CAST: GREGORY PECK, LEE REMICK, HARVEY SPENCER STEPHENS, BILLIE WHITELAW, DAVID WARNER, PATRICK TROUGHTON, HOLLY PALANCE.
DIRECTION : RICHARD DONNER.
I had originally written this brief snippet on the classic film on the same day as CARRIE, back in 2015, as both were viewed by me back to back. So take this one as a companion piece to my previous article on the Brian De Palma feature . The fact that both of the titles released in 1976 ends up becoming a binding thread.
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For the price of being privy to popular fiction’s most unnerving 6 year old’s Satanic designs, THE OMEN ( yes, my father, like so many parents, kept referring to it as a real ‘horror’ film to get acquainted with ) redefined the genre’s stipulated chills. Over time, its visuals of psychologically disturbing supernatural tropes have been diluted and completely denuded of its novelty ; excessive inspiration and a 2006 remake starring LIEV SCHREIBER, JULIA STILES and the great MIA FARROW now give it a dated feel ala The Exorcist.
However, once you set your eyes on it, images of graphic decapitation, suicide, getting impaled on a tempestuous day, a terrorising nanny’s glower and a child’s cycling romps will never be seen in the same way. Gregory Peck’s one – note deadpan delivery apart, THE OMEN cleverly navigates its way through a bluesy, anticipatory haze of Anti-Christ doomsday theories where the concept of faith is questioned and everyone’s worst nightmares (of literally raising a devil at home) come true. It goes for a subdued tone instead of campy gore and bears a photographic sophistication all throughout.
Also whoever cast the child actor essential to THE OMEN’S creepy vibe needs to be lauded. That climactic turn of the head by him remains a chilling testament to the young talent’s cross generational appeal.
I launch myself, with a searing, soaring passion for all domains verging on the writerly and creative with a beginner's appetite here and that's how I believe in adding meaning to each day. A lucky mascot of literature, cinema and culture, I come riding on spirited wings from the emblematic city of Lucknow where all those reside and thrive. My breeding ground and my mindscape all are committed to these three life forces. Cinema. Culture. Literature. But the biggest and all consuming parent to these is life that breeds them . There is the discovery that comes from expressing yourself, clear eyed and even mystical, when you come from a city like this. I am here to expand my worldviews, share my earliest inspirations and evolutions and go with the flow through the most accessible outlet there is : writing. Conventionally, my biography is that of a degree holder in English literature encompassing Undergraduate, Postgraduate and M Phil years and every possible experience of learning finer points of knowledge . I have already taken the plunge of creating a solid base for my works by publishing my poems and articles on the renowned worldwide community/ writing sanctuary Wattpad since 2015, a platform which is a miracle for anyone pursuing so much as a flash of wordplay and thoughts to spare. It has redefined my life and allows me to go strong. You can read my works there under the username MadMenWearingFedora / Prithvijeet. That is the springboard that catapulted me to a confident vocational revival. So here I am. Both originality and novelty are the key words to define this eternal student of life. So with the tip of the pen blessing my head and a new vigor, I welcome you all to my realm. AN AWADH BOY'S PANORAMA beckons.
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