AMC Monsterfest feasts on 'The Omen'

'Halloween is the ideal time of year for aficionados of horror films and gimmicky TV. In the ever-widening realm of genre-specific cable channels, networks such as Fox Family Channel and American Movie Classics revamp their line-ups to accommodate Halloween with both spooky and seasonal programming.
   Sitcoms do the seemingly obligatory Halloween-themed episode, guest-starring ghouls from present and past, while horror/mystery/suspense/thriller films get countless runs on other networks. Like any other holiday, it becomes an event for TV, and this Halloween is no different.
   One of this year's more unusual nights of broadcasting comes Tuesday as part of American Movie Classics' Monsterfest. The night is centered on "The Omen" films, featuring all three films about Satan as a child and a documentary about the legacy they've left behind.
   Scary movies
   While Harvey Bernhard takes pleasure in re-watching "The Omen" films (he'd better; he produced them), one of his preferred doses of scary cinema is a 1991 film that forever tainted how we think of Chianti and Buffalo Bill.
   Ultimately, although not completely unbiased, Bernhard declares "The Omen" a better film than "The Silence of the Lambs," due to the performance of Damien himself, Harvey Stephens.
   "('The Omen') was believable," said Bernhard, who also produced "The Goonies." "The young kid was the devil."
   The more realistic the film, the higher the escapism quotient, Bernhard said.
   "Frightening pictures are a catharsis," he said. "They take your mind off of everything."
   Bernhard plans on staying home on his 75-acre ranch in Southern Washington on Halloween, but he doesn't expect trick-or-treaters.
   "They don't dare come here," he said.
   Considering some of his movie credits, that's probably a good thing.
   Some of the other Halloween highlights are:
   Sunday