DAMIEN: OMEN II
THE PROBLEM WITH trilogies is the middle instalment — part one begins and part three ends, but part two can tread water.
Before the Empire struck back, another unpromising sequel turned out to be the most interesting in its series.
Damien: Omen II (1978) was directed by Don Taylor, a former Robin Hood (The Men Of Sherwood Forest) who’d handled another mid-series highlight, Escape From The Planet Of The Apes.
Richard Donner’s The Omen is lumbering, pompous hokum enlivened by solemn hamming, contrived proto
Final Destination deaths and a splendid Jerry Goldsmith score I hum every time I walk past a building site or under a shaky lightning rod. But it was a big enough hit to found a franchise. The second film is wittier, more engaging and has even better horror scenes. Yes, David Warner’s guillotining by glass sheet is astonishing, but Meschach Taylor’s lift bisection in Damien one-ups it and Lew Ayres’ drowning under ice is a great suspense sequence. Following sequel rules,
Damien offers more and more bizarre deaths — with a flapping evil crow in place of the big dog from part one and a striking black-and-white wintry widescreen palette relieved only by splashes of rich red in costume and splatter.
What really elevates Damien is that it goes against the Catholic conservatism of the 1970s Exorcist cycle to show how comfortably the Antichrist fits into American traditions — big business, a military academy, politics, high culture — represented by craggy William Holden and sly Lee Grant. Adding to the ambiguity, the warriors of Christ (guest stars Leo Mckern, Ian Hendry, Sylvia Sidney) are shrill, obnoxious maniacs you don’t want to see prevail. Most movies about the Antichrist present the Beast as stiffly as most films about the Christ present Jesus, but this visits Mr 666 (Jonathan Scott-taylor) at an earlier, more interesting point in his career. In a black parody coming-of-age drama, Damien finds role models — the hip exec (Robert Foxworth) and Satan’s drill instructor (the great Lance Henriksen) — and struggles movingly with his destiny (shouting “why me?” at the winds).
There’s even an affecting, tragic moment in the snow as Damien tries to persuade his cousin/best friend to stay on as his disciple, and is devastated by the sacrifice he must make to become all-powerful (and played by Sam Neill) in The Final Conflict. For a big studio potboiler, Damien: Omen II remains value for money, with threads of genuine subversion, Grand Guignol brio and emotional weight.
DAMIEN: OMEN II IS OUT NOW