Omen IV: The Awakening

Only the Antichrist could have been behind such a disaster. One only hopes that this irony was the motivating force behind the "film"! This movie was so bad, it forced me to register with IMDb, finally, just so I could trash it. What makes this movie all the more tragic is that it had such GREAT source material! I have never seen a movie where all the elements were so grotesquely mediocre as to render the result less than the sum of its parts.

It may seem insignificant, but I'd like to start with the score. As the proud owner of a music degree, I must register my indignation! I was torn between laughter and dry heaves as I listened to what John Scheffer did to Goldsmith's brilliant score; it was far more gruesome than any of the burlesque death scenes, and almost as inadvertently comedic. It was by far the most inappropriate score I've heard since, well, I really can't think of a worse one. Maybe JAWS 4?

As for the plot... I'm sorry. New Age mysticism??? What ever happened to the gritty realism of the original trilogy? In those films (more so in the first two than the third, but still!!) the supernatural was for the most part implied, and it was this subtlety that made the movies so eerily believable. Here we have crystals going black (calling all Skeksis and Mystics!!) and inverted crucifixes galore, even though in certain scenes the crucifux would be perfectly normal but for the camera angle. Gone is the refined psychlogical manipulation tapping the malaise inherent in our collective psyche: in its place a boorish "slap in the face" of recycled cliché and transparent incompetence. Add to that a lead "actress" so unbelievably ANNOYING that you fervently thank the director for those scenes from which she is absent. Never have I seen a little girl so fundamentally irritating since little Stephanie ruined ALL IN THE FAMILY.

Other than that, I have no strong feelings on the subject ;-) Luckily the first three films are sufficiently adroit as to render this train-wreck of wasted celluloid inconsequential or, at the very most, a study in how NOT to make a film. Viewer beware! May induce vomiting if you're lucky.

"The Omen" series was a one-hit wonder for the most part and finally hit the brick wall completely with this terrible fourth installment. Damien is dead, but he had a child (Satan's grand-child). After she (the young Asia Vieira) is adopted by two attorneys, the typical odd deaths take place and it appears that the child is the reason for the happenings. A really sorry production that got no studio backing and went directly to video rental shelves and cable television stations. Turkey (0 stars out of 5).

In spite of everything,Omen IV is not that bad.Considering its made-for-TV,10 years after the release of Final Conflict,AND that they changed directors in mid-stream(or was it mid-scream?) the movie turned out better than I had hoped.I had read some ghastly revues,but Omen IV is a competent,watchable and involving thriller.There were some fine performances too,especially Michael Lerner,Faye Grant,Michael Woods,and in particular Asia Viera as the diabolical Delia.Girls are the weaker sex?You'd never know it from Delia.7 out of 10.

Sure, the hidden secret of the story was far-fetched, but little Asia Viera as Delia was magnificent. Such expressive, spiteful eyes. She didn't say anything as she wreaked havoc on detractors. Her venom was justly spent on some wretched characters. I felt sorry for her - she didn't ask to be born that way. Unlike Damien (Omen II and III) she didn't attract a following of flatterers who choose to side with evil. A little coven of "Delians" would have been tasty. There is a strange attraction to evil that few films successfully exploit. When Delia came to enjoy her powers, the film missed out on fully illuminating them. I'd like to see a grown-up Delia taking care of her little brother the Antichrist. Maybe some juicy sibling rivalry...

This inferior sequel based by the characters created by David Selzer and Harvey Bernhard(also producer) concern on a matrimony named Gene(Michael Woods) and Karen York(Faye Grant). They adopt a little girl named Delia from a convent. Gene York about re-elect for congressman and he presides the financing committee. Meanwhile, Delia seems to be around when inexplicable deaths happen. She creates wreak havoc when goes a metaphysical fair, as stores of numerology, therapy, counselling heal,yoga, tarots, among others are destroyed. Karen York hires an eye private(Michael Lerner) to investigate the weird and bizarre events.

This TV sequel displays thrills, chills, creepy events and gory killing. Delia such as Damien seems to dispatch new eerie murder every few minutes of film, happening horrible killings . The chief excitement lies in watching what new and innocent victim can be made by the middling special effects. Furthermore, mediocre protagonists, Faye Grant and Michael Woods, however nice cast secondary, such as Michael Lerner,Madison Mason, Duncan Fraser and the recently deceased Don S Davis, he was an Army captain turned into acting. As always , excellent musical score taken from Omen I and III by the great Jerry Goldsmith. The movie is exclusively for hardcore followers Omen saga. The motion picture is badly directed by Jorge Montesi and Dominique Othenin Girard. Previous and much better versions are the following : The immensely superior original 'Omen'(Gregory Peck, Lee Remick)by Richard Donner; 'Damien'(William Holden, Lee Grant) by Don Taylor; 'Final conflict'(Sam Neil and Tisa Harrow) by Grahame Baker. Rating : Below average.