The Movie Buff opens our 5th annual 31 Days of Halloween season with a movie celebrating its 40 year birthday, the 1976 classic “The Omen.” Regarded as one of horrors all time greats, “The Omen” emerged from the decade where scary movies were born, and built upon terrifying imagery and graphic deaths to cement itself as long lasting, and the horror genre as a mainstay going forward.
Creepy kids are always great fodder for scaring people (“Children of the Corn” comes to mind immediately) and the original terrifying tot was brought about with “The Omen’s” central character – 5 year old Damien. The character is so great the simple mention of the name Damien conjures images of demons, death, and Satan himself 40 years later.
The story opens as American Diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) arrives at an Italian hospital moments after his wife has delivered their first child. Thorn is told the child died shortly after birth and that his wife Katherine (Lee Remick) is unaware. The hospital’s chaplain convinces Thorn to take an orphaned newborn in the place of his true son.
Director Richard Donner (“Superman,” “The Goonies”) puts together a masterful selection of shocking and frightening images, unheard of in the era of production. Events like Damien unleashing a blood curdling scream at the sight of a church, or a truly memorable sequence with the boy and his mother at a zoo are all time greats and perfectly conjured creations.
The eerie sounds of a xylophone play over a montage of Damien’s first few years while we are introduced to other mysterious characters, including a distrusting priest, an ornery photographer, and a creepy nanny. These elements shadow the ambiguous evil that is growing inside of Damien.
The secret that Robert Thorn holds over his wife throughout the film is a thing of sheer brilliance. As Katherine Thorn begins to fear Damien, she is constantly at battle with the idea that she must have unconditional love for her child, all the while completely unaware of the secret.
“The Omen” was nominated for 2 Academy Awards – winning Best Original Score for its haunting cathedral-like melodies throughout. Gregory Peck can be a bit too much at times as a dominating scene-thief, and at 60 is a bit old for a first time father. Maybe casting a lesser known actor would have fared better but in the end, the iconic role went to the iconic name.
“The Omen” starts off perfect, though the second act runs a bit stale as Robert Thorn embarks on a quest to find the true origins of Damien’s birth. The pacing gets slow, though the film is only 1:51 minutes its nothing so intolerable you can’t handle.
Where Richard Donner succeeds behind the scenes is the buildup of tension, and the anxiety the viewer will have waiting for the next bout of terror to occur. Scares and unsettling images are scattered throughout, but well concealed amidst the plot and never too much that they teeter on ineffective.
“The Omen” is a classic horror film and one that holds up well. It has cemented itself a place in the long list of all time greats, and rightfully so. As we begin the Halloween season, put it on your list of movies to watch, or movies to watch again.
by – Matt Christopher
