I completely agree about Damien's disappointing character arc. The antichrist being conflicted about his destiny is a really intriguing concept that the film completely abandons far too quickly.
In the original script they were going to give Damien a girlfriend and he'd have to choose between his love for her and his destiny as the Antichrist. But they scrapped that and tried to replace it with him asking his cousin Mark to join him and killing him when he refused.
@@Xehanort10 They were right. Too much plot to deal with. I think they got the timing right-1st act, he's oblivious. 2nd act he learns and struggles with it. 3rd act he accepts and revels in it. Nowadays, it would be a multimovie arc, but that concept didn't exist in the 70s.
@@ferox965 I agree the girlfriend thing is a bit contrived. Though they could have played it for a little bit longer before the confrontation with Mark.
I heard the Damien tv show on A&E with Bradley James kinda improved on the whole "confliction Damien has about his destiny" thing, 'cause they go directly from the first movie, making Omen 2-4 non canon. Also, in that show, it talks about how Damien forgot or repressed his past due to his experiences as a child and as a war photographer, and the more his protector tries to convince him, the more he feels gaslit. Like in one episode, where Damien discovers the 666 mark may be a tattoo forcefully given, but later finds out near the end, his discovery took place in a dream. It's too bad it only lasted 10 episodes for one season, 'cause with all these show adaptations of horror movies, either reimaginings like The Haunting of Hill House, Hannibal, & Bates Motel, or continuations, like Ash vs Evil Dead, Chucky on SyFy & The Exorcist Fox series, I feel Damien didn't get much of a chance.
I certainly remember that elevator scene. This movie has a pretty good Damien but it's wierd how the character seems scared at first for a couple of seconds when he learns about his origin and then goes "Nah, I'm a hellspawn. Let's go with that". It does NOT get better with Omen III. Great review as always, Cody!
I thought when he discovered that he was the Anti-Christ that scene was pretty good. Heart-wrenching. Why me?!! But after that, he just gives in to the evil with no resistance. Would have like to have seen more of a struggle.
It also has a great haunting Jerry Goldsmith score. Overall, the world building and the great performances from some all time great actors make this a worthy sequel.
I agree. I watched that Lady in red's death scene on tv on a black and white tv when I was a kid in the early 80's. Between that and the trapped under ice scene it scared the fuck out of me.
I love the entire trilogy. As for the agriculture talks it´s not politics for the sake of being politcs. It´s actually brilliant as it establishes how the Anti Christ is going to to take over the world. More so, that carries over to the third part in terms of establishing Damien in the world. PS I love the Damien name and plan to name a son like that.
Thanks for breaking that down because that always confused me about the agriculture talk. Now I have a better understanding. Now I can watch Omen II and III with a new set of eyes and better understanding. You're AWESOME!
The death scenes is what people wanted to see back then. I remember the audience applauding the death scenes in the theater. You have to remember back then there were not hundreds of horror sequels or franchises this was one of the first and they gave the audience what they wanted this came out before Halloween. So back then this was the Shiit for a kill count
@@junisefann9878basically they do what Monsanto does and genetically produces fruits and veg, but it’s actually seedless which makes it impossible for farmers to produce their own crops. This is what makes Damian so rich in the final conflict due to the monopoly they create.
11:47 Eyes on this channel huh? Guess we can't say the same about Joan Hart... ...just kidding 😛 In all seriousness, Omen was a great psychological horror film with creepy, nightmarish scenes: to me they are the lifeless head staring into the glass after the decapitation, the coffin revealing the jackal skull) and Damien: Omen II was a great follow-up. The kills were creative, favorites being Joan Hart's eye gouging death (I always watch it on a bad day at work, it makes me feel better 😌), the elevator death, the two Thorn's. It's one of my favorite horror films and is comforting to me. The Main Title Theme for some reason doesn't make me think of Satanic Choruses. Instead it has a really powerful "Video Game Boss" feel to it akin to Sephiroth's theme. Jerry Goldsmith once again created a great score. The characters were fine, none were really unlikeable except the History Teacher. I wish Damien was petty and had him killed off 😌. Jonathan Scott-Taylor does well as Damien, Elizabeth Shepherd gave a great, hysterical performance as Joan Hart, Lance Hendrickson is great in everything he does, though it seemed like his character sort of disappeared near the end of the film. Nicholas Pryor plays an "adork-ably cute" Museum Curator as Dr. Charles Warren, so I was sort of sad how his character got killed since I've grown to like him. His dorky manners of speech, his expressions like after attempting to chop the ice on the lake then looking up in horror as Atherton was lost and then shouting at everyone to "spread out" to find him, and before that, falling on the ice. And of course William Holden and Lee Grant, especially Lee Grant who plays her role extremely well and making it look easy...are all great. I can't think of anyone who acted badly like the characters in Amityville II: The Possession (cough cough Rutanya Alda). I thought it was a good film. Not great, but good.
I always wanted more of Damien's character arc too. The original script focused more on that, but they were upset with the original director, and brought in a new director to give more kills and less character. I still enjoy this one for what it is though.
I owned the Omen Box Set on VHS when I was a teenager, and I've always loved The Omen and The Omen III: The Final Conflict. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the latter, especially Sam Neil's performance as Damien Thorn. I never felt it incumbent upon me to purchase Damien: The Omen 2 and or Omen IV: The Awakening, once I upgraded to DVDs, as neither one ever left a lasting impression like the first and third installments.
I'm surprised you haven't heard many positive noises regarding Omen 3 (Final Conflict), It's my favourite of the sequels. The Sam Neill monologue is amazing.
There's a scene in Omen 3 where Damien discusses why after he went by the water and was so panicked he was calm in the following scene. He was spoken to presumably by the devil and his Destiny was explained to him
I normally like your enjoy your commentary on movies but this time I think you missed the point of the movie...it's not trying to be the first film again the movie hangs much more on damiens discovery and acceptance of who and what he is while setting up the third film and his eventual accenting to global domination
One of your big critisms of this film is the lack on an omen. In the original they had the photos, but in this they had the bird, i'm no expert if it was a raven or a crow (and don't care either way lol), but that was the omen that meant death upto the point where Damien found out who he really was.
Damien: Oman 2 is one of my Favorite Sequels along with Final Destination 2, Final Destination 3, Wrong Turn 2, Saw 2, Saw 3, Saw 4, Saw 6, Saw 7, The Collection, Punisher War Zone, Ghost Rider 2, Die Hard 3, Die Hard 4, Underworld Evolution, Halloween 2 the Original, Halloween: H20, Halloween 3, Jason X, Rambo 2, Rambo 4, Terminator 3, And Terminator Salvation
I'd argue that D:O2 is a "coming of age" story for Damien. The plot beats are Damien discovering, resisting, and accepting his role as the Antichrist. The rest is about his rise to power via inheritance and the reach of the multinational corporation Thorn Industries. The connection between capitalism and Satan is hilarious, honestly.
More of a good thing is never bad, but the problem with The Omen 2 is that it doesn't do anything better than the original. It's decent, but the original is superior in every way, shape and form.
I think it did. Like with the kills which are just as original and creative as in the first. The elevator cable kill, the guy between the 2 train cars, lady in reds death by crow/Mack truck, trapped under ice kill, the reveal at the end with the Aunt. Even the collapsed artery cousin kill. All took the kills up a notch from the first. Omen still had its own badass death scenes tho I agree. The Priest getting impaled was nutz in O1 I agree with the review that these Omen movies were the Final Destinations of the 1970's 🎃🎃🎃🎃🏈
Cool review man! Everything you dislike about Omen 2 is the reasons I love this movie. Yeah it continues the rampage of the first one, but it does have little details as to why he's doing all these things whether he knows it or not. He's going for power. To RULE. All those kills are just clearing the path. Imo Damien is a great sequel and one of my faves in terms of demonic horror Flix.. I love The Omen movies more than the Exorcist movies. To me there's just much more stuff happening.
Good review! I've seen this movie at least 50 times since first viewing, back in around 87 when I was 14 or so. Really interesting to hear a fresh perspective, as I completely have lost mine. I think all your criticisms are valid but it's nice to hear you loved the elevator scene which, back then, was also the stand out moment, as per the pane of glass scene in part 1. Shame you didn't mention Jerry Goldsmith's score though. His music for this movie is a notch up from the first and one of his best ever scores.
3:22 It's great to see the film again just to see the scene with the reporter Joan Hart about to reveal Damien's true self to her friend Dr. Warren and Ann at the Museum. The way Ann hynotises Joan to be in a trance and says 'I'm not sure yet...' and then Ann acts so innocent when she looks at Dr. Warren and asks him 'What was that all about?' Great piece of direction that completely catches us off guard for the finale. Very overlooked scene.
To get the character arc you want about Damien, watch the 2016 TV series Damien! About an adult Damien finding out his identity and struggling with that. Was a pretty decent show that was unfortunately cancelled after 1 season.
The doctor who is cut in two after performing Damien's lab work is none other than Meshach Taylor, who played Anthony in the 80s sit-com Designing Women and window dresser Hollywood Montrose in the Mannequin movies. He's done a few horror genre movies. Lee Grant was in The Swarm and Visiting Hours, two well-known genre movies.
@@tonychai5147 that's the guy. But it's not the same actor as the doctor. The doctor ended up on Designing Women and as Hollywood Montrose in the Mannequin movies.
I always got a kick out of the scene in the history class. Even when I was young I kept thinking that…maybe getting the wrong answer would be the best idea. 😆
I think this movie is ok and upon rewatching it a few weeks ago, I also realised the sort of lost potential for Damien's emotions and stuff. It's one of the parts of the movie that I remember vividly from when i first watched it as a teenager - the scene you mention where he's all "why me?" and screaming at the lake. It's such like, a potent thing rich with potential, and I feel like they could have gone much further with it, because we don't *see* Damien get over this. Another commenter here says that they saw it as Damien learning of his destiny and accepting it, and I don't want to take that away from them because I do like the idea of Damien accepting his destiny. But how it's handled in this film is a bit... short sighted? Like, we get the one "why me" scene and then it seems like 10 minutes later he's over it. I personally would have loved to see some more scenes of his POV where he has to grapple with a choice. Maybe he is trying to test out his powers in some way, and causes a fire or something, and doesn't want to do that again. But maybe then Teddy (the military academy brat who bullies him earlier) tries to do something else to Mark/Damien again, and he uses his powers, but consciously. In defence of his cousin. And he realises that he CAN do things with his powers for his own gain. With that, it would make the scene where he kills Mark even more emotional because he *used his powers to help Mark* and Mark is pushing him away. Idk i just feel like it would have been a more believeable journey from the "why me" scene to "I am the son of satan and i do not care"
I prefer this to the first. I find it really creepy the way his followers infiltrate every aspect of his life. I like the third as well. My biggest issue with the trilogy is the fact they’re set over a period of decades but they’re clearly set in the era they’re filmed in and there’s only five years between the three movies.
For me, I am one who likes this one a bit better. Not much, because the first I rank way up there, but a bit, mostly because of the kills. And I agree, the elevator kill was awesome, probably my fav of this franchise. Sadly, it drop from here. Not as bad of a drop as other franchises you've done, 3 I feel is still decent enough, and 4, because it's a Made For TV movie, I can consider it as passable, but yeah, I do feel you are now done with the best of this series.
It seems somewhat unfair to come into a 1978 film cold and judge the deaths against the likes of Final Destination. As you say, this film laid the foundations for that franchise. It isn't as good as The Omen, for sure but it's a fairly solid sequel and that lift death was really shocking for its time. As was the ice death scene. That was really intense and haunted me for ages. The actors and the score all add value and it was clear that Damien wouldn't be aware of his true powers until he was an adult in the next movie (which sadly, was a real drop in the franchise). The scene with Lance Henriksen is unsettling and nicely creepy. The eco stuff was part of the growing awareness of how control of the planet's resources was going to be huge so ahead of its time and not something to be batted away with 'who cares?' What we're experiencing now shows the overly unsubtle eco-horror of the 70s such as in Prophecy was actually what's to come. The Italians took the concept of Damien: Omen II further with the hilariously overwrought Holocaust 2000 aka The Chosen. More gory deaths. More son of Satan. More eco-horror. A recommend for fans of this movie.
This movie will always be important to me, as it's the first R-rated film I saw uncut in the theater. I actually read the novelization beforehand, so knew all the kills before seeing it. If you take out the elevator kill, there's nothing in the film that would raise the rating from PG, so at first I thought an R-rating was no big deal. By the time I'd seen 10 R-rated films, I learned different. This is also the film that truly introduced me to Lance Henrikson, and several other actors too. Add in the fact that I was 13 at the time, the same age as Damien, you can see why I loved it so much. So, yeah, nostalgia plays a big part in my love for this film. It was the last decent Omen film, alas. The third is disappointing, and the fourth is atrocious.
The one where the dude fell in the ice kinda surprised me too because I didn’t really pay attention to his character that much so I wasn’t sure if he knew anything or not
I low-key laughed at the bird deaths except when the truck hit the lady It reminded me of Jurassic world with the pterodactyls tossing the lady around and the big fish dinosaur eating her Just brutal
Ok, this is 100% my all-time favourite movie from the franchise! I unironically, unapologetically, unashamedly, unabashedly and unconditionally _love_ this movie!
What are you talking about? The raven and the reporter was a savage death! Made me afraid of ravens and crows for a decade. In addition, the details about Thorn Corporation were really interesting, that it was basically this insanely powerful global company, and it was going to buy out the third world. That could have been expanded.
That’s what I read via google. He’s 58 now. I so wish I knew what he looks like now 🙁 he just left acting and went of the radar around 28 when he last acted.
On the Damien Omen II DVD commentary track, a writer said that he had written an original script that he set in Kentucky and he thinks it would have been a lot scarier and generally a lot better than the movie that got produced. It would be interesting to see that script. I wonder if the studio or the writer still has a copy.
Speaking of "final destination shit", have you heard about some of the eerie occurrences during and after the filming of the original? Gregory Peck and producer Mace Neufeld were on separate flights to London to continue filming, both of which were struck by lightning. A zookeeper who trained the baboons for the drive-thru zoo scene was mauled to death by a tiger the day after he finished working on the set. Apparently a private plane that the film crew hired but switched out with another one at the last minute ended up crashing, killing all 11 people onboard. And last but certainly not least, after production finished special effects artist John Richardson was involved in a head-on collision which decapitated his girlfriend who was in the car with him, nearly recreating the scene which he helped with during the film. The collision also occurred near....(cue ominous music)....Ommen, Netherlands, and part of the lore is that Richardson saw a sign before the crash that read "Ommen 66.6km". But I don't know, that last part seems a bit far-fetched. But it most likely occurred about 60km (or 66km) from Ommen. Wild stuff...
As much as I like this movie, it does not play on Damian’s inner conflict about his destiny enough. As the concept itself is a logical one when dealing with a young teenager and a horrible truth.
If people didn't see this back in the day you wouldn't understand if gave the audience what they wanted back then and that was the creative death scenes. The audience applauded after the elevator scene when I saw this in a packed theater back in 78 it was my first R rated horror film and I remember it being very popular . Sequels were not as commonplace back then . This came out a few weeks before Jaws 2 and Exorcist 2 was the only significant horror film sequel before it and what a failure that was!!! Halloween & Dawn of the dead hadn't come out yet so there was no slasher or gore rules yet to follow so this was cool for its time.
Not a bad sequel but it doesn't use all of the potentials of its ideas. The idea that the Antichrist can actually choose to be evil or not could have been the entire plot of this and we could have seen why he chooses, in the end, to go to the Darkside.
The why me scene is a reflection of Jesus being told as a child that he was the Messiah, the only thing I was confused on is why he killed his aunt after she basically swore allegiance to him ???
Ok so i have a question. Does God's gift to man was free will apply to Damien? Because technically he isn't human. His father is Satan and his mother was a jackal. Am I the only one who has thought about whether or not he has a choice?
I agree with you, I wanted more of a character development with Damien. There wasn't even anything really going on with the Satanists helping him out. We didn't even get anything like a cool Mrs Baylock like in the first film. But like, oh well, I guess ravens and people dying randomly mattered more to them. Fave kill: the nosy reporter chick that had her eyes pecked out before the semi truck ran her over.
I actually thought this was on par with the original & the story gives good character progression for Damien as a character. There some good kills in this the crowd attacking the women was terrifying. A solid review as ever my friend.
Hi there. First, I wanted to say I love your channel. Your opinion on movies and how you talk about it is AWESOME!!! Now....I do agree with you that Omen II is not as good as the original Omen but the Omen II is my favorite out of all the Omen movies. I think that's because the original Omen really scared me. I remember watching Omen I II and III with my Mother because I think either HBO or Cinemax was doing a marthon. I think I liked Omen II back then cause I was either 13 or 14 when I watched with my Mother (when this movie came out I was only 8). I totally get your take on not having the photos of people going to be killed. But if you notice half of the kills where of people who seen the wall that had Damien's face of when he was very young and a teen. Those people who try to say something died. The Aunt died because she was talking against Damien (and she didn't know about the wall) plus she had money that went to the Uncle. The doctor's death was AWESOME!!! And the others deaths because of the Uncle agriculture company (which you are totally right....so boring) to keep the company under the Torn control so it could go to Damien. If you notice the new guy working for the Uncle was also a devil worshiper too. That's why he talked to Damien alittle and invited him to come to the factory which Damien put this powers on some guy who was causing problems. I also agree with you that Damien should have had more internal struggles so that way when he killed his cousin it would have hit us harder. All in all I enjoyed your review. I can't wait to see your review on Omen III because I HATED that movie. Alot stuff went over my head that I had to watch it a couple of times to be a better understanding and that was hard.....an bad movie. So I can't wait to heard your take on it. You make me laugh every time. Keep up the AWESOME job!!!!
One thing that this movie has going for it is that in my eyes it is a coming-of-age story Damian Thorne is on the cusp of adolescence and at the same time on the cusp of discovering his unholy lineage initially questioning it but then ultimately embracing it that is what drives this movie Forward when he finally accepts who and what he is and what his destined to do unholy as it may be. That is Shakespearean in itself in my opinion to see Damian briefly experience an internal conflict upon discovering who he really is and then doing a 360 and ultimately embracing it and being a 6 year old kid in 1978 when this movie came out of course it scared the hell out of me. Also at this time I was going to Catholic School so anything dealing with the church or anything like that sent chills down my spine because it was against all of the dogma that I was being indoctrinated with in those years that I was in Catholic School
I remember seeing the scene where he learns and doesn't want it. I wanted the same thing. I wanted him to question it like someone faith before they fully believe or embrace.
He may well be perturbed about being the Son of the Devil, but from the first instalment it goes that " It is by means of a human personality completely within his possession that Satan shall launch his last formidable offensive. ". He appeared in person before the monk / exorcist Yigael in the 1100s AD and was accurately depicted as having done so. In that exact same location he was given birth to by a jackal and a beam of light from a celestial body led a group of priests to his post-birth whereabouts. He physically and actually transmuted into a raven to visit Aunt Marion's window and then did same in the football change room to then fly out and attack Joan Hart on a deserted road.
The tv series is actually a pretty okay fill between 2 and 3, and actually expands on his character and the fact that he doesn’t want to be the Antichrist.
9:52 Exactly. You think he's gonna be conflicted about it but by the next scene Damien's like "Completely fine with being Satan's son now. World domination time." I think the "Why me" bit is a leftover from the original script where Damien had a girlfriend and had to choose between her and being the Antichrist but since that was scrapped they just rushed to him accepting it.
Candy Hope: Wow, Walter, what a neat car! Walter Paisley: Yeah, it's a Rolls Canardly. Candy Hope: A Rolls Canardly? Walter Paisley: Yeah, it rolls down one hill and can 'ardly get up the next.🤣
From Bugenhagen barrelling through the mean streets of Cairo to the excellent score by Jerry Goldsmith in which I was in my girlfriend's dookie shoot when I first heard the score and I've loved this movie ever since!🙌
The moment Damien has the revelations about who he is and that his entire life is preordained (supposedly) reflects the same reaction and struggle that came upon Christ when he had his revelation about being the Christian Avatar and his life being preordained to the point of knowing he would have t martyr himself to supposedly save humanity from hell for their sins he runs of into the woods and falls to his knees cursing his father (the Christian god) for who he is and demands that that burden be lifted from his shoulders
I like this movie. You're right about it not being as good as the first, but I still like this for various reasons like some of the kills and the cast. Still, it's my second fave of the franchise right behind the first. The third Omen movie is reasonable in some ways, but be careful with that fourth one 'cause it's mega-crap. Good review though.
The original cover did not show Damien with one eye. Now it's fashionable to do so. You wonder why. All films' original cover art are now promoting the one eye. Replaced. Research and learn why.
Say it mark! Best scene in the movie. Mark is so brave.while I don’t think I believe in Christianity. I heard somebody say mark died as a martyr, almost saint like and in this movies universe where god is real I’m sure he came to greet mark at the gates personally and shake his hand.
AWFUL! No wonder it got canceled. Don´t bother. In contrast both Seasons of The Exorcist were very good in their own ways so I was surprised they didn´t go on.
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Love Omen 2. The kid playing him is perfect. I didn't see it as a bunch of kill setups. I saw it as a kid who realizes his destiny and accepts it.
I completely agree about Damien's disappointing character arc. The antichrist being conflicted about his destiny is a really intriguing concept that the film completely abandons far too quickly.
In the original script they were going to give Damien a girlfriend and he'd have to choose between his love for her and his destiny as the Antichrist. But they scrapped that and tried to replace it with him asking his cousin Mark to join him and killing him when he refused.
@@Xehanort10 They were right. Too much plot to deal with. I think they got the timing right-1st act, he's oblivious. 2nd act he learns and struggles with it. 3rd act he accepts and revels in it. Nowadays, it would be a multimovie arc, but that concept didn't exist in the 70s.
@@ferox965 I agree the girlfriend thing is a bit contrived. Though they could have played it for a little bit longer before the confrontation with Mark.
@@Xehanort10 It is a good bit to do that but there were flaws, that I felt they did not touch on enough.
I heard the Damien tv show on A&E with Bradley James kinda improved on the whole "confliction Damien has about his destiny" thing, 'cause they go directly from the first movie, making Omen 2-4 non canon. Also, in that show, it talks about how Damien forgot or repressed his past due to his experiences as a child and as a war photographer, and the more his protector tries to convince him, the more he feels gaslit. Like in one episode, where Damien discovers the 666 mark may be a tattoo forcefully given, but later finds out near the end, his discovery took place in a dream. It's too bad it only lasted 10 episodes for one season, 'cause with all these show adaptations of horror movies, either reimaginings like The Haunting of Hill House, Hannibal, & Bates Motel, or continuations, like Ash vs Evil Dead, Chucky on SyFy & The Exorcist Fox series, I feel Damien didn't get much of a chance.
It's always great to catch Lance Henriksen pre-Aliens in horror.
I certainly remember that elevator scene. This movie has a pretty good Damien but it's wierd how the character seems scared at first for a couple of seconds when he learns about his origin and then goes "Nah, I'm a hellspawn. Let's go with that". It does NOT get better with Omen III.
Great review as always, Cody!
How now Omen 3 is a good time! Can’t go wrong with Sam Neil 😊
Well, I'll give you that. Sam Neill is awesome
RIP to actor Meshach Taylor aka Dr Kane from Omen II
I thought when he discovered that he was the Anti-Christ that scene was pretty good. Heart-wrenching. Why me?!! But after that, he just gives in to the evil with no resistance. Would have like to have seen more of a struggle.
Classroom scene for the win. "Start or finish?"
Also he has one of the best character introduction with the flames.
Agreed on both counts!
It also has a great haunting Jerry Goldsmith score. Overall, the world building and the great performances from some all time great actors make this a worthy sequel.
I actually loveeeeeee this movie. I erm...secretly watch it more than the original 😅😅🙈🤘 and Omen 3 with Sam Neil is really cool too 😎😎
I always wondered if the drill sargeant is supposed to be war, and the business tycoon as famine.
I believe it is possible, and then once he learned everything he needed to know, he eliminated them. One can keep a secret if two are dead.
i actually like this just as much as the first. the kill with the lady on the road i thought was awesome to.
The elevator ;)
I agree. I watched that Lady in red's death scene on tv on a black and white tv when I was a kid in the early 80's. Between that and the trapped under ice scene it scared the fuck out of me.
I love the entire trilogy. As for the agriculture talks it´s not politics for the sake of being politcs. It´s actually brilliant as it establishes how the Anti Christ is going to to take over the world. More so, that carries over to the third part in terms of establishing Damien in the world.
PS
I love the Damien name and plan to name a son like that.
Thanks for breaking that down because that always confused me about the agriculture talk. Now I have a better understanding. Now I can watch Omen II and III with a new set of eyes and better understanding. You're AWESOME!
I agree it helped to give another layer to Damien's future destiny.
Agreed. It may be "boring" but it serves an important purpose.
The death scenes is what people wanted to see back then. I remember the audience applauding the death scenes in the theater. You have to remember back then there were not hundreds of horror sequels or franchises this was one of the first and they gave the audience what they wanted this came out before Halloween. So back then this was the Shiit for a kill count
@@junisefann9878basically they do what Monsanto does and genetically produces fruits and veg, but it’s actually seedless which makes it impossible for farmers to produce their own crops. This is what makes Damian so rich in the final conflict due to the monopoly they create.
11:47 Eyes on this channel huh? Guess we can't say the same about Joan Hart...
...just kidding 😛 In all seriousness, Omen was a great psychological horror film with creepy, nightmarish scenes: to me they are the lifeless head staring into the glass after the decapitation, the coffin revealing the jackal skull) and Damien: Omen II was a great follow-up. The kills were creative, favorites being Joan Hart's eye gouging death (I always watch it on a bad day at work, it makes me feel better 😌), the elevator death, the two Thorn's. It's one of my favorite horror films and is comforting to me.
The Main Title Theme for some reason doesn't make me think of Satanic Choruses. Instead it has a really powerful "Video Game Boss" feel to it akin to Sephiroth's theme. Jerry Goldsmith once again created a great score.
The characters were fine, none were really unlikeable except the History Teacher. I wish Damien was petty and had him killed off 😌. Jonathan Scott-Taylor does well as Damien, Elizabeth Shepherd gave a great, hysterical performance as Joan Hart, Lance Hendrickson is great in everything he does, though it seemed like his character sort of disappeared near the end of the film. Nicholas Pryor plays an "adork-ably cute" Museum Curator as Dr. Charles Warren, so I was sort of sad how his character got killed since I've grown to like him. His dorky manners of speech, his expressions like after attempting to chop the ice on the lake then looking up in horror as Atherton was lost and then shouting at everyone to "spread out" to find him, and before that, falling on the ice. And of course William Holden and Lee Grant, especially Lee Grant who plays her role extremely well and making it look easy...are all great. I can't think of anyone who acted badly like the characters in Amityville II: The Possession (cough cough Rutanya Alda).
I thought it was a good film. Not great, but good.
Jonathan Scott-Taylor is fantastic as Damien in the sequel. 😀👍
He’s great at playing Damien. He played the part very well.
@@britchick6436 I agree with you. 😀👍
@@jamesmoss3424 plus I think he was a cutie for his age
@@britchick6436 I could see why.
@@jamesmoss3424 he had ( and no doubt still does) the most gorgeous eyes.
This movie scared me as a kid back in the early 80’s. The painting 😬!! Today I enjoy it mainly because of nostalgia.
That painting scared me too when I was a kid! (The music made it worse!)
Yigayal's Wall....yes very scary
I always wanted more of Damien's character arc too. The original script focused more on that, but they were upset with the original director, and brought in a new director to give more kills and less character. I still enjoy this one for what it is though.
WOW!!! You're right. I remember watching a making of the movie story. I totally agree.
This one is just as good as the first one. Very very creepy and the kid that plays Damien is excellent.
The elevator scene was filmed at my old job in Chicago at the museum of science and industry
I love the sequel I don't care what anyone thinks 😌🙂
Agreed.
Same here
Thank you! Love this movie!
same here
It was pretty cool, well done
I owned the Omen Box Set on VHS when I was a teenager, and I've always loved The Omen and The Omen III: The Final Conflict. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the latter, especially Sam Neil's performance as Damien Thorn. I never felt it incumbent upon me to purchase Damien: The Omen 2 and or Omen IV: The Awakening, once I upgraded to DVDs, as neither one ever left a lasting impression like the first and third installments.
I'm surprised you haven't heard many positive noises regarding Omen 3 (Final Conflict), It's my favourite of the sequels. The Sam Neill monologue is amazing.
There's a scene in Omen 3 where Damien discusses why after he went by the water and was so panicked he was calm in the following scene. He was spoken to presumably by the devil and his Destiny was explained to him
I normally like your enjoy your commentary on movies but this time I think you missed the point of the movie...it's not trying to be the first film again the movie hangs much more on damiens discovery and acceptance of who and what he is while setting up the third film and his eventual accenting to global domination
One of your big critisms of this film is the lack on an omen. In the original they had the photos, but in this they had the bird, i'm no expert if it was a raven or a crow (and don't care either way lol), but that was the omen that meant death upto the point where Damien found out who he really was.
Damien: Oman 2 is one of my Favorite Sequels along with Final Destination 2, Final Destination 3, Wrong Turn 2, Saw 2, Saw 3, Saw 4, Saw 6, Saw 7, The Collection, Punisher War Zone, Ghost Rider 2, Die Hard 3, Die Hard 4, Underworld Evolution, Halloween 2 the Original, Halloween: H20, Halloween 3, Jason X, Rambo 2, Rambo 4, Terminator 3, And Terminator Salvation
I'd argue that D:O2 is a "coming of age" story for Damien. The plot beats are Damien discovering, resisting, and accepting his role as the Antichrist. The rest is about his rise to power via inheritance and the reach of the multinational corporation Thorn Industries. The connection between capitalism and Satan is hilarious, honestly.
Omen 2 is actually my favorite.
Mark: It's over Damien i have the high ground.
More of a good thing is never bad, but the problem with The Omen 2 is that it doesn't do anything better than the original. It's decent, but the original is superior in every way, shape and form.
I think it did. Like with the kills which are just as original and creative as in the first.
The elevator cable kill, the guy between the 2 train cars, lady in reds death by crow/Mack truck, trapped under ice kill, the reveal at the end with the Aunt. Even the collapsed artery cousin kill. All took the kills up a notch from the first. Omen still had its own badass death scenes tho I agree. The Priest getting impaled was nutz in O1
I agree with the review that these Omen movies were the Final Destinations of the 1970's 🎃🎃🎃🎃🏈
2 is good and 3 is good too. Why people have an issue with 3 is beyond me. It is finishing up a great franchise and story line.
Cool review man! Everything you dislike about Omen 2 is the reasons I love this movie. Yeah it continues the rampage of the first one, but it does have little details as to why he's doing all these things whether he knows it or not. He's going for power. To RULE. All those kills are just clearing the path. Imo Damien is a great sequel and one of my faves in terms of demonic horror Flix.. I love The Omen movies more than the Exorcist movies. To me there's just much more stuff happening.
Omen II is great. I love it the same way I love 1981's Halloween II.
Good review! I've seen this movie at least 50 times since first viewing, back in around 87 when I was 14 or so. Really interesting to hear a fresh perspective, as I completely have lost mine. I think all your criticisms are valid but it's nice to hear you loved the elevator scene which, back then, was also the stand out moment, as per the pane of glass scene in part 1. Shame you didn't mention Jerry Goldsmith's score though. His music for this movie is a notch up from the first and one of his best ever scores.
3:22 It's great to see the film again just to see the scene with the reporter Joan Hart about to reveal Damien's true self to her friend Dr. Warren and Ann at the Museum. The way Ann hynotises Joan to be in a trance and says 'I'm not sure yet...' and then Ann acts so innocent when she looks at Dr. Warren and asks him 'What was that all about?' Great piece of direction that completely catches us off guard for the finale. Very overlooked scene.
I love the death when the lady gets attacked by the birds!
ye the elevator kill was epic
I like this one granted it's not the classic but it's no way bad it's watchable
To get the character arc you want about Damien, watch the 2016 TV series Damien! About an adult Damien finding out his identity and struggling with that. Was a pretty decent show that was unfortunately cancelled after 1 season.
This is my 2nd favourite horror after the original Halloween, and weirdly they were both made in the same year.
I always thought of Omen 1&2 as one movie! My first time watching them as a kid was one after the other and it just planted in my mind that way!
The death during the ice hockey game always gave me nightmares
The doctor who is cut in two after performing Damien's lab work is none other than Meshach Taylor, who played Anthony in the 80s sit-com Designing Women and window dresser Hollywood Montrose in the Mannequin movies. He's done a few horror genre movies. Lee Grant was in The Swarm and Visiting Hours, two well-known genre movies.
I thought he looked very familiar to a porn actor who also belonged in that period
@@tonychai5147 you mean the guy from Wonder Buggy, who did porn after he stopped doing Saturday morning kid shows?
@@cjmiller6741 John - Anthony Bailey
@@tonychai5147 that's the guy. But it's not the same actor as the doctor. The doctor ended up on Designing Women and as Hollywood Montrose in the Mannequin movies.
Meschac Taylor
This was better than Omen 1 in my opinion. The child actor is fantastic and the film is more entertaining
I always got a kick out of the scene in the history class. Even when I was young I kept thinking that…maybe getting the wrong answer would be the best idea. 😆
I think this movie is ok and upon rewatching it a few weeks ago, I also realised the sort of lost potential for Damien's emotions and stuff. It's one of the parts of the movie that I remember vividly from when i first watched it as a teenager - the scene you mention where he's all "why me?" and screaming at the lake. It's such like, a potent thing rich with potential, and I feel like they could have gone much further with it, because we don't *see* Damien get over this.
Another commenter here says that they saw it as Damien learning of his destiny and accepting it, and I don't want to take that away from them because I do like the idea of Damien accepting his destiny. But how it's handled in this film is a bit... short sighted? Like, we get the one "why me" scene and then it seems like 10 minutes later he's over it.
I personally would have loved to see some more scenes of his POV where he has to grapple with a choice. Maybe he is trying to test out his powers in some way, and causes a fire or something, and doesn't want to do that again. But maybe then Teddy (the military academy brat who bullies him earlier) tries to do something else to Mark/Damien again, and he uses his powers, but consciously. In defence of his cousin. And he realises that he CAN do things with his powers for his own gain. With that, it would make the scene where he kills Mark even more emotional because he *used his powers to help Mark* and Mark is pushing him away.
Idk i just feel like it would have been a more believeable journey from the "why me" scene to "I am the son of satan and i do not care"
I prefer this to the first. I find it really creepy the way his followers infiltrate every aspect of his life. I like the third as well. My biggest issue with the trilogy is the fact they’re set over a period of decades but they’re clearly set in the era they’re filmed in and there’s only five years between the three movies.
For me, I am one who likes this one a bit better. Not much, because the first I rank way up there, but a bit, mostly because of the kills. And I agree, the elevator kill was awesome, probably my fav of this franchise. Sadly, it drop from here. Not as bad of a drop as other franchises you've done, 3 I feel is still decent enough, and 4, because it's a Made For TV movie, I can consider it as passable, but yeah, I do feel you are now done with the best of this series.
I’ll seek it out, why not, it’s just 2 hours of my life! Thanks for taking the time to review it.
As I try to do with all your review series. I watch along with you. I'm excited to check out this franchise.
It seems somewhat unfair to come into a 1978 film cold and judge the deaths against the likes of Final Destination. As you say, this film laid the foundations for that franchise. It isn't as good as The Omen, for sure but it's a fairly solid sequel and that lift death was really shocking for its time. As was the ice death scene. That was really intense and haunted me for ages. The actors and the score all add value and it was clear that Damien wouldn't be aware of his true powers until he was an adult in the next movie (which sadly, was a real drop in the franchise). The scene with Lance Henriksen is unsettling and nicely creepy. The eco stuff was part of the growing awareness of how control of the planet's resources was going to be huge so ahead of its time and not something to be batted away with 'who cares?' What we're experiencing now shows the overly unsubtle eco-horror of the 70s such as in Prophecy was actually what's to come. The Italians took the concept of Damien: Omen II further with the hilariously overwrought Holocaust 2000 aka The Chosen. More gory deaths. More son of Satan. More eco-horror. A recommend for fans of this movie.
This movie will always be important to me, as it's the first R-rated film I saw uncut in the theater. I actually read the novelization beforehand, so knew all the kills before seeing it. If you take out the elevator kill, there's nothing in the film that would raise the rating from PG, so at first I thought an R-rating was no big deal. By the time I'd seen 10 R-rated films, I learned different. This is also the film that truly introduced me to Lance Henrikson, and several other actors too. Add in the fact that I was 13 at the time, the same age as Damien, you can see why I loved it so much. So, yeah, nostalgia plays a big part in my love for this film. It was the last decent Omen film, alas. The third is disappointing, and the fourth is atrocious.
Honestly the death that caught me off guard is the one where the crow attacks Joan hart, I’ll never forget that
The one where the dude fell in the ice kinda surprised me too because I didn’t really pay attention to his character that much so I wasn’t sure if he knew anything or not
I low-key laughed at the bird deaths except when the truck hit the lady
It reminded me of Jurassic world with the pterodactyls tossing the lady around and the big fish dinosaur eating her
Just brutal
Ok, this is 100% my all-time favourite movie from the franchise! I unironically, unapologetically, unashamedly, unabashedly and unconditionally _love_ this movie!
part 3 is pretty decent....part 4 though is fucking terrible.
This is my favorite of the series. I love the pacing and the building of Damien's world. And I did like the agricultural political ideas.
What are you talking about? The raven and the reporter was a savage death! Made me afraid of ravens and crows for a decade. In addition, the details about Thorn Corporation were really interesting, that it was basically this insanely powerful global company, and it was going to buy out the third world. That could have been expanded.
The raven scene traumatized me when I was...15. I finally was able to watch it again this year. I am now 29. It doesn't bother me anymore thankfully.
The under the ice scene was the most powerful, IMHO.
Jonathan Scott-Taylor is currently an Attorney in Britain.
That’s what I read via google. He’s 58 now. I so wish I knew what he looks like now 🙁 he just left acting and went of the radar around 28 when he last acted.
On the Damien Omen II DVD commentary track, a writer said that he had written an original script that he set in Kentucky and he thinks it would have been a lot scarier and generally a lot better than the movie that got produced. It would be interesting to see that script. I wonder if the studio or the writer still has a copy.
Speaking of "final destination shit", have you heard about some of the eerie occurrences during and after the filming of the original?
Gregory Peck and producer Mace Neufeld were on separate flights to London to continue filming, both of which were struck by lightning.
A zookeeper who trained the baboons for the drive-thru zoo scene was mauled to death by a tiger the day after he finished working on the set.
Apparently a private plane that the film crew hired but switched out with another one at the last minute ended up crashing, killing all 11 people onboard.
And last but certainly not least, after production finished special effects artist John Richardson was involved in a head-on collision which decapitated his girlfriend who was in the car with him, nearly recreating the scene which he helped with during the film. The collision also occurred near....(cue ominous music)....Ommen, Netherlands, and part of the lore is that Richardson saw a sign before the crash that read "Ommen 66.6km". But I don't know, that last part seems a bit far-fetched. But it most likely occurred about 60km (or 66km) from Ommen. Wild stuff...
Yes. There is a documentary on on the dvd special features and TH-cam.
As much as I like this movie, it does not play on Damian’s inner conflict about his destiny enough. As the concept itself is a logical one when dealing with a young teenager and a horrible truth.
If people didn't see this back in the day you wouldn't understand if gave the audience what they wanted back then and that was the creative death scenes. The audience applauded after the elevator scene when I saw this in a packed theater back in 78 it was my first R rated horror film and I remember it being very popular . Sequels were not as commonplace back then . This came out a few weeks before Jaws 2 and Exorcist 2 was the only significant horror film sequel before it and what a failure that was!!! Halloween & Dawn of the dead hadn't come out yet so there was no slasher or gore rules yet to follow so this was cool for its time.
Not a bad sequel but it doesn't use all of the potentials of its ideas. The idea that the Antichrist can actually choose to be evil or not could have been the entire plot of this and we could have seen why he chooses, in the end, to go to the Darkside.
The why me scene is a reflection of Jesus being told as a child that he was the Messiah, the only thing I was confused on is why he killed his aunt after she basically swore allegiance to him ???
Hope you’re doing good man. Loving the build up as always
Ok so i have a question. Does God's gift to man was free will apply to Damien? Because technically he isn't human. His father is Satan and his mother was a jackal. Am I the only one who has thought about whether or not he has a choice?
Love Omen 2, it's not the same quality as the first one but it's a film I used to watch again and again in my teenage years in the 80s 👍🏻
I agree with you, I wanted more of a character development with Damien. There wasn't even anything really going on with the Satanists helping him out. We didn't even get anything like a cool Mrs Baylock like in the first film. But like, oh well, I guess ravens and people dying randomly mattered more to them. Fave kill: the nosy reporter chick that had her eyes pecked out before the semi truck ran her over.
I liked it more than the first.
The history teacher scene is the greatest movie scene ever. When he knows all the dates and makes the teacher stumble.
I actually thought this was on par with the original & the story gives good character progression for Damien as a character.
There some good kills in this the crowd attacking the women was terrifying.
A solid review as ever my friend.
Hi there. First, I wanted to say I love your channel. Your opinion on movies and how you talk about it is AWESOME!!! Now....I do agree with you that Omen II is not as good as the original Omen but the Omen II is my favorite out of all the Omen movies. I think that's because the original Omen really scared me. I remember watching Omen I II and III with my Mother because I think either HBO or Cinemax was doing a marthon. I think I liked Omen II back then cause I was either 13 or 14 when I watched with my Mother (when this movie came out I was only 8). I totally get your take on not having the photos of people going to be killed. But if you notice half of the kills where of people who seen the wall that had Damien's face of when he was very young and a teen. Those people who try to say something died. The Aunt died because she was talking against Damien (and she didn't know about the wall) plus she had money that went to the Uncle. The doctor's death was AWESOME!!! And the others deaths because of the Uncle agriculture company (which you are totally right....so boring) to keep the company under the Torn control so it could go to Damien. If you notice the new guy working for the Uncle was also a devil worshiper too. That's why he talked to Damien alittle and invited him to come to the factory which Damien put this powers on some guy who was causing problems. I also agree with you that Damien should have had more internal struggles so that way when he killed his cousin it would have hit us harder. All in all I enjoyed your review. I can't wait to see your review on Omen III because I HATED that movie. Alot stuff went over my head that I had to watch it a couple of times to be a better understanding and that was hard.....an bad movie. So I can't wait to heard your take on it. You make me laugh every time. Keep up the AWESOME job!!!!
Just got done watching the first one on Disney for the 100th time, never gets old
One thing that this movie has going for it is that in my eyes it is a coming-of-age story Damian Thorne is on the cusp of adolescence and at the same time on the cusp of discovering his unholy lineage initially questioning it but then ultimately embracing it that is what drives this movie Forward when he finally accepts who and what he is and what his destined to do unholy as it may be. That is Shakespearean in itself in my opinion to see Damian briefly experience an internal conflict upon discovering who he really is and then doing a 360 and ultimately embracing it and being a 6 year old kid in 1978 when this movie came out of course it scared the hell out of me. Also at this time I was going to Catholic School so anything dealing with the church or anything like that sent chills down my spine because it was against all of the dogma that I was being indoctrinated with in those years that I was in Catholic School
I remember seeing the scene where he learns and doesn't want it. I wanted the same thing. I wanted him to question it like someone faith before they fully believe or embrace.
He may well be perturbed about being the Son of the Devil, but from the first instalment it goes that " It is by means of a human personality completely within his possession that Satan shall launch his last formidable offensive. ". He appeared in person before the monk / exorcist Yigael in the 1100s AD and was accurately depicted as having done so. In that exact same location he was given birth to by a jackal and a beam of light from a celestial body led a group of priests to his post-birth whereabouts. He physically and actually transmuted into a raven to visit Aunt Marion's window and then did same in the football change room to then fly out and attack Joan Hart on a deserted road.
The tv series is actually a pretty okay fill between 2 and 3, and actually expands on his character and the fact that he doesn’t want to be the Antichrist.
9:52 Exactly. You think he's gonna be conflicted about it but by the next scene Damien's like "Completely fine with being Satan's son now. World domination time." I think the "Why me" bit is a leftover from the original script where Damien had a girlfriend and had to choose between her and being the Antichrist but since that was scrapped they just rushed to him accepting it.
Need to rewatch this one again. Great review!
Can’t wait for your rankings on this series!
Hi Cody I’m curious if you have seen the horror movie , “Tourist Trap” from 1979?
Who would you wanna see take on an omen reboot/remake 🤔🤔. Cast & crew
I watched these when I was maybe 15 or something and I enjoyed them. I own them so I’ll have to check them out again sometime
Candy Hope: Wow, Walter, what a neat car!
Walter Paisley: Yeah, it's a Rolls Canardly.
Candy Hope: A Rolls Canardly?
Walter Paisley: Yeah, it rolls down one hill and can 'ardly get up the next.🤣
My heart goes out for you when you get to the 4th movie, and the abomination that is the 2006 remake.
I mean Final Destination 5 Not 3
Good acting, good Damian portrayal, but the movie is a plot hole fest.
From Bugenhagen barrelling through the mean streets of Cairo to the excellent score by Jerry Goldsmith in which I was in my girlfriend's dookie shoot when I first heard the score and I've loved this movie ever since!🙌
'Dookie shoot'??
@@rnw2739 Booty Hole!!!!!
@@MrNumpsy23 Oh right loooll!!! Never heard that term before. I'm English and that's a new one for me haha!
@@rnw2739 Lol
The moment Damien has the revelations about who he is and that his entire life is preordained (supposedly) reflects the same reaction and struggle that came upon Christ when he had his revelation about being the Christian Avatar and his life being preordained to the point of knowing he would have t martyr himself to supposedly save humanity from hell for their sins he runs of into the woods and falls to his knees cursing his father (the Christian god) for who he is and demands that that burden be lifted from his shoulders
I like this movie. You're right about it not being as good as the first, but I still like this for various reasons like some of the kills and the cast. Still, it's my second fave of the franchise right behind the first. The third Omen movie is reasonable in some ways, but be careful with that fourth one 'cause it's mega-crap. Good review though.
Harry Potter and the Devil’s Child
That’s all I have to say about this movie
Can’t wait for this years 31 on 31! Love the content man
The original cover did not show Damien with one eye. Now it's fashionable to do so. You wonder why. All films' original cover art are now promoting the one eye. Replaced. Research and learn why.
Omen 2 was badass
Say it mark!
Best scene in the movie.
Mark is so brave.while I don’t think I believe in Christianity.
I heard somebody say mark died as a martyr, almost saint like and in this movies universe where god is real I’m sure he came to greet mark at the gates personally and shake his hand.
Oh I totally agree. I love that scene. Of course ya kinda knew something bad was coming by the way he said "I know you're there"
What's the building over his left shoulder?
William Holden is a positive. He always is!
What about the short lived tv series spin off that was called damien
AWFUL! No wonder it got canceled. Don´t bother.
In contrast both Seasons of The Exorcist were very good in their own ways so I was surprised they didn´t go on.
I kind of like The Omen II and III. But the original is the only movie of the series in my Top 20/50/100 favorite horror movies.
I have watched the original and part 2 A lot but I’ve only seen part three ones