Customer Reviews

Damien: Omen II [VHS]

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This sequel, released two years after the blockbuster success of "The Omen", is itself a stylish thriller. Featuring an excellent cast, it attempts to continue the momentum of the original. While having some shortcomings, the film, nonetheless, manages to entertain and shock. This is due in large part to its excellent cast and another chilling musical score by Jerry Goldsmith that is used to great effect.

This film continues the story begun in "The Omen". The Antichrist, Damien (Jonathan Scott Taylor), is here on earth and is now twelve, His parents, Katherine and Robert Thorn, now dead, and Damien is being raised by his uncle, Richard Thorn (William Holden) and his second wife, Ann (Lee Grant). He lives with them and Richard Thorn's son by his first wife, Mark (Lucas Donat). Damien is disliked by his Aunt Marion (Sylvia Sidney), who counsels the Thorns to separate Mark from Damien with whom he is close.

Damien attends a militairy boarding school with his cousin Mark. There, Damien's interests are looked after by Sgt. Neff (Lance Hendricksen), a sort of earthly sentinel. There, Damien begins to flex his satanic muscles, much to the chagrin of a school bully. Meanwhile, Damien's interests in the Thorn family's multi-million dollar empire are being watched over by his uncle's highly placed executive employee, Paul Buher (Robert Foxworth), unbeknownst to his uncle. This is a man about whom Thorn's chief executive, Bill Atherton (Lew Ayres) has some serious misgivings. When several of the people who stand in the way of Damien securing control of the family fortune meet unusual deaths, the viewer knows that Damien's true nature has been unleashed.

William Holden and Lee Grant are terrific. With straightforward, sincere portrayals, they are the linchpins of this movie. Jonathan Scott Taylor is good as Damien but not particularly charismatic. Well nuanced performances are given by Richard Foxworth and Lance Hendriksen, Damien's earthly sentinels. Old timer Lew Ayres is wonderful as the ethical business man, and Sylvia Sidney is terrific as the aunt who knows that there is something wrong with Damien. Lucas Donat is excellent as Damien's cousin Mark.

There is a surprising twist at the end of this film, that is sure to catch the viewer unawares. Still, that is not enough to make this sequel comparable to the original. It lacks the subtlety and deft direction of "The Omen". While the director, Don Taylor, does a competent job of directing this sequel, some of the scenes are heavy handed, giving in to special effects that detract from the film, rather than enhance it.

The opening scene is a prime example of gratuitous excess. Here, the archaeologist, Bugenhagen, played by Leo McKern, reprising his original role in "The Omen", is trapped in a ruin with a friend of his, while showing him a fresco of an Antichrist that looks remarkably like Damien. As the walls come tumbling down about them, the special effects are so hokey as to be laughable. This was unnecessary, as the actors themselves were strong enough to carry the scene, had it been shot with more subtlety. Less is sometimes more, a mechanism that the original director, Richard Donner, employed to great effect.

The DVD has some bonus features, such as a commentary by the producer, but is not a loaded DVD. It has clarity of picture and sound. The DVD is well worth having, however, if one is a fan of the original film upon which this sequel was predicated.

Over-the-top but highly effective sequel to the 1976 horror classic "the Omen." Seven years after the mysterious death of his "parents," Daniem Thorne, the Devil's son, is now twelve and living in Chicago with his adopted aunt and uncle. It is during this time when Damien learns his true identity while attending military academy. Meanwhile, folks are coming out of the woodwork to warn Richard Thorne (William Holden) that he and his wife are in danger, but anyone who so much as hints that Damien is the son of Satan gets offed--quickly and nastily. Some scenes are truly creepy; there's one scene that looks like an outtake of "the Birds," only this time it's more gory. But by far the most intense scene is the "confrontation" between Damian and his cousin Mark, who finds out who he really is. The picture is really good, although the Dolby Surround sound is really little more than glorified mono. Nevertheless, this film is flawed but well done and a must-have for fans of the horror genre.

Although it lacks the queasy, frightful atmosphere of the original film and is plotted rather loosely, Damien: Omen II is loads of fun. Damien, now a very scary-looking adolescent, begins to understand his destiny while at a military school, while his uncle (William Holden) starts to realize that the chain of crazy deaths surrounding his company and family have a signifigance he doesn't want to face.

Omen II definitely fails in creating a strong narrative thrust: far too much is going on, and there are too many characters simply waiting around to be killed in another grandiose satanic "accident". Dramatically, the film is best when it centers of Damien's experience at the school (Jonathan Scott-Taylor plays Damien's ambivalence extremely well) and William's Holden's growing insecurity. But the subplots about Thorn Industries never go anywhere, and characters and ideas are introduced mere minutes before another death scene brings them to a screeching halt.

But the film does deliver on the clever fright and gore scenes: cracked ice, runaway trains, crazy elevators (eeeeeewwww! you'll see what I mean), and ghastly ravens accompanied by Jerry Goldsmith's score make the flick an unpredictable wild ride. And even if the finale doesn't build up as well as it should, there's a geuninely shocking twist that makes it all worth while. The new DVD transfer shows off the film's impressive cinematography, which will only help you enjoy it more. Ave Satani!

Like "Jaws 2", this milking-the-franchise sequel involved almost none of the important talent of the classic original and thus, predictably, reduced artistry to banal formula. (Person suspects Damien is the Antichrist. Person receives spooky stare from Damien or his raven accomplice. Person imminently meets with gruesome death.)

It wouldn't even be worth the time to dismiss this movie were it not for a few elements of peripheral interest. There is the presence of film demi-legend William Holden, prostituting himself for booze money, but still effortlessly projecting his natural authority and charisma. There is the irresistable idea of having the Antichrist (well played, I thought, by Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who actually manages to create sympathy for the Devil) discover his calling. And there are a few memorable deaths for horror buffs, though none quite up to the standard of the first "Omen". (The victim of the best one - the elevator cable - is none other than Meshach Taylor, who later flounced his way to fame on the dreadful sitcom "Designing Women".)

Now going on thirteen, Damien Thorn (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) is living in Chicago with his uncle Richard (William Holden) and his second wife Ann (Lee Grant). Damien is enrolled in a military academy and leads a charmed life, as Richard is president of Thorn Industries, a multi-national food conglomerate.

The remains of Bugenhagen - and the daggers - are located during an archaeological dig, as well as a box which contains a letter addressed to Richard, warning him about his nephew. Richard initially refuses to believe "the rantings of a senile old man" but reconsiders when those around them start falling victim to "accidents."

Meanwhile, at the urging of his drill sergeant Daniel Neff (Lance Henrikson) Damien reads the Bible - and discovers who he is. Richard's paranoia is heightened when following a small explosion at his plant, everyone is affected by noxious gas - except Damien. After his young son is suddenly stricken by a stroke (while alone with Damien) and he witnesses the horrific death of a friend, Richard retrieves the daggers and declares, "That boy has got to die."

This is an entertaining and competent sequel which continues the story, but it's more of an involving story than a frightening one. Jerry Goldsmith contributes another chilling score. Well done, and it does justice to the original.

In theory, I should not have liked this movie. It was not as suspensful as the first, it had characters that, according to the first, were not supposed to exist (during his birthday party, Damien was described as the "heir to the Thorn millions". As such, his father should have had no brother, ergo the characters played by William Holden, Lee Grant, and Lucas Donat should not have existed!), its ending struck me as too abrupt.

But it was fun! Jonathan Scott Taylor easily stole the show as Damien, the death scenes were good, the music suspensful, the scenery nice (it was filmed, among other places, at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, the "homeland" of Dungeons and Dragons), and the film had and "old money" quality to it.

As a result, I wound up liking the film despite its flaws. I must have seen it four times in the theatres, I also got a press release kit the gave bios on the actors and stories about the making of the movie.

It may have been a turkey, but, like all true turkeys, it tasted good!!!!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, as I have since I had first seen it when I was 12 years old. I think that Jonathan Scott-Taylor was well cast as Damien, I role that I would think rather difficult to play. His world was suddenly turned upside down in the space of moments, but when he discoverd his true destiny, Scott-Taylor played his part with such intensity for a young actor. When he killed his cousin, Mark, you truly felt his anguish. You believed he was the son of the devil.As a avid fan of the whole Omen Trilogy, I never get tired of watching the movie.I still wonder what is the significance of the raven, or if Damien knows about its existence. Also, I wished that the movie would have dwelled a bit on the relationship between Paul Buher, Damien and Sargeant Neff. But, with the haunting score, all in all the movie is most worth watching.

This film keeps the narrative moving, potentially setting up a great third film about Damien controlling an evil company trying to corner the global food market. (Unfortunately, The Final Conflict is not the great film we had the right to expect.) William Holden and Jonathan Scott-Taylor give superb performances, and the special effects, photography, and score are excellent.

If there are any complaints, they are how closely the second film sticks to the formula of the first one and how this film doesn't have the same eerie mood of The Omen. Also, one scene is blatantly stolen from Hitchcock's The Birds.

On the plus side, I found Omen II to be less hokey than The Omen, with fewer mumbo-jumbo pronouncements based on ancient poems and the Book of Revelations. The second film seems to be a logical outgrowth of the first, with no confusing contradictions or major plot lapses, except for the peculiar fact that ravens rather than dogs now do Damien's dirty work. If you liked the first film, see the second one!

Essentially, what we have here is an interesting movie premise being torn apart by the seams by poor dramatic pacing, an extremely heavy-handed and moronic William Holden performance (Give him Sedatives), Lee Grant hamming up to preposterous heights of lunacy (Give her Something PLEASE), and a script that runs through dramatic auto-pilot as it essentially relives the conservations, family doubts, self-discoveries, and symbolic ironies of the first film in all their glory. I find this film a sacrificed ripe possibility ruined by the heavy-handed control of unimaginative filmmakers.

Though graced by another significantly brilliant Jerry Goldsmith score, an admirably sympathetic portrayal by Jonathan Scott-Taylor, first-rate death sequences, and an unusual look into the influence of free will upon a child's destiny makes Damien Omen 2 a guilty pleasure that could have been much more. Don't even attempt to see the third chapter, as it is more painful to watch than an info-commercial.

Omen II is the return of Damien, 7 years after his dad attempted to kill him. This begins the story of Damien and how Damien learns about his destiny as the Antichrist. This movie is a terrific sequel to one of the best horror movies ever. The music score in this movie is once again great and makes some scenes even more scary. Omen II is really a good movie and is worth it.