There's more to The Omen than I remembered. On the surface, it's one of those horror movies that trades on dispassionate kids being creepy. And obviously, it banks on the 1970s interest in the occult, with its da Vinci Code-like investigation of the Antichrist myth across Europe. But watching it again, I was taken by the subtext. This is about post-partem, isn't it? Though it's literal in this case, the mother comes to believe her child is evil and indeed, NOT her child. And though not exactly the poster child for adoption, Damien comes to be the rejected child who finds comfort in the arms of a nanny. That he's also at the center of a war between Heaven and Hell (in which Pat Troughton is a soldier, always fun to see a former Doctor as a doomsayer) is almost besides the point. The Omen also has great atmosphere and every death scene is memorably staged by director Richard Donner (Superman, this isn't). An iconic supernatural detective story with thrilling horror moments peppered throughout.
There are two types of Horror films:
One, which relies on cheap scares and in-your-face monstrosities, much like The Conjuring.
The other type, relies on eerie cinematography, bone-chilling music, and induces a gradual stream of terror which besets your heart even after the film is long over. Example: The Omen (1976)
...
One can't help but notice that without the religious and apocalyptic pretexts, the plot of this film simply wouldn't exist. And yet, despite this, the movie manages to do two thing: 1.) still have feasibility problems within this realm and 2.) the movie is actually entertaining.
Furthermore, it relies heavily upon the success of its "spiritual" predecessor from three years prior, The Exorcist. Rather, much like
Damien is supposed to be the antichrist
, The Omen serves as sort of an anti-Exorcist. In Friedkin's movie, the spiritual salvation of the child is at stake, and so the parent must remove the demonic forces in order to save her soul. But in The Omen, the problem is the child; the child needs to be killed / removed in order to heal the wound.
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T Howd
Did anyone else notice the red face in the background during the Etruscan cemetery scene?Siskoid
There's more to The Omen than I remembered. On the surface, it's one of those horror movies that trades on dispassionate kids being creepy. And obviously, it banks on the 1970s interest in the occult, with its da Vinci Code-like investigation of the Antichrist myth across Europe. But watching it again, I was taken by the subtext. This is about post-partem, isn't it? Though it's literal in this case, the mother comes to believe her child is evil and indeed, NOT her child. And though not exactly the poster child for adoption, Damien comes to be the rejected child who finds comfort in the arms of a nanny. That he's also at the center of a war between Heaven and Hell (in which Pat Troughton is a soldier, always fun to see a former Doctor as a doomsayer) is almost besides the point. The Omen also has great atmosphere and every death scene is memorably staged by director Richard Donner (Superman, this isn't). An iconic supernatural detective story with thrilling horror moments peppered throughout.Olli
Right next to The Exorcist and Don't Look Now probably my favourite 70s Horror flickMathianSim
Goddamn, that decapitation was pretty spectacular.cathedra
fucking child, i would beat the shit out of him.nicolaskrizan
sometimes scary and interesting, sometimes bland and lagging – could well have been in the book but isn'thttp://beyond1001movies.wordpress.com/
Camille Deadpan
This movie is scary alright, but I also laughed :Dbrainfabias
There are two types of Horror films:One, which relies on cheap scares and in-your-face monstrosities, much like The Conjuring.
The other type, relies on eerie cinematography, bone-chilling music, and induces a gradual stream of terror which besets your heart even after the film is long over. Example: The Omen (1976)
...
Jumping Elephant
One can't help but notice that without the religious and apocalyptic pretexts, the plot of this film simply wouldn't exist. And yet, despite this, the movie manages to do two thing: 1.) still have feasibility problems within this realm and 2.) the movie is actually entertaining.Furthermore, it relies heavily upon the success of its "spiritual" predecessor from three years prior, The Exorcist. Rather, much like
BeasleyOnFilm
I'm gonna go ahead and say it. This might well be the best horror film ever made.Jonathan_Hutchings
One of the best horror films ever made.TheGallopingGhost
Trivia: the Adult Swim cartoon "Lucy: Daughter of the Devil" parodies several scenes from this movie.tigh66
One of Peck's best performances, he holds the film together along with Jerry Goldsmith's unforgettable score.abraxas
ave ave versus christhus :)boxingmark
Better than I expected.