American Ambassador to London, Robert Thorn, seems to have it all; an excellent job, a beautiful wife and a lovely son. His son, however, is not really his - his own son died at birth, and the hospital and was replaced by an orphan, although wife Katherine doesn't know this. Katherine, however, isn't so sure that everthing is rosy; she has seen a number of things in son Damien that scare her. Then strange things begin to happen, such as the sudden suicide of Damien's nanny in front of all the children at Damien's birthday party, and a near fatal accident for Katherine. Another nanny is hired and life goes on, but Robert is eventually convinced that something is seriously wrong when a priest and a photographer separately contact him to express their fears. Can Robert find out how to stop the evil before it takes more lives?

Liev Shreiber plays Robert Thorn, and is very much the main character, although he is slightly over-shadowed by his screen son. I thought he was good. He looks and sounds the part of an Ambassador, and I enjoyed watching his portrayal of a man whose life suddenly crumbled around his ears. I don't doubt that there is any number of actors who could have played the role just as well, and I don't doubt that Gregory Peck's performance in the original was outstanding. Nevertheless, this is a good solid performance and one that I thoroughly enjoyed watching. I was less sure of Julia Stiles as Katherine. This is perhaps unfair, because I think it is largely that I am used to seeing her in fluffy films, and here she obviously has a much more serious role. I think on the whole, her performance was convincing enough and towards the end when she really has a chance to show her fear, she does very well.

I also have to mention David Thewlis as Keith, the photographer, and Pete Postlethwaite, who plays the priest, who separately approach Robert about Damien. Thewlis, who most recently has played Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter films, doesn't really come into his own until later in the film, but he is good, although perhaps not entirely convincing. However, I think this is more because the story is hard to accept rather than anything he does wrong as an actor. I found Postlethwaite a bit mis-cast at first - he is a real character actor and is so immediately recognisable that I couldn't really get my head around him being a priest. I think his accent was a bit off too - he eventually settles into an Irish accent, but it sounded more Yorkshire to start with, which was a bit off-putting. Once he settled into the role though, he was very convincing and I enjoyed his performance.

As well as the bloody deaths, there is another issue that may offend - Damien's role in the film is very much rooted in Christianity, because he is supposed to be the Anti-Christ, and some see this as twisting the Catholic faith and its teachings. I am not religious, so this did not bother me, nor am I stupid enough to believe that what I am seeing on screen is the truth. However, if you are likely to be offended, then obviously this film is not going to be for you.

There are a number of special features with the film. First, an audio commentary by the director, producer and editor of the film. This is interesting if you are a real fan, however, as they go through the entire film while telling us their thoughts on the film and why it was made in the way that it is, which gets a little tedious after a while. Then there is a documentary about the making of the film, the stunts and how 'The Omen curse' affected those involved with making it, which is a little weird, but quite interesting. Certainly there seem to have been a large number of accidents during the course of filming! There are a couple of short features on the score, recorded at Abbey Road in London, and the mystery of 666, supposed to be the number of the devil. They are followed by some extended scenes, alternative endings and trailers. These are worth a brief look at if you have time, but aren't totally necessary.

The DVD is available from play.com for £3.99.