‘Omen’ a spot-on remake of the 1976 original

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In theaters

THE OMEN, directed by John Moore, written by David Seltzer, 110 minutes, rated R.

John Moore’s “The Omen” is so slavishly modeled after Richard Donner’s 1976 original, it once again raises the question about why Hollywood doesn’t just re-release the original, particularly when they’re dealing with a classic and when the remake doesn’t offer much in the way of anything new.

Its fresh crop of actors aside (which obviously is the draw), this “Omen” is a near duplicate of what came before it, with a script by the original film’s screenwriter, David Seltzer, that employs exact scenes, dialogue and situations, and a directing style by Moore that mines the raw, choppy rhythms of ’70s filmmaking.

For fans of the first movie, this sort of carbon-copy filmmaking likely will seem redundant, if not unnecessary. But then you see the movie and realize that regardless of how familiar it is, it isn’t the stunt Gun Van Sant’s “Psycho” was, and it also isn’t without its pleasures.

Here, after all, is a horror movie whose intent isn’t to be just a mere gross-out, which is what the horror genre has become, but a horror movie designed to tell a story, which is what the genre has lost. For that reason, you appreciate it in spite of its shortcomings. Yes, the film is a rehash, but at least it’s better than those stupid “Saw” movies.

In the film, Liev Schreiber is American diplomat Robert Thorn, who is so distraught when he learns that his moon-faced wife, Katherine (Julia Stiles), has given birth to a stillborn child, he agrees to take from a questionable priest the healthy newborn child of a mother who just died in childbirth. Since the woman had no family, Thorn assumes the child as his own, not realizing that his new bundle of joy is really the spawn of Satan.

Five years later, Thorn has become U.S. Ambassador of England and little Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) is busy putting the “anti” in the Antichrist. Strange things start to happen. His nanny leaps off a roof in a shock hanging (“It’s all for you, Damien!”), salivating dogs seem to communicate with him, monkeys go bananas when he gets close to them, and what he does to his mother, well, it just isn’t right.

The chief reason to see the movie isn’t for Schreiber or for Stiles, who are too young for the roles, have none of the chemistry of Gregory Peck and Lee Remick, and who bring the movie little punch, nor for Davey-Fitzpatrick, who is a pale, glowering blank slate. Instead, the reason to see it is for Mia Farrow, who is fantastic in the key role of Mrs. Baylock, the shady nanny with the kind face and the mean syringe who comes to live with the Thorns and care for Damien.

Farrow’s casting is the film’s one flash of inspiration. In 1968, the actress gave birth to the devil in “Rosemary’s Baby” and now she’s caring for him 38 years later. That twist not only gives the movie its much-needed jolt of fun, but it proves every bit as spot-on as her genuinely creepy, reptilian performance.

Grade: B-

On DVD

“The Bourne Supremacy – HD DVD”

“Van Helsing – HD DVD”

With Sony’s high-definition blue-ray DVDs once again delayed, the HD DVD format charges forward, this week with the release of several films, the best of which comes down to two.

First is Paul Greengrass’ 2004 espionage thriller “The Bourne Supremacy,” an old-school throwback jammed with just enough jittery camerawork to satisfy its restless plot.

In it, the world is seemingly reduced to the size of a postage stamp, thus allowing the gun-toting characters to dart with ease around the globe. They trot between India, Russia, New York and Germany as if they were going down the street to the supermarket. In a post-9-11 world, this is ridiculous, of course, but for the world of high definition, it turns out to be a boon. This fun, decadent travelogue peppered with greasy CIA agents in hot pursuit of Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne has never looked better.

“Van Helsing” also fares well on HD DVD. As overblown as it is, the film never wants for energy, it doesn’t take itself seriously, and as a whole, it’s cheap fun.

The film gathers together several well-known monsters and villains from the past and allows them to go at each other’s undead throats for the better half of two hours. Hugh Jackman is Van Helsing, a swarthy hero charged by the Vatican to kill Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh). To do so, he’ll need to go through Frankenstein’s Monster (Shuler Hensley), who turns out to be an intellectual softy, and the Wolf Man (Will Kemp), whose bite apparently holds the key to killing Dracula.

Tossed into the mix is Kate Beckinsale’s Anna Valerious, who sounds like an invasive species of plant for good reason. Onscreen, Beckinsale uncoils like a vine, undulating in ways that would make a red light district blush.

Her rolling Romanian accent laces the film with camp, but then so do the three shrieking, winged vamps (Josie Maran, Elena Anaya, Silvia Colloca) who take to the skies to do Dracula’s dirty work. In a bloodthirsty, dead-three-centuries sort of way, they’re all perfectly charming if a bit high-strung and unmannered, which is just right for this empty, entertaining blockbuster that embraces the same qualities in its terrific new print.

“Bourne Supremacy” – B

“Van Helsing”-B

THE VIDEO-DVD CORNER

Renting a video or a DVD? NEWS film critic Christopher Smith can help. Below are his grades of recent releases in video stores. Those in bold print are new to video stores this week.

Aeon Flux – C-

Big Momma’s House 2 – D

Black Hawk Down: Extended Cut – B

Boston Legal: Season One – A

Bourne Supremacy HD DVD – B

Breakfast on Pluto – B

Brokeback Mountain – A-

Capote – A

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 – C-

Chicken Little – C-

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – A

The Constant Gardener – A-

Date Movie – D-

Derailed – C+

Entourage: Complete Season 1 & 2 – B+

The Family Stone – D

Fast and the Furious: Franchise Collection – B+

Freedomland – C-

Fun with Dick and Jane – C

Good Night, and Good Luck – A-

A History of Violence – A

Hoodwinked – C

Howl’s Moving Castle – A-

Jarhead – B

John Wayne-John Ford Film Collection – A-

Junebug – A

King Kong – C

Last Holiday – B

The Legend of Zorro – C+

Match Point – A

Memoirs of a Geisha – C+

Munich – A-

Nanny McPhee – B-

North Country – C

Oliver Twist – B+

Paradise Now – A-

The Pink Panther – C+

Pride & Prejudice – A

Prime – B-

The Producers – B+

Red Eye – B+

Rent – C-

Rumor Has It … – C-

Shopgirl – B+

16 Blocks – B

The Squid and the Whale – B+

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – B+

Thank God it’s Friday – B

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride – B+

Transamerica – B

Underworld: Evolution – C-

An Unfinished Life – C-

Van Helsing HD DVD – B

Walk the Line – A-

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit – A

The Warrior – B

The White Countess – C