Hell Awaits
By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 6, 2006 5:55PM
Remember how people used to get spooked when a Friday would fall on the 13th of the month? There’d be a few articles about superstitions or about some dead kid’s mother terrorizing some campers. But lately? Bupkus. We’re bored with Friday the 13th. We crave a greater excitement. And who knows just how to take advantage of that ennui? Satan, natch!
Shout at the devil, bitches, because it’s 6/6/06!
Truth be told, the 14-year old in us would be a lot more excited about this day in Sign of the Beast history if it hadn’t been co-opted by the marketing geniuses behind the remake of The Omen. Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles (seriously, honey, fire your agent) star as this generation’s Gregory Peck and Lee Remick that appears to be as good as…well, The Omen sequel they showed on TV.
The devil’s always had a curious place in our culture. Sure, he has all the best music. But when it comes to portrayals onscreen, his reputation is decidedly mixed. Sadly, we were unable to find any cinematic portrayals of Beelzebub on Chicago screens today, but DVD and video provide plenty of examinations of Lucifer in the movies.
Sometimes he’s an old dude who looks like George Burns. Other times he’s genuinely scary like when he makes your daughter spit pea soup at you and tells you your mother um….chucks rocks in hell. Ahem. But sometimes he’s just kinda wacky and a source for satirical social commentary. Sometimes he’s a tough guy to tangle with so you need to send the governor of California or Christopher Walken to deal with him. Other times, he appears to be kind of a wuss so you can just toss Johnny Depp or Eddie Murphy at him.
However, he does have good taste in women as evidenced by his attempt to seduce Robin Tunney, hit on Charlize Theron and gets Mia Farrow to carry his child. If she was good enough for Frank Sinatra, she’s good enough for the Dark Prince, no?
And sometimes the devil is just really hot and sorta looks like Marlene Dietrich or Elizabeth Hurley.