The Omen (1976)

When his wife delivers a stillborn baby, American politician Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) adopts another child. He doesn’t tell Kathy (Lee Remick) that the boy that they’ll name Damien isn’t actually theirs. Soon afterwards, the happy family relocates to London from Rome when Robert accepts the position as U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain.

All seems well until Damien (Harvey Stephens) turns five years old. A series of strange deaths and an ominous visit from a priest signal to Robert that his baby-swap was not without consequences. When a photojournalist (David Warner) alerts him to an odd discovery he’s made with his camera, Robert gradually starts to accept that Damien might be the Anti-Christ.

The Omen was released in 1976 no doubt to ride the success of 1973’s The Exorcist, which had fueled a wave of Satanic-related films in the early-to-mid 70s. The Omen, however, distanced itself from the pack by casting Academy Award-winning actors Gregory Peck (To Kill A Mockingbird) and Lee Remick (Days of Wine and Roses.) Thanks to a haunting (and Academy Award-winning) musical score by Jerry Goldsmith and atmospheric direction by Richard Donner, The Omen would inspire even more devilishly-themed movies as the decade wore on.

Seeing The Omen after viewing films that it influenced might diminish the impact of some of its best scenes for current viewers. At the time, however, concepts like “the number of the beast” and the Anti-Christ were new to mainstream audiences. And, even now, the scenes involving Damien’s influence over animals as well as his young nanny still deliver the goods. Harvey Stephens’ performance as the young Damien works due to his disturbingly expressive face.

The inclusion of Peck and Remick not only provided name recognition but their performances are the bedrock upon which the script successfully builds its modern take on the Book of Revelation. I’m sure that audiences of the time had an easier time accepting the subject matter when respected thespians were involved. To their credit, both Peck and Remick didn’t just show up and collect a paycheck. Both deliver excellent and sympathetic performances that convey the confusion, sadness, and genuine horror of realizing their son is not human and then having to deal with the consequences.

There are a few sequences that made me scratch my head, such as the Thorns’ rapid and unquestioning acceptance of the creepy new nanny, Mrs. Baylock (Billie Whitelaw), even after they realize neither of them called for her. (Especially after their last nanny died rather horrifically.) But, overall, The Omen moves along at a good pace and provides such a good time that I’m willing to forgive moments like that as a product of an era when people were more trusting.

Though it spawned three sequels and a 2006 remake, none of them approach the 1976 original in terms of quality. The Omen is required viewing for horror fans.