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The apocalypse has arrived. How do I know? This DVD
boxed set featuring a series of films with diminishing returns.
“The Omen” was creepy enough to generation two sequels of
varying quality. The second film in the series had William
Holden and Lee Grant to keep it afloat. The third film in
the series featured a young Sam Neill as Damien giving an
appropriately creepy performance in a film that promised
more than it could deliver. The fourth was a disaster and
the remake of the first…well let’s just say the less said
the better. The first film and the 2006 rem ake were recently
reviewed. You can view the review here- http://www.dvdivas.net/movies/reviews/o/omenSE.html
for the original 2 disc “The Omen: Collector’s Edition”.
The review for the 2006 remake can be viewed here- http://www.dvdivas.net/movies/reviews/o/omen-2006.html.
I’m not going to recap the plot for both films here
(they are essentially the same) nor cover the merits of
either film (again, you can read the reviews posted at the
above links). Instead I’m going to cover the second, third
and risible fourth film of the series. ***
“Damien: Omen II” provided a serviceable sequel to
the original film. The producers pulled in two screen veterans
as the casting in the first film helped sell the outlandish
concept. William Holden (who was the first original choice
for “The Omen” but turned it down) and Lee Grant play Richard
and Ann Thorn Damien’s uncle and Aunt who adopt Damien after
the death of his parents in the first film. While the actors
give sharp performances and director Don Taylor (who did
a lot of television and directed the genre favorites “Escape
from the Planet of the Apes” another Fox franchise sequel
and “The Final Countdown”) puts a lot of energy into t he
violent set pieces of the film they are let down by Stanley
Mann and Mike Hodges’ script ( Hodges began the film as
director as well but left after creative differences with
producer Harvey Bernhard). The film is notable also for
being an early role for genre favorite Lance Henriksen (“Aliens”,
“Alien 3” and the TV series “Millennium”), Leo McKern (“The
Prisoner”, “Help” and “Rumpole of the Bailey”) and Meshach
Taylor (“Designing Women”). Damien enters a military academy
and those who discover or suspect his true identity as the
Anti-Christ mysteriously dies. The film lacks the energy
that director Richard Donner brought to the film. It’s an
OK sequel that doesn’t quite deliver. ***
The second film was moderately successful demanding,
of course, another sequel. “The Final Conflict” directed
by Graham Baker (“Alien Nation” and “Impulse”) and scripted
by Andrew Birkin (the forthcoming “Perfume: The Story of
a Murderer”, “The Name of the Rose” and “The Messenger:
The Story of Joan of Arc”) has its moments but doesn’t have
the large scale canvas to deliver on the premise of the
script. Sam Neill (“Jurassic Park”) does a fine job as Damien
but the script is relatively weak overall. In the third
film of the series Damien runs for the senate. As the CEO
of a multi-national corporation he also has the funds to
try a nd rise to political power. The Second Coming of Christ
is foretold and that might be a problem for Damien. Damien
has his agents systemically murder babies born on the same
day. ***
The third film in the series was the last (until the
horrible fourth film produced for TV in 1991) in the series.
The cast do a solid job and director Graham Baker does a
credible job with the material but the film (to obtain an
“R” rating) isn’t nearly as graphic as it needs to be. Also
the modestly budgeted film doesn’t have the financial resources
to pull of the grand conclusion that the series needs as
a pay off. Perhaps if original director Richard Donner had
come back on board (it was rumored that he was considering
closing out the series) Donner might have had the clout
to pull this film off. ***
“The Omen: The Awakening” is a desperate attempt to
revive the beleaguered franchise. The fourth film which
was made for TV features the daughter of Damien named Delia
(Asia Vieira) adopted by two attorneys Gene (Michael Woods)and
Karen York(Faye Grant from “The Greatest American Hero”).
Once again bizarre deaths occur to those who try and dig
too deeply into Delia’s past. Begun by director Dominique
Othenin-Girard (she quite half way through production of
the film) and finished by Jorge Montesi (hence the co-direction
credit “Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda”) the film just doesn’t
deliver the chills necessary. It’s a painfully bad film.
Included as an “extra” in the boxed set (as with the previous
boxed set) the film brings the series to a bad end although
it isn’t that much worse than, say, “Battle for the Planet
of the Apes”. ---
Image & Sound:
Please see my previous reviews for “The Omen” and “The
Omen(2006)” for a discussion of the transfers. The transfer
for the second and third film are solid in this presentation
of the film. ---
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