TR reviews horror franchises: "The Omen"

[Lick Ness Monster]

THE OMEN
1976
Director: Richard Donner

The '70s were full of religion-themed horror movies. From "Rosemary's Baby" to "The Exorcist", it seemed like the theme of satanism was one that resonated very strongly with the public at the time as, in addition to these earlier movies being artistic masterpieces, they also drew in loads of cash.
Therefore, "The Omen." While it is viewed (by myself, at least) as another attempt to cash in on the success of "The Exorcist" with another similarly themed movie, this movie carves out its own niche and is able to introduce a plot that would sustain two sequels of wildly varying quality.
Of course, with the advent of the remake and repeated airings on cable television, "The Omen" is now virtually an American institution, one so widely seen that the story itself is very well known. But, for those who haven't seen it...
Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) is the U.S. ambassador to England, and seemingly has it all - a loving, doting wife and an adorable son, Damien. But near this film's beginning, young Damien throws a seizure as they head to church - and from here, weirder and more sinister occurences begin happening in conjunction with the boy. A mysterious dog shows up and begins to shadow his every move. A troublesome - but seemingly loving - nanny tends to Damien's whims. And dead bodies of anybody who dares makes things more difficult for young Damien begin piling up.
While I am in the minority in that I think this story is at times a little unimaginative, I can't deny that it is extremely well acted (especially by David Warner as Jennings, one of the doomed characters who knows Damien's true identity and attempts to bring him down). In addition, this movie succeeds in creating an excellent atmosphere of dread - it has a slow build, but as we learn of Damien's history (especially as Peck and Warner investigate the grave of Damien's mother and find that he was indeed born of a jackal) and more and more chess pieces are introduced around this simple young boy, our interest is piqued. And this movie does have a pretty damn kickass third act, concluding with one of the creepier endings in movie history. If the sequels had not existed, this ending would be even more disquieting.
Conclusion: I feel that this movie is just A TAD overrated. The story is by no means original, and indeed, it is only intermittently scary. The movie's final trimester, however, is superb storytelling, and this is a reminder of the times when horror was viewed by mainstream Hollywood as something other than just a quick buck. Every horror flick should attain actors this good.

*** (out of four)

[Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action]

The good ol' Omen series!

[Banjo Is Broken]

Damn good movie. Remake was pretty much crap, though.

[Lick Ness Monster]

Apr 2, 2008 23:11:42 GMT -5 Banjo Is Broken said:

Damn good movie. Remake was pretty much crap, though.

To this day, I have yet to see the remake.

Actually, after seeing "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" remake and seeing how they desecrated an absolutely classic movie (and such a trailblazer, no less), turning it into an overtly slick, glossy, well-dressed-up pile of crap, I swore off any and all horror remakes since.

I haven't seen Rob Zombie's "Halloween." Or the new "The Hitcher." Or "Black Christmas," or "The Hills Have Eyes" redo, or any of the rest of them. And I have no plans on seeing "Prom Night". I MIGHT, however, make an exception if Barker himself is the one remaking "Hellraiser."

[Big DSR Energy]

'Tis a damn fine film. I miss 70s horror.

[Lick Ness Monster]

DAMIEN: OMEN II
1978
Director: Don Taylor

With the phenomenal bank that the original "Omen" pulled in at theaters in 1976, the world wasn't long for more Damien Thorn-inspired Antichrist action, and thus, plans were set in motion for the story to become a trilogy.
And this is very much a direct sequel - the story of the main character, Damien Thorn, is furthered in a very logical manner in this film, and the screenplay also pays close attention to the real-life situations that such an orphan character would encounter (with the industrialist Richard Thorn, played by William Holden, and Lee Grant adding a touch of star power to the movie as his wife, Ann).
The problem with this movie is that, despite a new motif (in this movie's case, a menacing crow rather than a menacing dog following all the action), this movie just feels like the first movie repeated. Now, granted, a common criticism leveled against "Friday the 13th" and its many sequels (that I gave positive reviews too, no less) is that they are the same movie repeated - but these are slasher flicks. These "Omen" films REALLY wanted to be legitimate - and indeed, they are remembered to this day. They ARE legitimate, and thus, mere repetition is simply not enough for a film of this magnitude.
Most of the movie's plot revolves around basically the same storytelling device of the first movie - of a small group of people who know Damien's true identity attempting to convince Richard Thorn to kill Damien with the daggers of Megiddo. Been there, done that - and all of the accidental deaths of people who trip up Damien on his mission? Been there, done that, as well.
This movie does, however, boast the EXCELLENT performance of Jonathan Scott-Taylor as the 12-year-old Damien. While, unfortunately, the movie centers around the boring adult protagonists' Keystone Cops-esque attempts to undo him, Scott-Taylor's scenes steal the show. In this flick, Damien is a student at a military academy, seemingly living a life of innocence. He is absolutely perfect in this role, conveying to us an innocence that is about to be lost to ultimate evil. A follower of Satan eventually gives him a book meant to clue him in on his true identity, and, in the movie's best scene, Damien finds out the truth in a scene reminiscant of Christ's reactions to God - "Why does it have to be me?"
Overall, I just felt disappointed after this movie. I had high hopes after watching the original; while I undertand that this movie is necessary (especially in viewing these films as a trilogy), it just seems like it could have been so much more epic than it turned out to be. After all, this is the chapter where Damien learns of his destiny and makes his decision...

**

[Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action]

I've seen all the Omen's (except the remake) but I can't remember any besides the 1st.

[Lick Ness Monster]

Apr 4, 2008 0:11:18 GMT -5 Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action said:

I've seen all the Omen's (except the remake) but I can't remember any besides the 1st.

On AMC's Fear Friday (which I watch religiously every week), they played all three original "Omen" flicks back-to-back. I was all over that, thus, I've had these flicks on my head for the last couple weeks or so.

Btw, I don't know what it is about horror movies on AMC. I just LOVE them, even though all of the good stuff is cut out. I guess it's just the feeling that someone, somewhere, is watching the same dumb horror flick that I am. ;D

Plus, every once in a while, they show a truly forgotten oddity. Ever heard of a movie called "A Name For Evil?" Unbelievably crappy movie, but it's hilarious in its badness, so I ended up buying it on DVD.

[Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action]

That and the fact that it's just great to see these rarely played movies... actually played!

[Lick Ness Monster]

Apr 4, 2008 0:17:26 GMT -5 Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action said:

That and the fact that it's just great to see these rarely played movies... actually played!

Good to see a little action on this thread, Deadpool. This is kind of one that I just had to get out of my system after seeing them back-to-back-to-back. After doing "Hellraiser", I kind of had to recharge with this small series before charging up for "Halloween." And man, that is going to be an undertaking.

I don't know if there is a series out there, in any genre, with such WILDLY varying degrees of quality as the "Halloween" series.

[Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action]

Maybe Nightmare on Elm St.... MAYBE.

[Lick Ness Monster]

Apr 4, 2008 0:22:52 GMT -5 Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action said:

Maybe Nightmare on Elm St.... MAYBE.

I've done that one already.

Still, while "Nightmare 2" is pretty bad, I don't think it's as bad as "The Curse of Michael Myers" or the "Busta Rhymes vs. Michael Myers" special. "Halloween" is something else.

[Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action]

Ugghhhh... Halloween: Resurection is so terrible. I mean on so many levels.

People talk about Halloween (2007) changing Michael's character, no... Resurection raped any character he had already. Not only when he was physically being beat up by Busta, but also when he was sitting there taking orders from Busta while hiding. Like Michael would have just stood there and took that crap. Yeah, he might stand there and listen... then when you're done... you're dead.

By the way, I actually liked the Halloween remake.

[Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action]

Also, I agree with your assesment that there is a difference between repetition in slasher movies and repitition in thrillers. In slashers the repitition mainly comes from the fact that it's Killer A kills Person B in Way C. The actual difference comes in the way they are killed and the order it goes down.

In more "dramatic" films like The Omen, where the movie isn't about the deaths per-say, repitition ends up making it feel like the EXACT same movie.

[Lick Ness Monster]

Apr 4, 2008 0:48:05 GMT -5 Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action said:

In more "dramatic" films like The Omen, where the movie isn't about the deaths per-say, repitition ends up making it feel like the EXACT same movie.

Exactly - that's a much better way of putting it than I did. Movies like F13 and ANOES exist for one purpose - entertainment. "The Omen" and "The Exorcist", on the other hand? These were high-end, big-budget, Hollywood flicks - and each of them had fairly subpar sequels because they were essentially the SAME MOVIE.

Apr 4, 2008 0:29:45 GMT -5 Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action said:

Ugghhhh... Halloween: Resurection is so terrible. I mean on so many levels.

People talk about Halloween (2007) changing Michael's character, no... Resurection raped any character he had already. Not only when he was physically being beat up by Busta, but also when he was sitting there taking orders from Busta while hiding. Like Michael would have just stood there and took that crap. Yeah, he might stand there and listen... then when you're done... you're dead.

By the way, I actually liked the Halloween remake.

Oh, Good God, yeah.

You know, to this day, I really only like to think that the first two "Halloween" movies are what make up the story. Those two comprise the very definition of horror - scary, slow builds, excellent camera work, awesome acting, even a memorable score. And these movies just have this awesome, eerie quality about them even today.

The rest? Just...wow. They take this Michael Myers character, this unbeatable, unstoppable badass in the first two films, and tone him down and down further and further into lameness with each sequel. To this day, I believe the Michael of Parts 1 and 2 to be the absolute BEST horror villain of all time - he's merciless, he's a terminator, and he has simple motivations. As the series goes on, for whatever reason, they just felt the need to make his motivations more and more complicated to the point where it ended up being extremely stupid.

And they took away everything that made Michael cool to begin with. We got Michael *crying* in Part 5 (shudder) to the lame-ass cult that supposedly controlled all of his actions in all the films in "Curse" to the aforementioned Busta scenes.

Btw, I think I mentioned it already, but I haven't seen the "Halloween" remake. I have no desire to see it - but it's really not that bad, huh?

[Lick Ness Monster]

THE FINAL CONFLICT
1981
Director: Graham Baker

And here we are - the epic conclusion to the "Omen" trilogy. While the first movie definitely holds its own today as a stand-alone film, and the second is a sometimes fascinating but overall boring retread, this one builds upon the themes of the first two films and actually resolves them in a nice way. Put simply, this is the most balanced and emotionally satisfying of the three films.
Of course, since this is the final conflict between good and evil, Damien must now be an adult. After a very long casting decision, during which names such as Al Pacino and Dustin Hoffman were thrown around for the role of Damien, the studio decided it would be best to cast an unknown actor so as not to have this pivotol role overshadowed by a famous face. Having read most of the other online reviews of this flick, I don't want to be redundant, but yeah, Sam Neill does a great job here as adult Damien. There are some admittedly pretty lengthy solo dialogue scenes, usually the death knell for an actor of any caliber, and Neill is able to make us both fascinated and frightened at the same time. Awesome, awesome job.
The plot: Damien is now full-grown and, for the first time in the series, fully aware of his identity and what his destiny is. He believes that the second coming of Christ is close at hand, and using his new position of U.S. ambassador to England (the same position his father held in the first film), he sets his plans in motion to kill this new threat and claim his ultimate goal - the presidency of the United States.
That's your basic setup, folks. And now what makes this movie pretty damned good - without exaggeration, some of the writing in this movie is downright Shakespearian. In the early stages of the film, there is a scene that establishes just how seriously Damien takes his new mission. In the previous films, we had seen him turn truly evil only once - at the conclusion of "Omen II." This movie? He's got a secret room, at the top of his mansion, that is his room of worship - and the dialogue contained in this solo scene, as he asks his master and father for advice, and mocks a crucified figure of Christ in the room, is absolutely masterful.
There is a similar scene later in the film. In a dream, Damien believes that he has seen the birth of the second coming of Christ. He sets a conspiracy in motion to kill all children born between a certain time frame to wipe him out, and there is one extremely eerie scene where all of the world's followers of Satan convene on an island for an unholy meeting. Damien addresses the followers directly in this scene in a chilling depiction of the evils of some very ordinary looking people.
The movie's other main plot thread revolves around a small group of priests - the last hope for mankind, the keepers of the daggers of Megiddo capable of taking Damien down. While most of the priests die in somewhat unintentionally humorous ways (one review I read likened them to slipping on a banana peel), there is one standout scene - the attack on the bridge during the fox hunt. Details aren't needed, but again, Neill's acting in this scene and the pure heel-ness he displays is uncanny.
Many people seem to dislike this ending, saying that it is anticlimactic and makes no sense. While I won't spoil it, I will state that this ending is completely, 100% right according to strict Bible study. The battle between Satan's followers and God's armies is not the epic battle it is often thought to be - it was more like a union strike, with the wrong side getting sacked. Such was the ending in this film, followed by a scripture citation that closes out the story for us.
This film is quite a success, overall, with an absolutely mesmerizing performance by Neill, a fascinating story, and some new twists on the familiar ground laid by the first two films.

*** 1/2

[Lick Ness Monster]

Btw, has anyone here seen "Omen IV: The Awakening?"

I had plans on watching it while I was watching "The Final Conflict," but decided against it after seeing this film. This movie seemed to wrap things up rather nicely; so, did "The Awakening" suck or was it fairly decent?

[Big DSR Energy]

Nah, I haven't seen it. So you better watch and review it for me! *shakes fist menacingly*

[Jiren]

Apr 5, 2008 1:43:17 GMT -5 Lick Ness Monster said:

Btw, has anyone here seen "Omen IV: The Awakening?"

I had plans on watching it while I was watching "The Final Conflict," but decided against it after seeing this film. This movie seemed to wrap things up rather nicely; so, did "The Awakening" suck or was it fairly decent?

It's Abysmal, Absolutely abysmal.

But i've seen worse, Oh dear lord have i seen worse

In terms of the Trilogy, i thought all 3 were very good films but the ending to part 3 was crap.

Damien should have won.

[Maidpool w/ Cleaning Action]

TR, yeah I actually thought the Halloween restart/remake was pretty good. I know some *coughdoctordoomcough* that probably want to kill me for saying that though.

Did I think it was the best of the series? No, parts 1 & 2 are still the best to me.
Did I think it was better then the other crap fest, character killing ones? Yes, as you already know how I feel about Busta.

I personally feel the only way for the series to continue without being a total joke was a restart. The fact is, this series WAS going to continue rather we think it should or not. Taking that into account, would you rather have a restart that at least tries, or continue with the character killing, no sense making continuity by making a direct sequel?



Also, TR, you better get to wacthing Omen IV AND the remake! You're my horror review guy around these parts!