Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Fans of numerical birthmarks, rejoice! THE OMEN is coming to television...

Glen Mazzara (The Shield, The Walking Dead) is developing a television drama based on the 1976 horror film The Omen, entitled DAMIEN.

The series will tell the story of Damien Thorn, adopted child of two American diplomats, who is actually the Antichrist. Unlike the 1976 movie (which formed part of a trilogy and was remade in 2006), Damien will introduce its eponymous villain as an adult haunted by his childhood and grappling with his macabre destiny. (So it's actually more a remake of Omen III: The Final Conflict?)

It seems horror is the "big thing" in television, following successes like True BloodAmerican Horror Story and The Walking Dead. Studios seem particularly keen on remaking existing horror franchises; with sequels, prequels, or remakes of Psycho (A&E's Bates Motel), The Silence of the Lambs (NBC's Hannibal), El Ray's From Dusk till Dawn, and NBC Rosemary's Baby miniseries. Interestingly, Mazzara is also writing a film prequel to The Shining called The Overlook Hotel.

Damien will be broadcast on Lifetime, a channel not best-known for such grisly fare, although it has made inroads with Witches of East End and an upcoming dystopian thriller called The Lottery.