Mar 03 2009
“Damien: Omen II” (1978) ***
Preview
Starring: William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, John J. Newcombe, Lucas Donat, Leo McKern, Robert Foxworth, Nicholas Pryor, Sylvia Sidney, Lew Ayres, Lance Henriksen, Elizabeth Shephard, Meshach Taylor, Ian Hendry, and Allan Arbus.
Directed by: Don Taylor.
Story:
Nearly a week after the death of Robert Thorn and his wife, two men who have learned the true identity of Damien Thorn (who now lives with Robert’s brother, Richard Thorn, in Chicago) and the deaths he has caused attempt to bring Richard a package explaining everything and to warn him. However, one of the men remains unconvinced, so they pay a visit to the ruins of Tel Megiddo to show him proof. While inside, the entire tomb collapses, killing them both.
Seven years after, Damien is now 13 and living with his father’s brother in Chicago, Richard Thorn, a wealthy industrialist. Also living with him is Richard’s wife, Ann, and his son from his first marriage, Mark. Damien, along with Mark, both attend military academy. Damien’s Aunt Marion is not so fond of him and his influence on Mark and therefore attempts to cut off his inheritance unless he is transferred to another school. While Richard Thorn plans tentative moves to expand his Thorn Industries operations into Third World agriculture, little does he know, it is all for the benefit of Damien so that he claims his place with the ten kingdoms on Earth.
Characters:
*Carl Bugenhagen (Leo McKern): A man who is well aware of Damien’s identity and tries to convince Michael to warn Richard.
*Michael Morgan (Ian Hendry): A journalist who is unconvinced of Damien’s identity.
*Richard Thorn (William Holden): The brother of Damien’s deceased father who runs his own company, Thorn Industries.
*Ann Thorn (Lee Grant): Richard’s wife, apparently, she’s not all she seems to be either.
*Damien Thorn (Jonathan Scott-Taylor): The now matured and teenage soon-to-be Anti-Christ.
*Sergeant Daniel Neff (Lance Henriksen): The young Lance Henriksen - here, he is one of Damien’s evil helpers.
*Dr. Charles Warren (Nicholas Pryor): Richard’s closest friend.
*Bill Atherton (Lew Ayres): One of Richard’s associates who is against the company’s agricultural plans.
*Dr. William Kane (Meshach Taylor): A doctor who discovers some strange inhuman things about Damien after taking a blood sample.
*Joan Hart (Elizabeth Shephard): Journalist who tries to warn Richard.
*Aunt Marion (Sylvia Sidney): Damien’s aunt who doesn’t approve of him and thinks he’s a bad influence.
*Paul Buher (Robert Foxworth): Another Thorn associate who is also a helper of Damien.
*Mark Thorn (Lucas Donat): Damien’s brother.
*Teddy (John J. Newcombe): One of Damien’s classmates at the military academy who doesn’t like him very much.
*David Pasarian (Allan Arbus): Sharing Bill’s viewpoints and opinions, he takes Bill’s place after he dies.
Overall:
“Damien: Omen II” may not be perfect, but it expands on the classic original in several ways and provides a bit more depth in a now teenage Damien Thorn. The sequel contains more horrific deaths, more evil bad guys, and even more special effects than the first. In the original, Damien had the help of an evil babysitter and a dog; this time, Damien is aided by a new batch of evil, disguised minions this time around - Paul Buher, an associate in Richard Thorn’s company and Sergeant Daniel Neff who is Damien’s mentor at the military academy - both make sure that Damien avoids arousing any attention or suspicion until the timing is right, which he does unintentionally on a few occasions throughout the film.
Damien soon begins to realize who he truly is and what is to become of him which he doesn’t accept at first - This was a very interesting aspect of the film. As more people are out to stop Damien from fulfilling his destiny this time around, the special effects guys certainly had a ball with this film as they got to kill more people than in the original - Two guys are buried alive in sand and debris within a collapsing tomb, an old lady has a heart attack while trying to get rid of an evil crow, a woman is hit by a truck after her eyes are plucked out by a batch of crows, a man falls through ice while skating and drowns, a man and his assistant die from inhaling poisonous fumes at an industry plant, a man is split in half horizontally by a falling elevator cable, and another man is impaled between two train cars - That’s just to name a few.
Richard Donner’s directing is absent due to his commitment to the “Superman” film at the time, here he is replaced by Don Taylor who had a reputation for finishing films on a timely budget and schedule. Jerry Goldsmith’s spooky music is definitely back. Much like the original, evil triumphs once again in this series, leading to a future sequel - Why should one be surprised? One doesn’t have to guess the ending of “Damien: Omen II”, I mean after all, it is in the book of revelations - It’s his destiny.
Rating: ***
