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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
The original's new 2-DVD Collectors Edition IS included., December 2, 2006
| By | Sheri Richardson (Formerly San Jose, CA US, now in the Wilds of OR US)
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Hard to tell from the description here, but per foxhome [dot] com, the set includes:
Disc 1: OMEN (2006)
Disc 2 and 3: THE OMEN COLLECTOR'S EDITION
Disc 4: OMEN II: DAMIEN
Disc 5: OMEN III: THE FINAL CONFLICT
Disc 6: OMEN IV: THE AWAKENING
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
A Must Have Collection for Horror Fans!, February 9, 2007
| By | Steven Hedge "Hedge's Highlights" (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA)
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It's great when they package a series of films and this is no exception and that's why I gave it four stars even though each film itself is of different quality; therefore, I gave my ratings below for each individual film. These were all mostly chilling films and they do what sequels are supposed to do and that is continue a storyline and not keep repeating the original. Here is my take on each film:
Omen (1976) ***** - Still one of my all time favorite films horror or not. The Academy Award-winning score by Jerry Goldsmith is still very haunting as is the rest of this film. Time has not altered the effectiveness of this great chiller which is enhance by great acting, notably by Greg Peck and Lee Remick, direction and cinematography. Nothing shows age with this film.
Omen (2006) *** - An unnecessary remake, but a decent one all the same with a good cast. It does lack the haunting images and feel of the original and probably a good example of leave well enough alone.
Omen II (1978) ***1/2 - A well-crafted sequel that cleverly continues the story which is what a sequel should do. Damien is growing up and learning of his heritage, power, and potential future and unexpectedly struggles with this much like any teen-ager growing up. The storyline is very convincingly continued here. It's not nearly as haunting and chilling as the original, but it does stand well up against it. Superior acting and an intelligent script save this film from being a typical sequel. While it is predicatable most of the time, the director keeps things moving swiftly. Good popcorn fun, but with a little more substance than most of its genre.
Omen III (1981) **** - The world is introduced to Damien, now an adult and seeking world domination through his company and followers, and we as an audience are introduced to a great actor, Sam Neil (Jurassic Park), in his first starring role. I was greatly impressed with this sequel and Neil's powerful performance filled with chilling charm and menacing arrogance. This film got under my skin more the Omen II, but still less so than the original film. My major criticism with this film is the ending which has several VERY long passages to read at the end in a font and size that is difficult to read. Thank God for the freeze frame function. Live audiences must have went nuts trying to read this in the theater and if they missed it, they'd have to stay to see it again to read faster. Overall, it was a very effective conclusion to the Omen series.
Omen IV (1991) **1/2 - Hey, didn't I just say conclusion in the last review? Well, sort of. This "sequel" is entertaining to a degree, but it does what all too many sequels tend to do and that is rehash the original and contradict it as well (much like "The Grudge 2"). This film is one of those it's so bad it's kind of good (but not that good). This is an example of Hollywood trying to save a money-making franchise, but they are fresh out of good ideas to continue the storyline. Heck, after killing Satan's son in Omen III, that kind of closed the door on things --duh! It's an oddball film that is mildly entertaining, but very pale in comparison to the series' prior efforts.
This whole collection is well worth owning. I can't imagine any horror fans letting this series slip by them.
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31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
The first time was only a warning..........., October 18, 2006
| By | Puzzle box "smockey_421" (Kuwait) |
Buying this boxset is definetely a bargain especially with the cheap price and if you haven't seen any of the films yet then you should get this, the first omen film is a horror classic and is one of those films that you'll never forget it has one of the creepiest and darkest atmospheres that I have ever seen in a horror film it feels like armageddeon is coming soon and that the world is going to end. The excellent performances from both Gregory Peck and Lee Remick also help elevate this film into a masterpiece and the kid who plays the part of Damien was just perfect he looked and acted like a normal 5 year old unlike the remake which the director made him look like he had an illness or something and it didn't work thats why it failed. The film is very chilling and is perfect for Halloween so you can watch it with a bunch of friends, the sequals were quite good and are possibly the most underated trilogy of films ever well except for part 4 which sucked. I'll write a short summary of all the films:-
The Omen 1976, The one that started it all an intellegent and well told story that was very terryfying cause the film made it seem realistic. The story is about the birth of the anti-christ and the beggining of the end, A diplomat named Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) has agreed to secretly exchange his wife Kathrine's (Lee Remick) dead infant with another still born child whose mother just died. He is apparently a normal and healthy kid untill his fifth birthday when his nanny dicides to hang herself infront of everyone "It's all for you Damien" and soon some other bizzare deaths happen including a priest who warns Robert Thorn of Damien's heritage which all surrounds Damien who might be the son of the devil. There are alot of memorable scenes in the film that includes the scene where the thorn's go to church then Damien has a bad feeling and starts to hit and scratch his mother or the scene in the dark graveyard in Italy Rome at night with the two attacking dogs which scared the crap out of me when I watched it as a kid, the way that the film was shot was just very creepy and effective the mood and atmosphere was also enhanced by the musical score composed by Jerry Goldsmith it was great the type of music that will send shivers down your spine. There is of course a birthmark on Damien which is the number 666 the sign of the devil which proves that he is the son of Satan. The gore and violence was kept to a minimum except for the decapitation scene but the film was scary enough without having some gore in it which alot of modern horror filmmakers need to realise, that inorder to make a good horror film you need to have a good script first duh!. One of the best horror films ever made and if you haven't seen it yet then what are you waiting for watch this film NOW! 5/5 stars.
Damien: Omen 2 1978, This sequel continues after the first where Damien is now a teenage military academy student and is one step closer to realising who he realy is and his heritage, he now lives with his aunt and uncle since his father Robert was killed (I'm not going to ruin it for those who haven't seen it yet). The fact that Damien is unaware at first of all the incidents that took place during the first film makes this interesting, he is innocent at first but whenever someone crosses his path it is very apparent that something evil is going to happen. This is a very good and entertaining sequal that continues the storyline without using any cliches or resorting to any gimmicks, also check Lance Henrickson in his earlier role as Master Sergeant Daniel Neff he was brilliant and he seems to guide Damien into manhood but not in a normal way if you know what I mean. The film was not as scary as the first but still managed to be creepy and had some great and very creative death scenes including the elevator which has alot of suspence and anticipation almost as much as the first but not as good, the young actor who plays Damien was good but not the best 4/5 stars.
The final conflict: Omen 3 1981, This time Damien is an adult and now is the CEO of The Thorn Enterprise, he has become a smart and charismatic politicion and an extremely powerful man but there are people who are completely unaware that he is the anti-christ he also becomes an embassidor to Great Britain which gives him the power so that one day his father might rule the world. The film was very well made considering that most horror sequals suck this turned out to be the complete opposite, not to mention the great performance from Sam Niel who was terrific it was his best role to date and very convincing he was very creepy in this film but in a good way. There are also some priests who are after Damien and can only kill him with a special dagger but Damien is very hard to kill not to mention the fact that he has a large group of people called the disciples of the watch who have protected him ever since he was a child (you might remember Mrs. Baylock from the first film, she was in the same group) but he seems to be threatened by a presence or force you'll just have to watch the film. Overall I think that it was a solid effort and a great sequal that wraps up the trillogy and it was alot gorier than the previous films especially when a person in the film blows his brains out with a shotgun 4/5 stars.
Omen 4: The awakening 1992, This is quite possibly the worst omen sequal ever and was a total waste infact you can just skip it or maybe watch it once for a good laugh. It was incredibly dull and was shot like a t.v. movie it actually is a t.v. movie, there aren't any redeemable qualities to this and most of the time I felt like falling asleep. First of all you can not have a female anti-chirst and the explanation was absolutely ridicoulus. The Damien character was a very smart and charming person which made it hard for people to believe he was the anti-christ but the girl in this film called delia was a totaly annoying brat. This low budget crapfest was very lame and insulting to the series 1/5 stars.
The Omen 2006, It was interesting seeing this sequal however I wouldn't say it was good cuase there were so many mistakes not to mention that the casting was completely wrong which shows you that you cannot recreate a brilliant and classic horror film it just wouldn't work. The filmmakers used a very clever gimmick based on the fact that it would open on june 6th of this year it would scare the audiance but unfortunately the film itself didn't turn out to be that good. They updated everything and basicly used the same storyline and dialogue which I thought was pointless, I mean they could have atleast made a few changes but it was a predictable mess. The kid that they used looked like he was a cancer patient which I thought was hilarious and Julia Stiles was too young to play the mother and Liev Schriber was O.K. I guess but what made this film seem somewhat interesting was Mia Farrow as the nutty Mrs. Baylock she was fantastic and makes this film almost tolerable to watch. The film didn't have the same creepy atmosphere or any scares as the original film its just style over substance like a slick looking Hollywood film which is typical. Its not the worst remake I've seen but it was still bad and could have been way better 2/5 stars.
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