The Omen (1976) Review

        I still maintain that the 70s is one of the highpoints in American cinema. Especially in horror when we see a massive influx of influential movies that manage to go all out without the need for a censors board. Films like Halloween, The Exorcist and Alien helped define the new age of horror that is still being felt today. The Exorcist held a massive influence, and it only made sense that many imitators tried and hilariously failed to copy what worked. The Omen is probably the closest in terms of matching William Friedkin’s film. 

1. The Thorns 

        What I love about Richard Donner’s early work is that he tried to imbue a sense of realism in his films. The word he used when he directed Superman was Verisimilitude, meaning everything had to be grounded without anything looking too hokey. He made it possible for a man to fly. As well as making it believable that an ambassador would be raising a son where weird stuff tends to happen. That’s basically the gist of this movie. 

        Robert Thorn learns that his newborn child has passed away as he and his wife are in Rome. The chaplain asks him to adopt a baby boy who happens to be born, to which he agrees and inevitably tells his wife. Years later, weird events occur around the Thorns which seem to be connected to their son Damian. All of it is played straight with no wiggle room of something nefarious moustache twirling. 

        Gregory Peck plays Robert who has now become the new ambassador in Great Britain, most of the action happens there and I love how he easily blows off the weird occurrences. Not until he gets visited by a priest that they must be proactive and save themselves. Just his whole arc of being a concerned father to practically being sold that his son is the root problem for the weird events makes him want to confront the problem. His best moment is when he’s conflicted with accepting that his adopted son is the son of Satan or that it’s just coincidence. 

        This is the rare horror film where the secondary characters help advance the plot as they try to unravel the conspiracy involving Damian. While I’ll talk about the son, I feel that the strong elements involving Robert is the other characters. I love how they each help him and advance the overall plot of the film. It’s amazing how there’s not one instance of a devil or anything that is tangible to be represented as just pure evil than having some stand ins.

        I really like the character Keith Jennings, he’s a photographer that appears taking pictures of people that Robert associates with. I honestly thought that he was in on the conspiracy but it turned out that he knows about it and helps Robert try to stop it. What’s weird with his pictures that he captures is that it shows an abstract way how the characters die, and I love how he tries to avoid his albeit he gets the worst. Like his death is gruesome but it’s just something to watch on repeat since there’s no blood but his death is so odd. 

        On one level, had the movie just been a one and done deal, anyone could interpret that the film is mostly psychological. Had it been where weird stuff happens and Robert thinks that it’s his son that’s responsible instead of just treating it as such an odd occurrence could work. I think that’s the film’s main detriment, but everything is played exactly like a grand conspiracy which I believe cancels out the complaint.

2. Damian

        No one could ever expect a child to be the Anti-Christ or the main antagonist. The secret sauce to how this movie became a classic is Damian. Even though he doesn’t really do much in the movie, all the while giving it away in the context of the story is that odd things occur around him. I remember seeing the trailer a long time ago and the death involving his nanny was just disturbing to me. She’s all smiles and then she jumps off and hangs herself just stuck with me for a while. 

        What makes the horror work is that with the weird things that are occurring it’s never entirely established if it’s the work of either Damian or just something that is natural. Like, Damian is a kid who lashes out when he’s near a church and causes animals in a zoo to run away or to freak out. The film never has a moment where he’s doing something on his own, but an outside force that is helping him. 

        Like, the nanny that looks over him Ms. Baylock is like a guardian for Damian. More so that as I mentioned earlier is that there’s no witches or devils involved in a film that is mostly grounded with how it’s presented. Just an overprotective nanny and rottweilers that keeps Damian at bay. It’s refreshing since it adds a level of conspiracy in the context that how could these weird things tie into a kid that is seemingly normal outside looking in. 

        I feel that this is sort of reminiscent of Rosemary’s Baby where the dread is that Rosemary is having weird events happen to her as her child is in utero. This one feels like the next step, where the dread involves a child and the parents are wrestling with the idea if he’s evil. I think this is where the religious angle in a horror film works when it doesn’t involve a specific exorcist. It’s guessing and seeing if there’s a way where the parents can try to ward off the evil from their offspring or adopted child.

3. Legacy

        I wouldn’t have guessed this was the movie to launch Richard Donner’s career. Having seen a few of his movies, it’s surprising how much depth he has in terms of making a variety of films. So much so that having directed Superman, he gave that style of film a legitimacy that he employed the same rule of this movie into that one. Making it grounded and believable where the suspension of disbelief isn’t in the least bit questioned. 

        Of course, the film had started a franchise since everything hinged on Damian getting older and embracing his role. None of them were good, and I distinctly remember my very first exposure to the film was in the remake that came out in 2006. Just the marketing was brilliant, but of course the remake couldn’t match the original. It wasn’t until recently that Disney released a prequel to this film titled “The First Omen”. That one was enjoyable, considering that the bar was on the ground that it can go in any direction to tie itself with the original. 

4. Overall

        The Omen is one of the top 10 horror films of the 70s.