Damien: Omen II | | Cast : | William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor | | Director : | Don Taylor | | Studio : | Twentieth Century Fox Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Widescreen | | Released Date : | June 09, 1978 | | DVD Released Date : | September 04, 2001 | | Language : | French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 21, 2005 | | Summary | "The boy has got to die!!!" -Richard...(a truly underrated horror laden classic long deserving of an intelligent & just review) | Content
 | Seldom does one discover a movie as underrated and unfairly criticized as one does in the truly brilliant sequel to "The Omen" called "Damien: Omen II". The fact that this movie is a sequel may have a lot to do with it being hammered by critics, but the truth of the matter is that this movie is brilliant and absolutely terrifying. It never ceases to amaze me that critics and horror movie fans alike continuously hammer this movie into the ground while praising some kind of trash like "Hellraiser IV" or "Candyman Farewell to the Flesh"...it goes without saying that I have no respect for such a person's opinion about quality horror cinema.
"Damien: Omen II" picks up almost exactly where the original left off. The basic plot to this sequel centers around Damien as early adolescent child living with Robert Thorn's brother named Richard Thorn. Damien appears like any other 12 year old boy, but the audience knows the truth about his identity. Richard Thorn and his family want to forget about the tragedies associated with Damien's past and the supposedly "mentally ill" Robert Thorn who was killed trying to kill Damien in the original classic. However, there are those that remain unsatisfied and concerned about Damien's past and Robert Thorn's motivations attempting to murder what everyone perceived to be his own son.
Similar to "The Omen", the plot of "Damien: The Omen II" centers around those persons who gain knowledge of Damien's true identity like Bubenhagen, Joan Hart and eventually Dr. Warren including those who only suspect something just is not right about the child like Aunt Marion and Dr. Cane. The creators of "Damien: The Omen II" simply and yet intelligently place the audience in the position of those with knowledge or suspicions of Damien's identity and the horror, madness and danger associated with such knowledge...ths plot is credible and realistic in every way. Indeed, it would be a normal and very human reaction by anyone to be skeptical that Damien or anyone else for that matter is the Antichrist, yet, this truly horrifying possibility is exactly what every protagonist in this movie must face...the danger associated with the possession of such knowledge regarding Damien's true identity is simply the deadliest and most evil danger in the world, the raw power of Satan and the Antichrist which translates to a horrible death for any such bearer of such horrifying information as Damien's proverbial birth certificate. Also, as Richard eventually says, there are those around him, protecting him, keeping him safe...indeed, there are those apostates of Hell and Satanists who love the evil and the despise the holy.
Like the original, this sequel to "The Omen" also does a terrific job with some absolutely brilliant death scenes in this movie that will impress even the saviest of horror movie veterans. Still, it is not the death scenes which defines "Damien: The Omen II" as a masterpiece of horror cinema and one of the greatest horror movies of all-time...in fact, it is the brilliant atmosphere (which is crucial to any horror movie's effectiveness), mood and the subject matter itself which is so horrifying to a knowledgeable and sophisticated audience...the brilliantly horrifying and imaginitive death scenes only work to magnify and supplement the horror that is so obviously present in this movie. The beautifully dark and sinister score/soundtrack by Goldsmith associated with this movie also works to accentuate the elements of horror to produce the most terrifyingly yet enjoyable horror movie viewing experience. Just put yourself in the position of Joan Hart and think about what this world would be like with the Antichrist among us and what is even worse is for you to be the only one with this horrifying knowledge of the truth regarding the beast's identity and the danger associated with this knowledge.
The key to any objective review of any movie is to evaluate it for its face value and individual merits whether it is a sequel, an original piece or a rip-off of a prior classic. Sequels are often made to cash in on the success of an original classic and a disappointed audience is usually the result...such is not the case with this masterpiece of terror called "Damien: Omen II". The acting in this movie is top notch especially with William Holden as Richard Thorn...in fact, as a side note, Holden was offered the lead role in the original classic called "The Omen", but he declined...however, upon recognizing the first movie's brilliance, he quickly accepted the lead role in "Damien".
In some ways, this sequel even surpasses the original with regard to its merits and qualities of sheer terror...please understand that I am not saying that this sequel is better theatre than the original classic, but it is right there with it in terms of its ability to inspire fear and terror in the audience...all of the elements for a great horror movie are present in a magnificently terrifying cinematic structure which is "Damien: Omen II". It is hard to create a sequel that is as good or close to as good as the original, but "Damien: Omen II" pulls it off quite convincingly notwithstanding the ignorant and largely nonsensical criticisms of one of the greatest horror movies ever.
The original "The Omen" may be a slightly better movie as a whole than its sequel, but not much...essentially, "The Omen" and "Damien: The Omen II" are two of the greatest horror movies ever made and I cannot recommend these movies high enough. It is a shame that "Damien: The Omen II" is dumped on and its brilliance so neglected and strangely misunderstood, but the fact of the matter remains that this sequel is and always will be a horror movie classic and a must own for any serious and sophisticated horror movie fan.
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| Rating | | | Date | July 07, 2005 | | Summary | Devilutions | Content
| The second six in the saga of this classic infernal trinity. Here, in military school, Damian comes to grips with the realization that he is this antichrist character, after being reassured by an official. Damian learns to grasp His power, & even his own brother is annihilated, who threatened to stop Damian's destiny.
Again, his parental guardians get the proverbial axe, as 'The Antichrist' continues on his path to world dominion. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 16, 2005 | | Summary | It is nothing like the book, and first of all... | Content
| ...far from being the movie "The Omen" was and is. And I am shocked to see that it is rated just as high by the reviewers here on Amazon as the original. Not that I have anything against this sequel, but it should just not be compared to the masterpiece the 1'st movie was. Better actors in this one? Not a chanse, but they're ok. The movie is ok, and faithful to the book -but the problem is that the book is so pshycological -and hard to put to life on screen. I think the producers and director with their cast did a good try, but the "return of The Omen" is not what it could have been. And this considering it has a lot to live up to! |
| Rating | | | Date | February 19, 2005 | | Summary | Fascinating, as in Fascism + procreating | Content
| I remember seeing this as a young man, thinking, why can't I go to a military school, become a powerful heir to all the riches of the earth and wreak havoc upon my enemies with a full arsenal of supernatural firepower? Thrust upon the earth, at the mercy of his heredity. My favorite scene is Damien come of age, entertaining the pretty girls at a cadet function. Now that's living. |
| Rating | | | Date | January 02, 2005 | | Summary | From Hell | Content
| The scariest scene in this movie is when a woman gets attacked by a crow out on a road in the middle of nowhere, then is blinded and gets run over by a truck. But this should have been a scene in 'The Birds'.
Damien, the antichrist, is attending a military school, and is now a part of his father's brother's family. In the previous film, Damien's father realized what he was and attempted to kill him, but was shot in the process. So, his brother took Damien in, and now we have this continuation. There's nothing really scary about the story this time around, it's just a standard story about Damien enjoying his family life, while other people begin to fear him. Every time someone comes close to discovering what Damien really is, they die.
The first film succeeded because there's something frightening about little children with their innocence taken away. This time out, we know what to expect, so there are no surprises, and no true suspense. Some of the scenes in the film were ok, such as when Damien's face is discovered on an ancient excavated wall. The music and atmosphere were kind of creepy as well, but the story just kind of falls flat. It's not terrible, but it's not good either. |
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