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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Jeremy Thorne and wife Katherine have just had their son, after years of trying and losing pregnancies. Damien seems like a gift from the heavens, fulfilling the dreams of his parents and completing their little family. But in only a few short years, it becomes clear that Damien may not be as angelic as he once appeared. *CW miscarriage, animal cruelty/death, child cruelty, child murder, violence against children, suicide*
OK, I am assuming at this point that most people are familiar with this story, given that it has been around since 1976, and has been spoofed a million times, but I'm still going to avoid spoilers as much as possible. I read this in my efforts to catch up on some classic horror that was written before I was even considered by my parents (in fact, in this case, my dad was only about 16 when the book was published). And I am glad that I finally got to it, because I loved it more than I thought I would.
I'm not entirely sure how to review this, as it has been reviewed a million times before, but as always, I will start with the characters and say that they were, for the most part, quite believable. Some were a little... caricature-esque, especially the baddies. But the most important characters, the ones we follow throughout this tale, seemed so real, and that made the terrible things that happened all the worse. So, that aspect was spectacular.
The character we spend the most time with was Jeremy, the father of the Thorne family, and an altruistic politician with his eyes on the White House. He has selfish moments, as all people do, but genuinely loves his wife and child, and does his best by them. It's kind of funny, as I forgot that he was played by Gregory Peck in the film (and turns out that the author/screenwriter even pictured him as Jeremy), and I was basically imagining him looking like him in my head (I was also kind of picturing James Caan). Anyway. Despite mistakes that he made and things he could have handled better, I really sympathised with him.
I thought Katherine was also an interesting character. Yes, she does fall into the 'hysterical woman' trope at some points, but given the age of the story, I was able to distance myself from that a little. Despite that, she was again a very human character who had flaws, and wanted to do the best she could for her husband and child. And in a refreshing twist, wasn't looked at by her husband as weak for needing to seek help with mental health.
In fact, I was somewhat surprised by how positively The Omen seemed to look upon mental health care. There were some sideways remarks here and there, mostly by the people needing the care (feeling weak or inadequate for example, which can be a feeling experienced in this situation). Overall however, barring one character, seeing a psychologist was treated like seeing any other doctor, which I appreciated greatly.
Now, I know that I included content warnings up top, but I feel it bears repeating that this book contains some very intense scenes involving animals, children, and babies. If infanticide is not something you can stomach, for example, this mightn't be the book for you. Mental health comes first! There are also some suicide scenes that might be of concern for some. Please look after yourselves, and don't read this if you think it will be a problem for you.
I read The Omen via Audible, and I didn't realise until the end that the narrator, Holly Palance, who was fantastic, actually played Damien's nanny in the film. I love the sense of ongoing community this cultivates. The Omen was a very important film in horror cinema, and seeing people who worked on it still involved with the story is heartening. And Holly just did a wonderful job anyway.
So, if you are like me and trying to catch up on some important, influential horror, then might I recommend The Omen? The Audible audiobook is a great way to consume it if you're not sure about sitting down with a written copy, though the style of the writing didn't seem that outdated to me regardless. As I said however, do take care of yourselves, and if there is any content in the warnings that might make this difficult, well, you know yourself and what you can handle. I bloody enjoyed The Omen (more than The Exorcist I think), and while I'm not sure if I'll continue reading the series, I am very glad I read this one.
PS. I am writing this review on my Omen laptop (highly recommend if you're into gaming on a computer, fyi), which I named Damien when I bought it, because it just made sense.
OK, I am assuming at this point that most people are familiar with this story, given that it has been around since 1976, and has been spoofed a million times, but I'm still going to avoid spoilers as much as possible. I read this in my efforts to catch up on some classic horror that was written before I was even considered by my parents (in fact, in this case, my dad was only about 16 when the book was published). And I am glad that I finally got to it, because I loved it more than I thought I would.
I'm not entirely sure how to review this, as it has been reviewed a million times before, but as always, I will start with the characters and say that they were, for the most part, quite believable. Some were a little... caricature-esque, especially the baddies. But the most important characters, the ones we follow throughout this tale, seemed so real, and that made the terrible things that happened all the worse. So, that aspect was spectacular.
The character we spend the most time with was Jeremy, the father of the Thorne family, and an altruistic politician with his eyes on the White House. He has selfish moments, as all people do, but genuinely loves his wife and child, and does his best by them. It's kind of funny, as I forgot that he was played by Gregory Peck in the film (and turns out that the author/screenwriter even pictured him as Jeremy), and I was basically imagining him looking like him in my head (I was also kind of picturing James Caan). Anyway. Despite mistakes that he made and things he could have handled better, I really sympathised with him.
I thought Katherine was also an interesting character. Yes, she does fall into the 'hysterical woman' trope at some points, but given the age of the story, I was able to distance myself from that a little. Despite that, she was again a very human character who had flaws, and wanted to do the best she could for her husband and child. And in a refreshing twist, wasn't looked at by her husband as weak for needing to seek help with mental health.
In fact, I was somewhat surprised by how positively The Omen seemed to look upon mental health care. There were some sideways remarks here and there, mostly by the people needing the care (feeling weak or inadequate for example, which can be a feeling experienced in this situation). Overall however, barring one character, seeing a psychologist was treated like seeing any other doctor, which I appreciated greatly.
Now, I know that I included content warnings up top, but I feel it bears repeating that this book contains some very intense scenes involving animals, children, and babies. If infanticide is not something you can stomach, for example, this mightn't be the book for you. Mental health comes first! There are also some suicide scenes that might be of concern for some. Please look after yourselves, and don't read this if you think it will be a problem for you.
I read The Omen via Audible, and I didn't realise until the end that the narrator, Holly Palance, who was fantastic, actually played Damien's nanny in the film. I love the sense of ongoing community this cultivates. The Omen was a very important film in horror cinema, and seeing people who worked on it still involved with the story is heartening. And Holly just did a wonderful job anyway.
So, if you are like me and trying to catch up on some important, influential horror, then might I recommend The Omen? The Audible audiobook is a great way to consume it if you're not sure about sitting down with a written copy, though the style of the writing didn't seem that outdated to me regardless. As I said however, do take care of yourselves, and if there is any content in the warnings that might make this difficult, well, you know yourself and what you can handle. I bloody enjoyed The Omen (more than The Exorcist I think), and while I'm not sure if I'll continue reading the series, I am very glad I read this one.
PS. I am writing this review on my Omen laptop (highly recommend if you're into gaming on a computer, fyi), which I named Damien when I bought it, because it just made sense.
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
When I was a kid, The Omen felt like the perfect companion to The Exorcist—two horror films that capitalize on the Christian faith (and criticized by the Catholic Church for several misinterpretations). What I didn't know at the time was David Seltzer was specifically asked to write a script in the vein of the wildly popular The Exorcist. Why would I? I was a kid.
He devised the story after pouring over The Bible (and various interpretations), and 20th Century-Fox was thrilled to see it released on June 6, 1976. In addition to the movie starring Gregory Peck, Seltzer saw The Omen released as a short 272-page book, which was re-released as a 40th anniversary edition in 2016. I missed the release then, but I saw it pop up recently and decided to revisit Robert Thorn and his family as a book instead of the film with dramatically mixed reviews. (I missed out on reading any horror stories aside from my own in October.)
No surprise, the book follows the film with precision, making the real treat for fans of supernatural horror and/or nostalgia being greater insights into all of the supporting roles. In the book, Seltzer fleshes out the caretakers of the Thorn family home, the photographer Jennings, and Father Brennon (among others). In doing so, Seltzer breathes even more life into the story.
Overall, The Omen is a fun read that does a solid job of creating an atmosphere of faith-fueled supernatural suspense. And while he makes Jennings even more a repulsive cretin than David Warner's take on the screen, the rest of the characters feel more real than their camera time, with Father Brennon better understood and Katherine Thorn's motivations much more apparent. The end result is a quick read that feels like the second chapter of classic horror cinema (between creature features and slasher films).
The only real shortcomings, if it's even fair to call them out, are twofold. First, the book (like the film) is pure entertainment. There isn't much more to take away from it. And second, while many of the scenes in the book play out better than the film, nothing beats the baboon scene in the movie. According to Director Richard Donner, actress Lee Remick was terrified. I don't doubt it.
He devised the story after pouring over The Bible (and various interpretations), and 20th Century-Fox was thrilled to see it released on June 6, 1976. In addition to the movie starring Gregory Peck, Seltzer saw The Omen released as a short 272-page book, which was re-released as a 40th anniversary edition in 2016. I missed the release then, but I saw it pop up recently and decided to revisit Robert Thorn and his family as a book instead of the film with dramatically mixed reviews. (I missed out on reading any horror stories aside from my own in October.)
No surprise, the book follows the film with precision, making the real treat for fans of supernatural horror and/or nostalgia being greater insights into all of the supporting roles. In the book, Seltzer fleshes out the caretakers of the Thorn family home, the photographer Jennings, and Father Brennon (among others). In doing so, Seltzer breathes even more life into the story.
Overall, The Omen is a fun read that does a solid job of creating an atmosphere of faith-fueled supernatural suspense. And while he makes Jennings even more a repulsive cretin than David Warner's take on the screen, the rest of the characters feel more real than their camera time, with Father Brennon better understood and Katherine Thorn's motivations much more apparent. The end result is a quick read that feels like the second chapter of classic horror cinema (between creature features and slasher films).
The only real shortcomings, if it's even fair to call them out, are twofold. First, the book (like the film) is pure entertainment. There isn't much more to take away from it. And second, while many of the scenes in the book play out better than the film, nothing beats the baboon scene in the movie. According to Director Richard Donner, actress Lee Remick was terrified. I don't doubt it.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Before I started reading this book, I saw another review that said this book was released at the same time as the movie. It was a turn off knowing the book was nothing but a marketing ploy.
The book itself was an easy read, the prose was simple, strait-forth and nothing special. There was a little more insight that wasn't in the movie- there is a little background on the people involved with killing the Thorn child and replacing him with Damien.
Overall, it wasn't that great. I am and always have been a huge fan of the movie- all horror movies in general. I even named my son Damian. I'll always be happy to see the movie, but I probably won't ever pick up the book again.
The book itself was an easy read, the prose was simple, strait-forth and nothing special. There was a little more insight that wasn't in the movie- there is a little background on the people involved with killing the Thorn child and replacing him with Damien.
Overall, it wasn't that great. I am and always have been a huge fan of the movie- all horror movies in general. I even named my son Damian. I'll always be happy to see the movie, but I probably won't ever pick up the book again.
I haven't actually seen the entire film, but I wanted to read the novelization before doing so because often it seems like reading it afterwards feels like a hollow shot-for-shot remake.
The book, despite being a novelization, does stand on its own somewhat well. I felt tense throughout and it held my interest, but it definitely felt like it would've been more entertaining on the big screen.
The book, despite being a novelization, does stand on its own somewhat well. I felt tense throughout and it held my interest, but it definitely felt like it would've been more entertaining on the big screen.
Spoiler
I really felt like the story would have been MUCH more interesting if it had been deeper, if there had been more mystery surrounding whether Damien actually was the anti-Christ. I felt like there wasn't really ever much doubt in the reader's mind, so it kind of felt like everything was a foregone conclusion.
The Omen is a simple story that has a lot of horror elements I found to be entertaining. I would have liked to know a bit more background information about the context of Damien's birth and the coven, but the overall plot was executed well. The worst part about The Omen is the offensive language regarding the Middle East and leaning into common stereotypes, which served no purpose but to make me like the author a lot less.
fast-paced
I’ve watched the movie a handful of times in my teens (big horror movie fan back then), and I only had a vague recollection of it. This started strong, but I forgot how political the story is and so I found it underwhelming in that regard. Damien is so creepy, the story tragic - as the writer puts it, he is the ultimate innocent villain. Glad I read it, but won’t be reading more in this series.
I can not believe it has taken me so long to read this book. I really enjoyed the story and most issues I had with it was just due to it being a product of its time. I know this is the source material, but I did enjoy the fact that the beginning of this book runs parallel with Good Omens by Gaiman and Prachett. I did not realize they followed the story so faithfully in the beginning. I could have done without the mother pointing her finger and giving out the label whore like she was Oprah giving away cars. Although I found things I enjoyed things about most characters, she was one I couldn't get behind. She was a bit selfish, came across as emotionally fragile, and had an uneven temperament. I don't know if this is because she was written by a male author or she was just written as a stereotype of how women were perceived at the time.Other than her, it was a fairly good read.