Robert Thorn: [ignoring Father Brennan’s warnings about Damien] “. . . Now, I’ve heard you. I want you to hear me – I never want to see you again.”
Father Brennan: “. . .You’ll see me in hell, Mr. Thorn. There we will share out our sentence.”
Not the type of movie that will make you want to consider adoption, The Omen (1976) is the horror film that put director Richard Donner on the map. . . after which he would go on to an illustrious career, making feature films like Superman (1978), The Goonies (1985), the Lethal Weapon franchise (1987-1998), 16 Blocks (2006), as well as many others.
A bit like the anti-Christ precursor to the Final Destination franchise, American diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck – Cape Fear; To Kill a Mockingbird) has a difficult decision to make. . . as the on duty chaplain Father Spiletto (Martin Benson) offers him another child whose mother has passed at the same time that his baby sadly died upon its first breath. His wife Katherine (Lee Remick), unconscious from the arduous birthing, has no clue that this has happened to their newborn child.
Keeping it a secret from her, they move to London after he is named the ambassador to England. Damien (Harvey Stephens) is raised right, but always seems to be followed by a darkly ominous cloud. Over his first five years, animals act creepily around him, a rottweiler meanders their new property in London, people connected to them disturbingly pass away, and a chilling priest, Father Brennan (Patrick Troughton), is seemingly stalking the ambassador – spouting some wild accusations that their son is the anti-Christ and will seek to kill the couple’s yet unborn child (something that is not even known yet). Perhaps even more bizarre, after his nanny dies horrifically, a replacement, Mrs. Baylock (Billie Whitelaw), randomly shows up to take the position and ‘help’ the couple. . . Mary Poppins she is not.
Soon, a photographer assigned to the embassy, Keith Jennings (David Warner – Time After Time; Time Bandits), also approaches him to show the anomalies in many of the photos he has taken – as each person in his negatives who has a flaw pointing at them ends up dying. As ever growing eerie signs suggest that all may not be right with Damien, will Robert actually believe that his adopted son could be the spawn of the devil? If so, can Keith, the spooky priest, or anyone else truly help him? Or, might Damien just be an ordinary little boy with a lot of bad luck?
Feeling hauntingly predestined, as an audience you really don’t know exactly how things will go wrong, but that gloomy atmosphere always hovers in the back of your mind. . . a harbinger of something dark to come. Grounded in its biblical basis and never playing for the straight jump scares or gory shock value, Donner instead keeps it firmly grounded – making it all the scarier for it. Centered on several dynamic deadly set pieces, they still, all these years later, are utter perfection – making those final destination sequences all the more memorable.
Jerry Goldsmith’s outstanding score also takes the picture to another level. Nominated for a whopping eighteen Academy Awards over his life, shockingly, he only ever won for this feature (and people say horror movies never win Oscars). . . its chilling Gregorian-like chanting, when combined with its ominous brass as well as its touching if slightly melancholic love theme really stands out, helping him beat out the legendary Bernard Herrmann – who was nominated twice and had just passed away. . . a most impressive victory.
A horror feature that truly has stood the test of time, The Omen is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. With a shockingly memorable ending, stellar performances from its dynamic cast (the close-ups of their eyes really work wonders), numerous iconic death scenes (using striking practical effects), authentic shooting locations in England, Italy and Israel, and that oh so memorable score, it all comes together for a chillingly grounded horror movie. Also, though I won’t list them here, if you’re into hearing about numerous things that go wrong during horror productions, take a gander at this one, for it definitely had its fair share of them. So, bless this feature on its 50th anniversary, you wouldn’t think that it should attract any lightning rods.