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Tuesday, 15 August 2006 00:25 |
Director John Moore, who previously demonstrated his penchant for remakes with "Flight of the Phoenix," takes great pains to replicate the dramatic set pieces of the original, with almost all of them replicated in slavish fashion. But though he's crudely effective in his re-creations, the filmmaker lacks the slick style with which Richard Donner infused the original. The result, once again written by original screenwriter David Seltzer, seems like a pale imitation, an impression that is only reinforced by the casting of the lead roles.
Replacing Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as the beleaguered parents are Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles. As diplomat Robert Thorn and his ill-fated wife, Katherine, who are bringing up their young son while unaware that he is the spawn of the devil, the talented performers seem to be playing at being grown-up. Stiles in particular seems far too young and childlike for the role, while the normally effective Schreiber lacks the gravitas that would seem necessary for his character's elemental struggle against evil. Too often, his dark looks and menacing scowl deliver the wrong signals about whose side he's on.
The casting is much more effective in the supporting roles, with British veterans David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite and Michael Gambon delivering juicy turns as, respectively, the reporter and priests attempting to warn Thorn of the impending apocalypse. As the literal nanny from hell, Mia Farrow uses her inherent strangeness -- not to mention her "Rosemary's Baby" resonance -- to excellent effect. And young Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick is about as creepy a devilish tyke as one could hope for.
Most of the scenes that worked in the original, from Thorn's menacing encounter with Damien's new guard dog to the horrific suicide of Damien's first nanny to the particularly colorful demises of the reporter and priest, are once again effective. But such original flourishes as working in footage of the Sept. 11 attacks and the tsunami disaster to indicate the impending apocalypse seem rather tacky, and the repeated use of dream sequences featuring eardrum-shattering sound effects are a cheap way of garnering scares.
One element that should have been recycled from the original, Jerry Goldsmith's supremely chilling musical score, has been jettisoned, with the new score by Marco Beltrami proving thoroughly ordinary.
A 20th Century Fox production
Director: John Moore
Screenwriter: David Seltzer
Producers: Glenn Williamson, John Moore
Executive producer: Jeffrey Stott
Director of photography: Jonathan Sela
Production designer: Patrick Lumb
Film editor: Dan Zimmerman
Music: Marco Beltrami
Costume designer: George L. Little.
Cast:
Katherine Thorn: Julia Stiles
Robert Thorn: Liev Schreiber
Mrs. Baylock: Mia Farrow
Jennings: David Thewlis
Father Brennan: Pete Postlethwaite
Bugenhagen: Michael Gambon
Damien: Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick.
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