Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, Mia Farrow, David Thewlis

Directed by John Moore

Rated R

4 Pulses

Moore had his work cut out for him in trying to improve upon one of the creepiest movies ever made. In some respects, he succeeded.

Despite their youth and flimsy r’sum’s, Schreiber and Stiles played the roles of Robert and Katherine Thorn masterfully. Schreiber has a seriousness that is believable and Stiles was able to overcome her ’tween’ movie roots for the part. Gregory Peck and Lee Remick played the original Thorns, the assumed parents of the antichrist, but gave the couple an unbelievable soap opera feel.

Thewlis nailed the role of the paparazzi photographer, Keith Jennings, as though he was born for it.

The fatal flaw came with the child whom the film centers on, Damien (Davey-Fitzpatrick). In the original, Damien was a happy, normal child who played with his peers, laughed merrily and generally did what children do. Trying to see beyond the innocence into the ultimate heart of darkness was what gave the film grit.

In the remake, Moore created a Damien who scowls, whispers and sulks around acting creepy for his entire screen time. Being unable to feel the natural human love and protectiveness for his childhood innocence erases the internal conflict that made the original so chilling, and this is where Moore failed.

The original capitalized on several conflicting human instincts, whereas the remake only drives at one, survival. The movie begins with a scene that lays out the imminent doom of the human race, and it maintains that theme throughout, never relenting to show us what we stand to lose.

Apart from the mostly phenomenal acting, there are a few scenes that were improved. However, the film as a whole did not come close to inflicting the dread and distress the original caused its viewers.