Omen IV – Das Erwachen (TV Movie 1991)

Omen IV – Das Erwachen: Directed by Jorge Montesi, Dominique Othenin-Girard. With Faye Grant, Michael Woods, Michael Lerner, Madison Mason. Two attorneys adopt a mysterious orphan girl as their daughter, unaware she is the new Antichrist, next in line from Damien Thorn.

“Although I have given this the same rating as I did for u0026#39;Omen III: The Final Conflictu0026#39; (1981), that is purely for two reasons: the use (or re- use, really) of Jerry Goldsmithu0026#39;s fine scores from both u0026#39;The Omenu0026#39; (1976) and u0026#39;The Final Conflictu0026#39;, and one of the filmu0026#39;s better death scenes, which closely recalls the runaway train of u0026#39;Damien: Omen IIu0026#39; (1978), reminding us that there is something left of the spirit of Damien Thorn.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd that is one of the problems here. Only one fleeting reference is made to the anti-hero of the previous u0026#39;Omenu0026#39; films and the mother character, Karen York (played by Faye Grant) even dares to ask who he was! Wasnu0026#39;t Damien supposed to be a vital figure in both politics and business a mere ten years before? A man aiming for a seat in the Senate and, from there, the Presidency? A key captain of industry and, like his adoptive forefathers, a key adviser to the President of the United States? She is a lawyer, after all, and youu0026#39;d think that a lawyer would do something like read a newspaper once in a while…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt is implied (although never confirmed) that the new Antichrist, a girl named Delia York (played quite well by Asia Vieira) is the daughter that Damien had with that pesky journalist, Kate Reynolds (Lisa Harrow) from the previous film, and it would, at least, have mildly improved things somewhat to have Harrow reappear or at least get something of a mention. It might even have been a bit of a fun turn-around for the actress to get a Joan Hart-style role here, even if she did ultimately bite the dust!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDominique Othenin-Girard started work on this film, having recently directed the unoriginal, but still okay u0026#39;Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myersu0026#39; (1989). He left the film during production (again, probably because of artistic differences) and was hurriedly replaced by Jorge Montesi. Being a TV movie at a time when TV movies werenu0026#39;t really anything to shout about anyway, you canu0026#39;t really tell the difference between the work done by the directors. The action sequences (such as the aforementioned death scene) were directed by the so-called u0026#39;Devilu0026#39;s Godfatheru0026#39; and u0026#39;Omenu0026#39; producer, Harvey Bernhard. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBasically, this is a remake of the original film, albeit with a few twists and turns along the way. Mainly, the major change is that, while the mother in the original film (Lee Remick) was treated like she would fall apart at any moment, Faye Grant is the investigator here. The idiotic husband, Gene York (Michael Woods), whilst constantly busy on Capitol Hill, has little to do other than give her and Delia the occasional hug and berate Karen for being neurotic. But, in places, Faye Grantu0026#39;s acting is very wooden and obvious, such as when she tells Delia that u0026quot;Thatu0026#39;s just not true!u0026quot; But Damienu0026#39;s lackeys demean her just as much as Damien himself mistreated Lisa Harrow in the previous film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWell known TV actors Michael Lerner, Don S. Davis and Madison Mason get quite good roles, with Lerner holding the true charisma here as a former crooked cop turned shady private investigator who is hired by Karen York to dig deeper into Deliau0026#39;s history. The film even gets a brief, but reasonably effective version of both Holly and Mrs. Baylock from the original film but, as said, they appear far too briefly and too weirdly to make any true impact on the audience. Other performances are very overdone, especially the nun who gives the Yorks their new baby (Megan Leitch).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne good scene is an early sequence in which Karen and Delia are playing and run across a u0026#39;heroicu0026#39; Rottweiler — a more plausible introduction for manu0026#39;s best friend into the Yorksu0026#39; household than in the original u0026#39;Omenu0026#39;! Quite simply, Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) should have fired the Baylock woman (Billie Whitelaw) on the spot for constantly dragging that demonic mutt back into the house!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDie-hard fans of the u0026#39;Omenu0026#39; franchise may want to give this one a go, but it literally is a film for a rainy day when there is nothing better to do! u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHarvey Bernhard and Stanley Mann had penned an adaptation of Gordon McGillu0026#39;s u0026#39;Omen IV: Armageddon 2000u0026#39; back in 1983, but it was rejected for this trashy, uninspired TV movie. In comparison, Bernhardu0026#39;s and Mannu0026#39;s script is godly and suspenseful, with a great look back over the u0026#39;Omenu0026#39; films, and attempts to repair the damage done to the running plot of the franchise in u0026#39;The Final Conflictu0026#39;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eInverted crosses galore, the aforementioned retread of Goldsmithu0026#39;s score (shockingly mouthed by some demonic carol singers in one scene, ewww!!!), and that one death scene make this intermittently interesting but, if u0026#39;The Final Conflictu0026#39; saw the u0026#39;Omenu0026#39; series run out of steam, then this one left it dead and buried, with only other remakes left to make audiences remember the glory days of the original!”