Music Composed by Marco Beltrami
Rating: ** 1/2

Remakes are becoming the bane of Hollywood these days. One after another after another seems to be coming out of the studio system. Rarely is the re-make ever really better than the original film, yet they mostly bring in high box office numbers on that first weekend, so they keep getting made. It’s unfortunate that today’s talented young composers have to find a way to score these remakes, so as to pay homage to original, yet still work with the new film and stay true to the composer’s own voice.

Marco Beltrami had to score director John Moore’s Flight of the Phoenix in 2004, which was a remake of a 1965 film with a great, but relatively unknown (to the masses) score by Frank DeVol. Now, again, in 2006 Moore remakes another film, this time it’s a horror classic - 1976’s The Omen. I don’t envy Beltrami upon hearing what feat laid before him - scoring what is only a minor updating of the exact same film Jerry Goldsmith scored in 1976, and won his only Oscar for.

Marco Beltrami

Goldsmith’s score to Richard Donner’s original, of course, is a classic, and is one of my favorite Jerry Goldsmith scores. It works incredibly well as an album, and it adds so much to the film - in fact, many scenes are saved because of it. The Latin-chanting choir influenced an entire generation of horror scores that followed. Perhaps if was wise, then, of Beltrami not to take the new Omen score in a new direction, or to try and mimic exactly what Goldsmith did. Beltrami is not the type of composer who deals with clichés. However, by not crafting a score as audacious as Goldsmith’s, and creating one that merely serves the film as a routine horror flick (which this film definitely is), he has made himself into a sacrificial lamb of sorts. Indeed, the critics have blasted the score in most reviews of this update. The tense moments are there. The sweet family music is still there. But there’s no choir… just little nods to what Jerry did. The result, is a score without the gravitas and fire of a typical Marco Beltrami horror score, and one that gets unfairly scrutinized against one of the most brilliant horror scores of all time.

Most aspects of this score feel routine. The “Main Titles” start with somewhat of a bang, but don’t offer any sort of theme or excitement beyond some taiko drums and snarling brass. There’s 3-4 action moments in the score, all of which lack the energy typical of Beltrami’s music… One only needs to go back to February with Underworld Evolution to hear Beltrami’s typical excited full-orchestral action. The “Dogs in the Cemetery” and “Altar of Sacrifice”audio clip cues are fun, but I’ll take cues from Blade 2, Hellboy, and Terminator 3 any day.

There is, however, one aspect of Beltrami’s score that I enjoy more than Goldsmith’s. Beltrami got the tender, family music right. Whereas Goldsmith’s “Piper Dreams” theme was a little too saccharine to balance out his devil music, Beltrami finds just the right tone. “The Adoption” and “New House” are gorgeous, with a lyrical flute melody… one of the only real themes in the score.

There are a few nice electronic effects, and some very creepy Latin whispering throughout. “More Tantrums” is an interesting track to be sure, with music playing backwards. It doesn’t add up to much, though, and The Omen ends up being one the composer’s weaker efforts. Comparing this score to Jerry Goldsmith’s anti-Christ music is not a fair fight. Hellboy, on the other hand…

Music Composed and Produced by Marco Beltrami; Orchestrated by Pete Anthony, Bill Boston, Marcus Trumpp, Dana Niu; Conducted by Pete Anthony; Recorded and Mixed by John Kurlander; Label: Varese Sarabande, (302 066 736 2); Availability: In-print; U.S. Release Date: 6/6/06

01. The Omen Main Titles (2′58)
02. The Adoption (4′12)
03. Ambassador Gets Fired (1′33)
04. New House / Damien’s Deliverance (2′20)
05. The Nanny’s Noose (2′05)
06. A Cross To Bear (2′49)
07. Ms. Baylock (1′50)
08. Damien’s Tantrum (1′52)
09. More Tantrums (2′12)
10. Kate Doubts (1′05)
11. Scooter (2′44)
12. Don’t Let Him Kill Me (1′29)
13. On The Heels Of Spiletto (6′58)
14. Dogs In The Cemetery (2′02)
15. Drive To Bugenhagen (1′31)
16. Dirty Deeds (4′12)
17. Altar Of Sacrifice (4′10)
18. The Funeral (1′41)
19. Boy Genius (2′52)
20. Omen 76/06 (3′30)
Contains music by Jerry Goldsmith

Total Playing Time: 53′57