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"THE OMEN" (2006) (Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles) (R) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Mild Extreme Extreme *Heavy Mild Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate Moderate Extreme None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Minor Mild Extreme Heavy Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror: A husband and wife must deal with the possibility that their young son is really the Antichrist. PLOT: Robert Thorn (LIEV SCHREIBER) is an American diplomat living in Italy with his young wife Katherine (JULIA STILES), and the two are expecting their first child. But when Robert rushes to the hospital upon hearing of problems with her labor, he receives the bad news that not only was Katherine's womb damaged and she might not be able to have other children, but also that their infant son has died. With Katherine still unaware of this turn of events, Robert reluctantly follows the advice of the hospital priest who encourages him to take a recently orphaned infant and accept it as his own, without telling his wife of the switch. Some time later, the happy family is set to move to London where Robert will be the deputy U.S. Ambassador, but he ends up getting the job when his boss meets an untimely demise. Two years later, all seems well, but the suicide of the family's nanny at young Damien's (SEAMUS DAVEY-FITZPATRICK) birthday party shocks everyone, including press photographer Keith Jennings (DAVID THEWLIS) who's been following Robert's every move. Apparently, so has Father Brennan (PETE POSTLEWAITE), an older priest who urgently warns Robert that his and his wife's lives are in danger -- from their very son. Robert pays no heed to what sound like the words of a deranged man, and besides, the family's new nanny, Mrs. Baylock (MIA FARROW), has Damien under tight wraps. Nevertheless, Father Brennan continues his warnings, and the presence of seemingly supernatural occurrences eventually begins to give both Robert and Keith second thoughts, particularly with Katherine becoming increasingly spooked by their son and being involved in a near fatal fall caused by him. From that point on, they try to figure out what to do if Damien truly is the Antichrist. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? They might if they're fans of horror films, the original movie, and/or someone in the cast. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R For disturbing violent content, graphic images and some language. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: LIEV SCHREIBER plays the 34-year-old U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain who agrees to allow a priest to replace his dead newborn with an orphaned child (thus keeping that secret from Katherine, but doing so to protect her from heartache). He briefly uses some profanity, briefly drinks, and tries to get to the bottom of what's occurring, all while being torn apart by the eventual revelations and discoveries. JULIA STILES plays his young wife who finds out that she's not cut out to be a mother (and wants to abort her latest pregnancy), especially considering Damien's odd and then dangerous behavior. SEAMUS DAVEY-FITZPATRICK plays their young son who turns out to be the Antichrist. DAVID THEWLIS plays a photographer who follows Robert and his family for photo opportunities. He smokes a few times, briefly drinks, briefly uses some strong profanity and tries to get to the bottom of what's occurring, including through his photographic evidence. PETE POSTLEWAITE plays a desperate and seemingly cursed priest who repeatedly warns Robert and tries to inform him of what's really occurring regarding Damien. MIA FARROW plays the family's new nanny who takes an unusually protective stance in caring for Damien, even going so far as killing someone to do so. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated horror film. Profanity consists of at least 2 "f" words, while a handful of other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Violence consists of people dying by various means (including a decapitation, being impaled by a lightning rod, a suicide, a car explosion, a shooting, being hit by a car, and an oxygen bubble into the bloodstream), while a woman suffers a bad fall and some dogs attack two men. Some of that has bloody/gory results, and that violence, other moments of peril and all of the supernatural/demonic material may be unsettling, suspenseful or downright scary to some viewers. Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some brief drinking and smoking occur. Tense family material involves familial deaths as well as a mother becoming fearful of and estranged from her young son, while thematic elements include the above, as well as talk of abortions and brief images from 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and more. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, several scenes feature bright flashes of lightning. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's some handheld, home movie camera footage early in the film, followed later by several spin-around camera shots and other such camera movement. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE While working at Damien's birthday party (taking photos), Keith grabs a glass of wine off a table and takes a drink from it. Later, a shoe falls down several stories and lands on some bottles of wine, breaking them. About their nanny committing suicide, a reporter asks Robert if she was on drugs. Robert pours himself a drink. Miscellaneous people have champagne at a reception. Keith says that Father Brennan was high on self-administered morphine (to deal with his cancer). Keith carries a drink. As a religious figure falls asleep, passes out or dies, the goblet of wine he's holding spills down onto his clothing. BLOOD/GORE Katherine has a trickle of blood on her forehead after Damien attacks her in a car. We see Katherine in a bathtub (no nudity) when she holds up her arm and there's blood all over it from a slice on her wrist (but this turns out to be a nightmare). A dead priest's face is all bloody after being killed (by a falling lightning rod that's impaled him and glass that's cut his face). Keith and Robert meet a priest whose face is badly disfigured (including an ugly looking, exposed eyeball) from prior burn-based scars. We see various flash images of creepy and some bloody faces. We see a little blood on a large bandage around Robert's arm (from a previous dog attack). We see a chain reaction where a hammer on a roof slides off, eventually causing a large sign to swing around its post (vertically), decapitating a man down below it (seen in full graphic detail, including a view of the bloody stump). Mrs. Baylock has some blood on her face after being kicked there. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Damien (a.k.a. the Antichrist) causes or is responsible for several deaths (and obviously has ulterior motives to being just a kid). A priest convinces Robert to take an orphaned infant as his own (after his own baby has died in childbirth) so as to spare Katherine from news of the death. Robert then does so and doesn't tell Katherine the truth. The priest states that this is God's plan and that He will forgive this "little deception." Some viewers might not like it when Robert says, "I know how you feel kiddo" upon seeing Damien reacting adversely to seeing a church. For those concerned with such matters, Katherine tells Robert that she's pregnant but that she's having an abortion, saying, "I want it out of me" (all in relation to how Damien has been acting). Later, a therapist tells Robert that if wants to help his wife, he must let her have that abortion (but Robert says he won't). Mrs. Baylock injects a bubble of air into an incapacitated patient's IV line. She then holds her hand over that person's mouth as we see the bubble traveling through the tube and the patient struggles, but to no avail. The hospital machinery then shows a flat line and the patient dies. During this, Damien stares at a guard, using some sort of mind control that prevents him from intervening. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Others may not have the same reaction. For those concerned with and/or spooked by such material, there's a great deal of Satanic subject matter and lots of related imagery throughout the film. We briefly see footage from the terrorist attacks of 9/11, including one of the World Trade Center towers already on fire, the plane approaching the second, and then the collapse of one tower. We also briefly see hurricane and tsunami footage as well as flash images of dead people (all shown as part of evidence of the approaching Apocalypse). We see slow motion footage of a traffic jam in Rome where a person flicks a lit cigarette to the road. A fuel truck then ends up backing into a limo carrying a dignitary who's trapped there as fuel spills from the trick into the limo and onto the man. The fuel then flows over to the cigarette, ignites and causes the car to explode (we don't see the actual death inside). Damien's nanny stares at a black dog at his birthday party. The next thing we see is her standing on the edge of a tall roof, yelling out to Damien that this is for him. She then jumps off with a noose around her neck. The rope then goes taut, we hear her neck snap and then see her body swing and bump several times into the side of the building. Damien adversely reacts to seeing a church steeple and then passing by the church. He then freaks out and proceeds to attack Katherine in their limo, clawing at her hair and face, bloodying the later (one trickle on her forehead) before Robert pulls her away. We see Katherine in a bathtub (no nudity) when she holds up her arm and there's blood all over it from a slice on her wrist. We then suddenly see a flash image of Damien standing there in some sort of scary mask and holding a rope or something similar. She then wakes up from her nightmare. Robert goes into Damien's bedroom where he suddenly hears loud growling from a dog. He then spots the menacing dog and slowly gets up, but Mrs. Baylock then comes in and controls the dog. While visiting a zoo, the primates go crazy in Damien's presence, with him calmly telling his mom, "They're afraid." A large gorilla then starts bashing the barrier glass, cracking it and causing the humans to panic. Father Brennan warns Robert that the latter's wife is in grave danger and will die if Robert doesn't later meet him. Robert slowly walks through his empty kitchen, and when he turns back around, Damien is suddenly there. Father Brennan says that Katherine is pregnant and that Damien will kill the unborn child, then Katherine and finally Robert. Father Brennan tells Robert that if they don't stop Damien, "You'll see me in Hell." A priest hears demonic sounds as he runs through the rain toward a church. He climbs the locked gate and a bolt of lightning hits it just after he's back on the ground. He then gets to the locked front doors when another bolt hits a lightning rod atop the church. It falls off and through some glass before landing in him, impaling him in the chest, leaving him in a standing position on the rod (and his face is bloody from the glass that fell). As Katherine stands on a bench or something similar to water a flower or plant basket hanging over a railing in a very tall foyer (thus leaving her in a precarious position), we see Damien zipping along on his scooter, getting closer to her. He then purposefully bumps her and we see the planter fall a long distance and smash into the floor below. We then see Katherine trying to hang onto the edge by her fingertips, but she loses her grip and falls that same long distance. The camera shot follows her body down including when she slams into the floor below (we hear she broke her collarbone, has a concussion and internal bleeding, and that she had a miscarriage from that). We later see her in a hospital's intensive care unit. We see a photo that shows that Father Brennan had the 666 birthmark in his skin. Keith shows that a priest's death were foretold by weird anomalies in photos of him, and then points out that he (Keith) is similarly in danger due to the same sort of visual evidence. Robert and Keith enter an ancient cemetery at night in the snow where they see a large cross planted upside down in the ground. They then proceed to open two graves (one showing the skeletal remains of a dog or jackal and the other showing the same of a newborn that has a huge hole in its skull (meaning it was murdered). Just then, a large dog suddenly attacks Robert, biting at him, while another chases Keith, eventually getting him and biting on his foot. Robert uses something to beat that dog off him and then hits the other off Keith. The two then run and try to scale a wrought iron fence, with one dog grabbing Robert's arm, impeding his escape and injuring his arm. Keith then gets Robert's jacket off him and the two escape. Mrs. Baylock injects a bubble of air into an incapacitated patient's IV line. She then holds her hand over that person's mouth as we see the bubble traveling through the tube and the patient struggles, but to no avail. The hospital machinery then shows a flat line and the patient dies. During this, Damien stares at a guard, using some sort of mind control that prevents him from intervening. We see various flash images of creepy and some bloody faces. We see a chain reaction where a hammer on a roof slides off, eventually causing a large sign to swing around its post (vertically), decapitating a man down below it (seen in full graphic detail, including a view of the bloody stump). Robert slowly walks through his house at night in the dark during a storm outside. He nearly sends a glass to the floor (catching it) and a door suddenly closes on its own. Mrs. Baylock's big dog then hears him and races down to the kitchen. Robert tries to run away and the dog nearly gets him, but he opens a trap door just in time, causing the dog to slam into it and then fall down into the opening. After cutting away a lock of Damien's hair, Robert finds a 666 birthmark on his skin. Mrs. Baylock suddenly jumps on Robert's back, with him twice smashing her back into a wall to get her off him. He then grabs a screaming Damien and tries to leave, with Mrs. Baylock grabbing him from the floor. He then kicks her in the face. Trying to prevent Robert from leaving at night in the rain, Mrs. Baylock smashes a sledgehammer into his windshield. He peels away and when he comes around, she's standing in front of him, but he runs her over (we see her flip through the air above the car). He then drives through several gates and such while racing toward a church. Robert eludes the police after grabbing Damien to take him to a church to kill him. He then races into the sanctuary, drags a screaming Damien up to the altar and prepares to stab him with a special knife. GUNS/WEAPONS Knives: Given to Robert by a man and then used by him to try to kill Damien (but he's stopped before he's even able to complete the attempt). Various guards in various scenes carry automatic weapons. We hear sounds of shooting in a video game that Damien is playing (we don't see the acts). IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "What the f*ck /is this/did you think he was going to say?" "You'll see me in Hell," "Pick up the G*ddamn phone" and "What the hell happened to you?" When Katherine turns her back for a moment to answer her cell phone, Damien disappears from the playground, causing Katherine to panic. She races about and sees some bubbling water in the park's pond, but Damien then jumps out from behind something to scare her (and she's relieved he's okay). Damien's nanny stands on the edge of a tall roof, yelling out to Damien that this is for him. She then jumps off with a noose around her neck. The rope then goes taut, we hear her neck snap and then see her body swing and bump several times into the side of the building. Mrs. Baylock injects a bubble of air into an incapacitated patient's IV line (to kill them). JUMP SCENES We suddenly see a flash image of Damien standing near Katherine in some sort of scary mask (accompanied by sudden music). Katherine closes a bathroom medicine cabinet door and there's suddenly a demonic figure in the mirror reflection (accompanied by sudden music in this nightmare scene). Robert slowly walks through his empty kitchen, and when he turns back around, Damien is suddenly there. A dog suddenly attacks Robert in a quiet scene. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) An extreme amount of ominous, suspenseful and scary music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 2 "f" words, 1 hell, 2 uses of "Oh my God" and 1 use each of "G-damn" and "God." SEX/NUDITY An old and small drawing appears to show a man or boy's penis while he's lifted by Satan. We see a view from the foot of a bathtub looking at Katherine in it, but the angle is too low to see anything explicit. SMOKING Keith smokes at least twice, while some miscellaneous characters smoke in other scenes. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Robert gets a call that there are complications with Katherine's labor. When he gets to the hospital, he's told the baby has died and that Katherine suffered damage to her womb and thus won't be able to have any more children. A priest then convinces Robert to take an orphaned infant as his own (after his own baby has died in childbirth) so as to spare Katherine from news of the death. He then does so and doesn't tell Katherine the truth. The priest states that this is God's plan and that He will forgive this "little deception." When Katherine turns her back for a moment to answer her cell phone, Damien disappears from the playground, causing Katherine to panic. She races about and sees some bubbling water in the park's pond, but Damien then jumps out from behind something to scare her (and she's relieved he's okay). Katherine cries while saying that something isn't right with Damien, but feels guilty about feeling that way. Father Brennan warns Robert that the latter's wife is in grave danger and will die if Robert doesn't later meet him. Father Brennan tells Robert to meet a man who can tell him how Damien must die. Father Brennan says that Katherine is pregnant and that Damien will kill the unborn child, then Katherine and finally Robert. Katherine tells Robert that she's pregnant but that she's having an abortion, saying, "I want it out of me" (all in relation to how Damien has been acting). Later, a therapist tells Robert that if wants to help his wife, he must let her have that abortion (but Robert says he won't). Following her injurious fall (caused by Damien), Katherine tells Robert from her hospital bed (referring to Damien), "Don't let him kill me." Robert finds the skeletal remains of his infant son and sees that he was murdered (there's a large hole in the skull). A man gets a phone call that his wife is dead. Realizing what's really happening, Robert decides he wants Damien dead. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT The Devil, the Book of Revelations, etc. We briefly see footage from the terrorist attacks of 9/11, including one of the World Trade Center towers already on fire, the plane approaching the second, and then the collapse of one tower. We also briefly see hurricane and tsunami footage as well as flash images of dead people (all shown as part of evidence of the approaching Apocalypse). Katherine tells Robert that she's pregnant but that she's having an abortion, saying, "I want it out of me" (all in relation to how Damien has been acting). Later, a therapist tells Robert that if wants to help his wife, he must let her have that abortion (but Robert says he won't). The comment that there are no atheists in foxholes. Suicide. Parents who think and/or realize they're not cut out for being that. Life as an ambassador. VIOLENCE Some spilled fuel ignites and causes a car to blow up (killing the man inside, although we don't see the actual death). Damien's nanny stands on the edge of a tall roof, yelling out to Damien that this is for him. She then jumps off with a noose around her neck. The rope then goes taut, we hear her neck snap and then see her body swing and bump several times into the side of the building. Keith is knocked down and part of his camera gear breaks. Damien adversely reacts to seeing a church steeple and then passing by the church. He then freaks out and proceeds to attack Katherine in their limo, clawing at her hair and face, bloodying the later (one trickle on her forehead) before Robert pulls her away. While visiting a zoo, the primates go crazy in Damien's presence, with him calmly telling his mom, "They're afraid." A large gorilla then starts bashing the barrier glass, cracking it and causing the humans to panic. A lightning rod falls off a roof and through some glass before landing in a man, impaling him in the chest, leaving him in a standing position on the rod (and his face is bloody from the glass that fell). Damien bumps his mom over a balcony railing and she falls several stories until she hits the hard floor below (we hear she broke her collarbone, has a concussion and internal bleeding, and that she had a miscarriage from that). We later see her in a hospital's intensive care unit. Some dogs attack Robert and Keith in an ancient cemetery at night. Robert uses something to beat that dog off him and then hits the other off Keith. The two then run and try to scale a wrought iron fence, with one dog grabbing Robert's arm, impeding his escape and injuring his arm. Mrs. Baylock injects a bubble of air into an incapacitated patient's IV line. She then holds her hand over that person's mouth as we see the bubble traveling through the tube and the patient struggles, but to no avail. The hospital machinery then shows a flat line and the patient dies. We see a chain reaction where a hammer on a roof slides off, eventually causing a large sign to swing around its post (vertically), decapitating a man down below it (seen in full graphic detail, including a view of the bloody stump). Mrs. Baylock suddenly jumps on Robert's back, with him twice smashing her back into a wall to get her off him. He then grabs a screaming Damien and tries to leave, with Mrs. Baylock grabbing him from the floor. He then kicks her in the face. Trying to prevent Robert from leaving at night in the rain, Mrs. Baylock smashes a sledgehammer into his windshield. He peels away and when he comes around, she's standing in front of him, but he runs her over (we see her flip through the air above the car). He then drives through several gates and such while racing toward a church. We hear a gunshot that presumably kills a man (we don't see the impact or body). Reviewed June 1, 2006 / Posted June 6, 2006

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