Returning yet again to the horror movie genre, we look into the movie The Omen (1976). Richard Donner directed a commercial success told at a quick, hard-hitting pace that builds suspense and dread in place of gore and guts in a thematic offering in a sandbox suggested for some with The Exorcist (1973).
The Omen opens with American diplomat Robert Thorn and his wife Katherine are living in Rome, Italy, where their biological son dies on June 6th at 6:00 AM. Robert is presented with an option to adopt a child that is offered to him in secret, which he chooses to present to Katherine as their biological child. The child, taking the name Damien Thorn, is portrayed at five years of age by Harvey Stephens. Gregory Peck portrayed Robert Thorn as Lee Remick portrayed Katherine Thorn.
It is in that five-years that Robert Thorn is appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom, where Katherine and Damien join him. It is in the United Kingdom that the tension begins to escalate dramatically. First, Damien’s nanny, as portrayed by Holly Palance, hangs herself for all to see at the child’s fifth birthday party. A rotweiler appears at the Thorn household, as does and unannounced Mrs. Baylock to serve as the boy’s new nanny. Damien reacts violently to the notion of entering a church. Damien later terrifies and infuriates animals at a wildlife park. Billie Whitelaw portrays Mrs. Baylock.
A series of escalating incidents come in rapid succession, with the situations pointing to the inexplicable destiny that underpins the truth about Damien Thorn. Father Brennan, as portrayed by Patrick Troughton, warns Robert that there are questions. Brennan predicts a new pregnancy for Katherine, and that some sinister developments surrounding Damien will befall the situation. Life and death questions are answered decisively in the aftermath.
Photographer Keith Jennings, as portrayed by David Warner, takes an interest in the circumstances of tragedy surrounding the Thorn family. Housekeepers for the Thorns abruptly quit, with Mrs. Baylock taking over addition responsibilities while questions of faith surrounding Damien are raised. Keith and Robert return to Rome to investigate Damien’s origins. Father Spiletto, as portrayed by Martin Benson, points Jennings and Robert Thorn to a cemetery that reveals even darker secrets. Rottweilers appear on the scene.
The tension surrounding Damien’s truth escalates again. Katherine’s fate befalls her. Robert learns a further shocking reality suggested by Carl Bugenhagen, as portrayed by Leo McKern. The truth that Robert Thorn must face is unimaginable, yet what choice will he make? How much further can the truth force one man’s hands? How inevitable is the conflict’s force in this story?
That the screenplay of David Seltzer is so tightly filmed and edited for presentation by director Richard Donner offers the viewer a story that elevates suspense so clearly. That the audience is so dramatically taken for a ride without a graphic depiction of the underlying realities offer something to the imagination that elevates the story; it is in this restraint that the story itself hit its marks, at least for me. It is through this lens, coupled with the power of the story itself, that I grant The Omen as directed by Richard Donner 4-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Matt – Saturday, October 30, 2021
Matt Lynn Digital 