I do love a good religious horror movie. I always have and always will. I grew up on classic horror films as well (The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw, Evil Dead, etc). The Omen (1976) is one of those classics I grew up watching. It took a while for me to realize that there were more than just one made.
Just like with the other classics I grew up with, I would find them at my aunts house in her massive collection of VHS. I also think this is the reason I have a collection of DVDs. She had them cataloged and even had a book where you could look up the title of the movie and find which VHS had it – they were numbered. She indeed had the other Omen films in her collection and that opened the door for me to explore the others in the series.
I know The Omen isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but that’s okay. There are films that everyone seems to love that I just can’t stand to watch (or watch again). It is a slow burn, but when the major pieces hit, they hit hard. All of those images are forever etched in my mind. The music is in my mind as well.
The choice of music for the film helped make it, it’s haunting and gives you the feeling of unease. Making you wonder if you’re going to become a part of some kind of cult experience because of chants echoing through the speakers.
With my love for the original (as well as the follow ups), I wasn’t easily sold on them doing a prequel. Those who run the movie machine will do anything to push something out and make a little from it. I only seen one trailer for it, but I figured I’d take a Sunday afternoon showing. Why not?
I am greatly surprised at what I seen. It had the feel of that first film, taking place in the 70’s. The music didn’t stray from that music that made the hairs of the back of your neck stand up. I’m going to say, this movie was an onion. Over the 2 hours layers are pulled back, showing you that you’re wrong with what you thought was happening. I honestly thought I had it figured out, but within mere minutes I was shown to be wrong.
Prequels are always a hard thing to do no matter what the film is. It’s hard to capture that original fan base while trying to expand to a new (or younger) fan base. I know a lot of people who see this movie, and are not a fan of the original are going to say how bad it is and even how dry it is. As I said before, it is not a full blast from beginning to end movie. You have your high points that make you cover your mouth, but that fades out to something softer before that next high point comes. It’s a movie experience that does feel like a rollercoaster.
The ending scene does make you want to go home and watch The Omen. It ended in a perfect way to roll right into it. I was unsure if they would be able to do that. Honestly I thought it was seem weird, like they would end this movie leaving a large gap for you to figure out yourself what happened before The Omen actually takes place.
I do suggest seeing this movie if you like the original, or are a fan of religious horror movies.
I rated it 3.5 out of 5.
