Omen 4 - The Awakening (DVD)

I enjoyed the original Omen series of movies, which began away back in 1976 with the original Omen movie starring Gregory Peck, and which (supposedly) ended in 1991 with the release of The Final Conflict, starring Sam Neill as the fully grown son of Satan, Damien Thorn.

That should have been the end of the Omen series, as in The Final Conflict Damien Thorn finally meets his match in the second Messiah, and good ultimately triumphs ...
...the remake of the original Omen movie in 2006. (Not nearly as good as the original) But before this there was also an absolutely dreadful rip-off of a movie called "Omen 4 - The Awakening" which was released purely as a TV movie in the USA in 1991, and then subsequently released in the cinema overseas and on DVD in the hope of catching out overseas audiences who liked the original movies.

Why do I say it was/is a rip off?
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I enjoyed the original Omen series of movies, which began away back in 1976 with the original Omen movie starring Gregory Peck, and which (supposedly) ended in 1991 with the release of The Final Conflict, starring Sam Neill as the fully grown son of Satan, Damien Thorn.

That should have been the end of the Omen series, as in The Final Conflict Damien Thorn finally meets his match in the second Messiah, and good ultimately triumphs over evil. (As it should be, of course. Heh, heh)

But this wasn't in fact the end of the Omen, as I hadn't taken into account the propensity of Hollywood to milk completely dry every last buck they possibly can from a winning formula. Of course, there was the remake of the original Omen movie in 2006. (Not nearly as good as the original) But before this there was also an absolutely dreadful rip-off of a movie called "Omen 4 - The Awakening" which was released purely as a TV movie in the USA in 1991, and then subsequently released in the cinema overseas and on DVD in the hope of catching out overseas audiences who liked the original movies.

Why do I say it was/is a rip off?
Well for starters, the plot itself is totally ludicrous. Essentially it's simply a rehash of the original Omen movie, but this time the anti-Christ Damien Thorn has supposedly spawned a daughter called Delia (Asia Vieira) who (naturally) has inherited his supernatural powers and thoroughly evil nature.
She's adopted by a politically ambitious pair of attorneys called the Yorks, who quickly realise all is not as it seems with their new daughter. (Ring any bells?)
Of course, the evil young Delia's ultimate aim is to take over the family businesses left by her late father, the anti-Christ himself!

Some of the scenes in the movie are so ludicrous they'd almost have you laughing out loud. (But remember, it's not *SUPPOSED* to be a comedy!)
For instance, when it is revealed that the 7 or 8 year old Delia has been born pregnant carrying her late father's male child. Or when Delia visits a New Age Fair that then dissolves into utter chaos once the psychics catch on to who she is.
Look out also for a choir of Satanic carol singers, and a snake-worshipping revival meeting!
Utter and complete claptrap from start to finish!

The co-directors were Jorge Montesi and Dominique Otherin-Girard. I'd never even heard of them before, and I can only assume they were hired because the price was right. (Heh, heh) Likewise with the cast, none of who had any notable credits on their CV's.

I bought the DVD as an impulse buy at Amazon, purely because I'd enjoyed the original movies. I can't recall the exact price, but it wasn't that expensive as it was the 1991 Region 1 version. (I have a multi-region DVD player)
I notice that 20th Century Fox released a new "re-mastered" Region 2 version back in October 2006 though. (As if we hadn't been ripped off badly enough with the original!) This is currently selling at Amazon from £5.09 upwards. (January 2008)

No DVD extras on my older DVD, other than the usual scene selections, etc, but I notice there are a few extra features on the new Region 2 disc.

My advice would be not to waste your money.

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Run Time: 93 minutes

Classification: 15

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MAIN CAST

Faye Grant ... Karen York
Michael Woods ... Congressman Gene York
Michael Lerner ... Earl Knight
Madison Mason ... Dr. Hastings
Ann Hearn ... Josephine 'Jo' Thueson - York's Nanny
Jim Byrnes ... Noah
Don S. Davis ... Jake Madison
Asia Vieira ... Delia York

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© KenJ January 2008

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