DAMIEN: OMEN II (1978) Review
So, let’s begin by laying out my stake in this franchise, shall we? I have none. Besides the original The Omen (which remains a classic blend of B-Movie schlock and prestige studio picture… read my review of it if you wanna know more!), my only real relationship with the series was the 2006 remake, a film which — at least as far as I’m concerned, seems to exist for the sole purpose of capitalising on the whole 666 thing (the movie was released on 06/06/06… very clever… ugh), and frankly, that kinda put me off. It’s a silly reason to lazily avoid an entire franchise, especially one as iconic as The Omen, but here I am. I adore the first, I hate the remake, I’ve never bothered with any of the ones in between. Until now.
Of course, I was always going to get around to them anyway. You can’t go through life loving Richard Donner’s classic and not eventually turn your attention to the sequels, and when I decided that I wanted to cover franchises on this blog — it gives me a structure beyond just reveiwing whatever the hell takes my fancy in between piecing together, academic think pieces no one actually bothers to read — I began to scower the films on offer for a series that a) wasn’t going to take a year to cover, and b) might actually keep me entertained and hold my attention. A begrudging thank you, then, toDisney+ (and you won’t catch me thanking them for much!), who have the first three entries into this strange little film series available for the world to discover. After settling in for the evening and joyfully making my way through the sheer pleasure that is Donner’s 1976 movie, I immediately hit play on Damien: Omen II, and… shit! Why the actual fuck did I waste so much time not watching this movie.
Take what I say with a pinch of salt, folks, because I am writing this having literally finished the movie like thirty seconds ago (the credits have just finished rolling), but I think Damien: Omen II might actually be, um… maybe, like, er… kinda… perhaps… better than the original! That seems like sacralage (apt, considering the franchise! Lol!), but yeah… it’s nowhere near as engaging or prestigious as its predecessor, at least in terms of filmic language or performance, but as a horror movie… well, this is when The Omen basically embraces its slash-tastic slasher origins and jumps full swing into delivering devilishly outrageous, Final Destination-esque kills that get more elaborate and stupid with each subsequent death. We’ve got a vague sorta story involving Damian at military academy and various adult figures trying to either convince each other of the antichrists existence or help him fulfil his destiny as the harbinger of the apocalypse, but none of that really matters. As a film, Damien: Omen II doesn’t give two shits about the plot, and opts instead to sprint excitedly toward the next gory setpiece, which it then revels in delivering in all its grisly, silly, grotesque glory!
It’s essentially The Omen for people who felt like The Omen took itself too damned seriously, and just to make sure you’re certain what kinda movie it is you’re watching, as if to offset the serious and prestigious presence of William Holden (essentially filling in for the Gregory Peck role in the original) in walks Lance freaking Henricksen as antichrist support Sergeant Daniel Neff to chew up scenery and deliver creepy exposition. Make no mistake, Damien: Omen II is most definitely not a good film, not by any stretch of the imgination, it is a movie that rides of the coat tales of a different film that has basically already done all the heavy lifting, and instead just acts like a jacked-up coda, not really moving the plot forward or expanding on the mythos much (outside of the obvious, at least), but it literally does not matter. When a movie is this much goddamn fun, I’m inclined to give it a pass for being lazy as fuck when it comes to story and development.
Honestly, I wish more sequels would embrace their sequelness and go for broke. In a funny turn of events, I feel like I want to compare Damien: Omen II to Final Destination 2 (these franchises are intrinsically linked and I will die on that hill. This must be on purpose, right?). While the original is a moody, engaging, serious piece of a cinema that, despite its obvious schlocky elements and B-Movie trappings, successfully moves the premise into a far more cerebral and interesting place, it’s sequel chucks out any pretence of being something ‘more’ than just an excuse to watch a cast of nothing charaters die in ever-growing elaborate ways, and embraces the gory absurdity of the premise with aplomb!
The original The Omen will always, always be a favourite of mine. It was instrumental in my horror journey, a key piece of media that helped me understand the genre that I loved, and opened my eyes up to the wider world of ‘classic’ horror of a certain era, by this film… I mean, this is just a silly thrill ride with some fantastically dumb kill scenes, and I fucking love it! What can I say? I love a good movie, I love a smart movie, I love a weird, wonderful, poignant, thoughtful movie… but screw you, I also love a popcorn chewing, crowd-pleasing dumb movie, and Damien: Omen II is so unasahmedly sitting in that camp that… well, I love it. I love this movie. It’s as entertaining as it is pointless as it is stupid as it is fun. A great sequel to a brilliant movie that doesn’t even try to hit the heights of its predecessor and knows exactly what it wants to be, and then proceeds to be that unapologetically. Yes, please! More! Can I have some more! Also, can we bring back titling movie sequels in more interesting ways that merely numerical or subtitled, please? When The Fast and the Furious are the only folks holding that batton, something’s gone wrong, innit! 4/5.
