Re: THE FIRST OMEN (spoilers)

On 10/12/2024 6:32 PM, BTR1701 wrote:

On Oct 12, 2024 at 3:20:36 PM PDT, "moviePig" <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:
 

>
Wonder what led up to 1976's THE OMEN?  THE FIRST OMEN reaches into a
worn-out bag of Catholic voodoo to resurrect those scares.  Though it's
a handsome, atmospheric production, its horror depends more on being
taken seriously than the original's ever did.  Minimally recommended.

 I didn't like the explanation.
  SPOILERS:
  In the original OMEN, the turncoat clergy were portrayed as true believers,
actual Satanists who worshipped Lucifer and were rejoicing at the birth of
their 'savior'.
  Here we find out they were just corrupt clergy, upset that young people were
turning away from the church and thereby costing the church its power in
society, so they 'created' the anti-Christ in some sort of weird quasi-science
experiment so he would wreak havoc on the earth and drive people back to the
church again.
 No, sir. I don't think I like it.
  I did think the movie was well done and did a great job of creating an
atmosphere of foreboding and evil lurking just around the next corner.
  The lead actress was appealing and did a good job and I had the nagging
impression I'd seen her somewhere before but her IMDb doesn't show her in
anything I've ever seen. (And her name-- Nell Tiger Free-- just screams
"Thanks mom and dad for being hippies when you had me. Wonderful name you
picked there.")
  I knew the roommate was a baddie from the moment she walked on screen and it
didn't take much longer than that before I'd guessed that the troubled girl in
the orphanage was just a red herring. (I did momentarily doubt myself when the
666 was revealed in her mouth, but it turns out I was right anyway.)
 Loved how the moment it was revealed that the baby was a boy-- and therefore
the anti-Christ they'd been waiting for-- Goldsmith's "Ave Satani" boldly took
over the score.
 All in all, it was a good movie except for the retcon about the church and, I
suppose, the way it contradicted Damien's origins from the original movie,
which clearly indicated his mother was a jackal, not a pretty novitiate.
 The girlfriend actually went with me when I saw it in the theater, even though
she absolutely hates any horror movie about possession or the devil.
 I was getting ready to leave and she was like, hang on, I want to go. I was
dubious. I said she would hate it and that this sort of thing freaks her out
and she said she'd deal with it, she just didn't feel like staying in alone
all night. So she went. And of course she was as freaked out as I knew she'd
be, digging her nails into my arm every five minutes, and just generally being
miserable.
 After it was over and we were back in the car, I found out that her misery and
any subsequent nightmare she would have were was all my fault. Apparently I
should have more forcefully insisted she stay at home and since I didn't, I'm
to blame for everything.
 <sigh>

I agree about the retcon, which felt like a sop for the bad press priests usually get.  Also, Charles Dance and Bill Nighy should be allowed to deliver priests more interesting than cameo gore-fodder.