Summary:
After a series of mysterious deaths surrounding an American Ambassador, the Ambassador begins to suspect there might be something wrong with his young son.
My Thoughts:
In my opinion, “The Omen” is just one step below horror greats like “The Exorcist” and “Rosemary’s Baby”. “The Omen” is a good movie- at times it’s even very good- but there are also quite a few scenes where the film doesn’t quite know what it wants to be; does it want to be a psychological thriller with subtle scares and revelations in the final scenes that really drive home the horror to linger in the viewer’s mind long after the credits roll (like “Rosemary’s Baby”), or does it want to be a popcorn horror flick that enjoys making the viewer jump here and there while watching the film, but shortly after viewing it, the unsettled feeling one experiences quickly flees the body (like “The Conjuring”)? I don’t think the screenwriter, David Seltzer, knew, and I don’t think the director, Richard Donner, knew either. This movie tries to be both an intense psychological horror movie and a film filled with schmaltzy, over-the-top kills and, surprisingly, it mostly works; mostly, but not entirely.
“Look at me, Damien! It’s all for you!”
After the American ambassador to UK Robert (Gregory Peck, “To Kill a Mockingbird”) and his wife Katherine (Lee Remick, “Anatomy of a Murder”) adopt a child named Damien (Harvey Stephens), whose mother has died in childbirth, mysterious, almost paranormal deaths begin to happen in close relation to the child, and Robert begins to suspect the child is not at all what he seems.
The idea that one’s own child could, unbeknownst to the parents, actually be the antichrist is pretty horrific, but it’s also not an entirely original one. Demonic possession, demonic insemination, witchcraft, and pretty much any devilish thing you can imagine have more or less been staples of the horror genre since before movies were a thing- so what does this movie bring to the table that sets it apart from other horror films that deal with the same sort of themes and ideas? The story, while we admit not wholly original, overall, is a pretty compelling and frightening concept (especially for someone who was raised in the church). This particular film works in a lot of the mythos surrounding the antichrist from the bible (mark of the beast, the idea that the antichrist might have their finger in politics, that sort of thing) while also adding a few original creepy things that seem off about the child (Damien’s relationship to animals, his relationship with his new governess). As a viewer, we’re left to wait and wonder with Peck’s character while unusual things start to happen surrounding his son.
I think some of my favorite moments of this movie are when we aren’t 100% certain what’s going on, but we can tell that Damien has some sort of malicious presence surrounding him, and that presence has influence over his life. One of my favorite scenes is actually right before Damien does something bad, when he’s riding his tricycle in round and round in circles in his room while his governess watches him, at first curiously, but then a sort of knowing smile creeps across her face, as if she has just fully understood what it is Damien is about to do. It’s the subtler parts of the movie, like the one I’ve just described, that work best for me. Some of the creepy stuff in the third act starts to go a little over the rails, in my humble opinion- there are moments where the supernatural is hinted at, and then there are moments when there is no other explanation for what has happened other than to accept the supernatural.
SPOILERS FOLLOW
I think my biggest problem with the film is that the kills that happen don’t really match the tone of the rest of the film. The overall psychological elements work really well to make the atmosphere feel akin to something like “Rosemary’s Baby”, but the kills tend to feel like they’d be more at home in Argento’s Giallo films like “Deep Red” or “Suspiria”. I just wish the violence felt a bit more grounded, as it is near the beginning of the film, when Damien’s first governess kills herself (in what might be the most iconic scene of the film). The stuff towards the end, where panes of glass sever heads or bolts of lightening sent spires falling down on priests, gets a little silly.
Verdict:
Overall “The Omen” is a good horror movie; it’s not incredibly frightening by today’s standards and it’s not a cinematically compelling as some other film in the genre that deal with similar themes, but it is a good movie. I think audiences today will most likely still appreciate the great parts of the flick, and they probably can forgive a few of the more schmaltzy elements for the sake of a pretty decent story, some good acting, and some memorable and creepy moments.
Review Written By: