How The First Omen Broke the Curse of Legacy Sequels

Arkasha Stevenson and Tim Smith on creating a horror they believe in

"...There are scenes in The First Omen that will restore your faith in studio horror. In..."

April 3, 2024 Screens Post by Richard Whittaker

The Omen

Julia Stiles is miscast, although Mia Farrow delights in this unnecessary remake of a perfectly good child-as-Antichrist movie.

"...maternal terrors at the heart of this character. This Omen's major (and only) coup comes courtesy of Mia Farrow...."

June 9, 2006 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The First Omen

Gruesome gynohorror prequel to 1976’s satanic masterpiece The Omen

"...a prequel to Richard Donner’s 1976 satanic masterpiece, The Omen, and it’s called the Bible. OK, glib jokes aside,..."

April 5, 2024 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

The Orphanage

Although Guillermo Del Toro is the producer, this new Spanish horror film is derivative and not on par with Del Toro's spooky childhood stories.

"...either in tone or tale, chief among them The Omen, Alejandro Amenábar's The Others, Mario Bava's Kill, Baby …..."

Dec. 28, 2007 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Under the Shadow

A mother and her son are stuck in a war zone in this Iranian horror film

"...materialize just out of Shideh’s peripheral vision like an omen, or a portent, or worse. Household items vanish, furniture..."

Oct. 7, 2016 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Ouija

Hasbro's soothsaying board is the MacGuffin in this teen horror film.

"...a portent of things to come, it’s an ill omen indeed. There’s nary a chill or shock cut in..."

Oct. 31, 2014 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

We Need To Talk About Kevin

Tilda Swinton stars as the mother of a teen rampage killer who has a complicated relationship with her son.

"...teenager by Miller). From the start it's an almost Omen-esque battle of wills between mother and child. Kevin refuses..."

Feb. 3, 2012 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Haunting of Molly Hartley

A frighteningly dull updating of The Omen and Rosemary's Baby for the Gossip Girl set.

"...banal thanks to this frighteningly dull updating of The Omen and Rosemary's Baby for the Gossip Girl set. Seriously,..."

Nov. 7, 2008 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Joshua

The privileged nuclear family becomes a hellish dystopia as a result of a 9-year-old child's subtle, nuanced, unspoken manipulations.

"...Celia Weston, Dallas Roberts and Michael McKean. There are moments in Joshua that recall, in their spare, sublime paranoiac..."

July 13, 2007 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Bless the Child

"...third grade. Predictably, the film ends on a low, Omen-esque note that does little to soothe your aching head...."

Aug. 11, 2000 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

I'll Be Home for Christmas

"...carol refrains. Remember Jingle All the Way? Heed the omen. Oh, I'll Be Home for Christmas doesn't have the..."

Nov. 20, 1998 Movie Review by Hollis Chacona

As Good as It Gets

Nicholson and Hunt both won Oscars for their respective roles as a rude and obsessive-compulsive writer and the waitress who grows to love him.

"...title, As Good as It Gets, looms like an omen, telegraphing, correctly as it turns out, the impression that..."

Dec. 26, 1997 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

That Old Revival Spirit

Testifying About Movies

"...a visit, cars running out of gas at opportune moments - the usual. And it all works, every last..."

June 13, 1997 Screens Feature

Demons on the Set of Cursed Films

New series on Shudder asks why we want to believe in evil

"...supernatural events surrounding the shoot of Richard Donner's The Omen. It becomes a means to exploring the pervasive presence..."

April 3, 2020 Screens Feature by Matthew Monagle

Free Stuff to Do at SXSW 2024

Party at the post-apocalypse, smell good doing it

"...including “ass jerky.” Warning: Feral ghouls ahead. The First Omen: Confessional Booth..."

March 8, 2024 Arts Feature by Kimberley Jones

Godland

Faith and photography lead to disaster in this Icelandic drama

"...Lucas’ journey is rough, an omen for what’s to come. He has trouble connecting with..."

March 3, 2023 Movie Review by Jenny Nulf

Strawberry Mansion

Dream logic becomes a winding path to a strange romance

"...for soda and fast food; not a very encouraging omen...."

Feb. 18, 2022 Movie Review by Josh Kupecki

Dead & Beautiful

Heavy-handed vampire story isn't even that pretty to look at

"...drama Dead & Beautiful. His film opens with two women, Anastasia (Marchenko) and Lulu (Zhong), speeding down the Taiwan..."

Nov. 5, 2021 Movie Review by Jenny Nulf

Violation

Brutal drama turns takes the lurid appeal out of the rape-revenge horror

"...Ill-omen hangs like a cloud over the weekend when sisters..."

April 2, 2021 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

Demon

This astute Polish ghost movie is an instant genre classic

"...of Zaneta’s crumbling family manse. Piotr keeps the ill omen to himself, but as the guests arrive it rapidly..."

Sept. 30, 2016 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Case 39

Renée Zellweger stars as a social worker who protects a child whose family has created dark forces around her.

"...its mediocre sameness. As anyone who's seen Orphan, The Omen, The Unborn, The Bad Seed, The Good Son, Village..."

Oct. 8, 2010 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Shrek the Third

The big, green cash machine has finally run dry, perhaps not of box-office power but most assuredly of the caustic wit that made the first two films so winning.

"...Far, Far Away (Cleese in a too-brief cameo), an ill-omen for the ogre Shrek (Myers), who not only has..."

May 18, 2007 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Natural Selection

This locally shot black comedy examines the bizarre feedback loop that exists among celebrity psychopaths, the increasingly tabloidized mainstream news media, and, not least, our own bad selves.

"...creepo flicks by Friedkin, Craven, and Richard Donner (The Omen) is the single most impressive thing about this film...."

Feb. 4, 2000 Movie Review by Russell Smith

The Omega Code

"...a scene in front of all Hell's minions!” More moments like this and we might've had ourselves a prime,..."

Nov. 5, 1999 Movie Review by Russell Smith

Fallen

"...melancholy look of David Fincher's Seven, it's deep in Exorcist/Omen territory. Nicholas Kazan's script makes much of the fact..."

Jan. 16, 1998 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Paramount Theatre's Summer Film Classics

"...4:00, 7:00 Aug 26 The Bad Seed: 7:15 The Omen: 9:55 Aug 27 The Omen: 7:15 The Bad Seed:..."

June 13, 1997 Screens Feature

A Troll in Central Park

"...directly into the second-run theatres is a very bad omen...."

Dec. 30, 1994 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Free Will Astrology

Your weekly horoscope, April 5-11

"...I don’t regard a solar eclipse as a bad omen. On the contrary, I believe it may purge and..."

April 5, 2024 Column by Rob Brezsny

SXSW Film Review: Hood Witch

Modern-day witch hunt set in Paris needs fine-tuning

"...In horror, witches and women’s rights go together like cookies and cream. The witch..."

March 14, 2024 Screens Post by Jenny Nulf

Free Will Astrology

Your weekly horoscope, February 23-29

"...crafted a reputation as a masterful storyteller. A key moment in his development as an emotionally intelligent artist came..."

Feb. 23, 2024 Column by Rob Brezsny

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