: The Awakening
(1991)
Genre(s): Horror, Thriller, Supernatural
Shout Factory | R – 97 min. – $0.00 | October 15, 2019
Date Published: 10/13/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Jorge Montesi and Dominique Othenin-Giraro
Writer(s): David Seltzer (characters); Harvey Bernhard & Brian Taggert (story), Brian Taggert (screenplay)
Cast: Faye Grant, Michael Woods, Michael Lerner, Asia Vieira, Madison Mason, Ann Hearn
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DISC INFO:
Features: Featurette, Interview, Gallery
Slip Cover: No
Digital Copy: No
Formats Included: Blu-ray
Number of Discs: 1
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Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 2.0)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.85
Subtitles: English SDH
Disc Size: 33.96 GB
Total Bitrate: 29.19 Mbps
Codecs: MPEG-4 AVC
Region(s): A
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Shout Factory provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
THE MOVIE — 2.25/5
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Plot Synopsis: Damien Thorn is dead, but his prophesy is reborn in a mysterious girl named Delia (ASIA VIEIRA), who is adopted by two attorneys, Gene and Karen York (MICHAEL WOODS, FAYE GRANT). When Karen realizes her baby was born under suspicious circumstances, she hires a private investigator (MICHAEL LERNER) to find Delia’s real parents. A series of bizarre accidents occur, and Karen begins to suspect everyone of conspiring against her as she unravels the truth about her child.
Quick Hit Review: Omen IV: The Awakening was a TV movie (airing on the Fox network) from 1991, ten years after the third installment. Not all that surprising this one wasn’t anything remotely good with a smaller budget and a no-name cast (whereas at least the first two had Gregory Peck and William Holden and the third a young Sam Neill), however I will say the actress cast as Delia, Asia Vieira, did have the evil creepy factor going for her with piercing, black eyes. Unfortunately that’s probably the only positive thing in an otherwise forgettable film.
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SPECIAL FEATURES – 3.25/5
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The Book of Evil (18:11) — This is a new interview with screenwriter Brian Taggert discussing his approach to writing the fourth film.
The Omen Legacy (1:41:39) is a feature-length documentary on the franchise that aired 2001 on AMC and was narrated by Jack Palance (whose daughter played the nanny in the first film). Really nice and in-depth feature that delves into the history of demons and its inclusion into the culture.
Also includes the Theatrical Trailer (1:19) and a Still Gallery (2:14).
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VIDEO – 3.75/5
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| Shout Factory releases Omen IV onto Blu-ray, marking its debut in the format, presented with a 1.85 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. Although this isn’t a brilliant looking picture or anything, I have to imagine this is a clear improvement over the DVD release not to mention its original airing in 1991. Detail on the close-ups is decent while the more distant ones do lose some focus. Colors are at least somewhat bright and surprisingly appear clean with no obvious artifacting, aliasing or even specs. Don’t know if Fox did some restoration before but respectable nonetheless. |
AUDIO – 3.5/5
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| The included DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo track is perfectly serviceable, dialogue does come through with fine clarity though depth is lackluster, but of course this is probably expected for a TV movie. |
OVERALL – 3.0/5
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Not sure there was a reason for Omen IV: The Awakening to exist, but producer Harvey Bernhard apparently pushed this probably to rectify his disappointment with how The Final Conflict turned out. As it is, not bad but by no means good either.
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