Karen and Gene York adopt baby Delia from the nuns at the local orphanage. It isn’t long before the child begins exhibiting odd behavior, but the new parents assume this is just how babies are. Eight years later, Delia is not the most popular girl at school; to be honest, she is something of a problem child. She is particularly rude to her nanny Jo, a peaceful woman who is really into auras and healing crystals. Soon a series of accidents befall anyone who crosses Delia, including a bully at school and his hot tempered father. Karen grows suspicious of the child and hires a private investigator to track down information on her birth parents. What he uncovers is evidence of a secret society working to bring back the Antichrist. Karen is on her own when facing off against the little devil, but is she strong enough to defend her family?

Omen IV: The Awakening is a made-for-TV attempt to reboot the franchise for a new generation. Arriving ten years after the previous trilogy concluded, the studio believed it was time to revisit the material for a quick cash grab. Screenwriter Brian Taggert (Of Unknown Origin) delivers an entertaining B-movie storyline that echoes the premise of the original picture but dumbs it down for a prime-time TV audience. Instead of making the Antichrist a baby or a troubled teen, Taggert splits the difference and places the Evil inside an adorable eight-year-old girl. Unlike Damien, young Delia seems to have direct control of her environment and the evil forces surrounding her are more likely to strike at the slightest indiscretion.

Faye Grant (V: The Final Battle) stars as Karen York, the bedeviled mother of a tiny terror and does her best to keep things grounded in reality as the accidents and coincidences mount around her. The always-welcome Michael Lerner (Barton Fink) brings his Everyman quality to the role of Earl, the private investigator hired to snoop around. The film boasts two directors, Jorge Montesi (Birds of Prey) and Dominique Othenin-Girard (Night Angel) and between them they get a respectable performance out of young Asia Vieira (A Home at the End of the World) as Delia. Omen IV is a weak film that wrestles with its limitations, but as a piece of disposable entertainment it is a mediocre placeholder in the franchise until a proper sequel comes along.