Movie review: ‘Damien: Omen II’

FloridaGator80

Today’s review of “Damien: Omen II” is a first for me. I’m reviewing a sequel after having reviewed the original first. I’ve reviewed sequels, but never one following the other. As I watched “Damien: Omen II” again for the first time in more than two decades, I was surprised with just how solid it is. Not great or even very good, but “Damien: Omen II” is acceptable as a film; better as a good horror film (the death scene at a frozen lake is well executed – no pun intended); and it does have an inventive continuation of the plot. It doesn’t fail like some bad sequels, say either “Caddyshack II” – click here for my review – or “Weekend at Bernie’s II” (click here for a my look at seven bad sequels) and it actually has some decent acting; and a nice tight ending. All-in-all, “Damien: Omen II” isn’t bad all on its own.

‘Damien: Omen II’
(1978; 107 minutes; rated R; directed by Don Taylor and starring William Holden, Lee Grant and Jonathan Scott-Taylor)

LEARNING ABOUT YOURSELF ISN’T ALWAYS EASY

(NOTE: I expanded this review with some more trivia and opinion and the updating of links on June 7, 2018. I fixed a major error — the year of the film’s release — on Jan. 1, 2020.)

It’s rare that a sequel has a complete change of cast, much less a complete change and coming out good. In “Damien: Omen II,” audiences benefit from one great lead actor (Gregory Peck in the original) to another (William Holden in the sequel) as well as a completely new supporting cast just as solid as in the original. I’m not saying the two films are equal, but it’s surprising to me that the sequel is so solid.

(CLICK here … for all my reviews of horror movies)
(CLICK here … for all my reviews of movies)
(CLICK here … for a chronological list of my reviews)

After stumbling coming out of the gate – the filmmakers tried to force the anti-Christ stuff a little too hard – “Damien: Omen II” quickly picks up speed and, with the exception of forcing the drama in a few more scenes (such as the evil raven causing a heart attack of one woman and causing another to be killed after attacking her), spins out as a nice continuation of “The Omen” (click here for my review) and isn’t in any way the insult to an audience’s intelligence as, say, “Caddyshack II.”

However, don’t let the start of the film fool you. It is rushed and forced as it tries to impart the urgency that a vision of what the anti-Christ looks like as an adolescent has been found in an archaeological dig. Once we get that out of the way, we get along with the real story.

“Damien” is now at a military academy as he’s being raised by his uncle – the fabulously wealthy “Richard Thorn” played by Holden. The film essentially tells the story of a group of people coming together to protect the anti-Christ as he grows up. They range from his new platoon sergeant to people in Holden’s company – with the major surprise coming at the end that is a pretty neat twist that in hindsight is obvious (and maybe just a bit earlier in the film).

I believe we all know who survives in the end, but the journey is worth watching – especially the frozen lake scene where an ethical corporate executive (they actually existed at one time, as unbelievable as it appears today) falls under the ice and you see him down there as he gets swept along to his ultimate demise.

Here’s my typical rundown of how the cast performs:

  • An Oscar winner (not for this one), Holden does a solid job here as he, just like Peck in the original, has to come to the horrific understanding that “Damien” is evil. He gives a smooth performance here and uses his impressive talent to craft the emotional evolution of a man who discovers something he doesn’t want to know about. Holden won for “Stalag 17” and was also nominated for two other Oscars for “Network” and “Sunset Blvd.” with Gloria Swanson. I liked him even better in the World War II classic “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” Holden died at the relatively young age of 63 five years after “Damien: Omen II” from injuries sustained in a fall.
  • Another Oscar winner and three-time nominee (not for this one), Lee Grant is the female lead here and does just a good a job as Lee Remick did as the female lead in the original. Just like Holden, she gives a smooth performance and her talent is on display as she shows the inner turmoil of her character. Grant won for “Shampoo” and was in “Mulholland Drive” and earned three other nominations including for “Voyage of the Damned.”
  • Jonathan Scott-Taylor plays the title character and while not elevating the character to an award-winning level, he doesn’t disappoint – and for an actor of his age that’s an accomplishment. Scott-Taylor, who would have only 16 credits in his career (he became a lawyer based in the UK, according to IMDb.com), is quite convincing early with his unintended menace and later with a bit more intention behind them. He was in a string of TV performances both before and after “Damien: Omen II.”
  • The most understated but best supporting efforts goes to journeyman actor Lance Hendricksen, whom you remember as the “artificial human” in “Aliens” with Sigourney Weaver. He plays “Sgt. Daniel Neff” and is at Scott-Taylor’s school to guide the young man through his awakening as the anti-Christ. Hendricksen does his usual competent job and is better known for his horror roles (“Pumpkinhead” and “Near Dark” – click here for my review), but also has some good dramatic turns such as in “The Right Stuff” (click here for my review).
  • Oscar nominee Sylvia Sidney plays feisty “Aunt Marion,” who departs early in the film since she has an intuition about Scott-Taylor. Sidney conveys her character’s mounting concern and fright with an excellent effort in her limited screen time. You might remember her from her understated turn in “Beetlejuice” and she was in “Mars Attacks!” and did television work including a two-part special on “Eight is Enough.” She was nominated for “Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams” and died at 88 in 1999 of throat cancer.
  • Lew Ayres as “Bill Atherton” and Nicholas Pryor as “Charles Warren” are doomed characters here and both are good, but not great. Ayres is the ethical businessman who stands in the way of another executive who will help Scott-Thorn in his anti-Christ years, while Pryor is the curator of the family’s museum who finds out independently of the boy’s identity. Ayres had 155 credits in a Hollywood career spanning an incredible eight decades while Pryor was in one of my favorites – “The Gumball Rally” (click here for my review). Ayres died at 88 in 1996.
  • Finally, another doomed character is “Dr. Kane” played by Emmy nominee Meshach Taylor, who was in his first movie with this one. He finds out that Scott-Taylor has the blood of a jackal (this is part of the anti-Christ stuff) and takes a fatal one-way trip down in an elevator. Taylor, who was wonderfully eclectic and funny as “Hollywood” in “Mannequin,” is best remembered from his role on TV’s “Designing Women.” He died of cancer in June 2014 at the age of 67.

So, all in all, “Damien: Omen II” is a somewhat good film and a good sequel. By today’s standards it won’t gross you out and actually tries with its plot and acting.

“Damien: Omen II” was out of the top 10 films of 1978 as it made $26.5 million at the box office on a budget of $6.8 million, according to Wiki. The No. 1 film was “Grease” with $159.9 million (click here for my take on it and its sequel), followed by “Superman” with $134.2 million. Other films I reviewed from 1978 include:

Assorted cast and film notes (via IMDb.com):

  • Holden was originally asked to star in “The Omen,” but he turned it down because he didn’t want to be in a film about the devil. However, since the original was such a big hit, he decided not pass on the sequel. “Damien: Omen II” is his only horror film.
  • Directly from IMDb.com: “Lee Grant was blacklisted by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Unamerican Activities Committee and didn’t work for years. Then according to her autobiography, ‘I Said Yes To Everything,’ she purposely took as many B-movie type jobs to get back into the swing of things, which is why this Academy-Award-winning actress accepted the Anne Thorn role in Damien Omen 2.”
  • Henricksen has had quite a prolific career in Hollywood. With 244 credits (including a dozen either announced, in pre-, post- or planned production as of June 7, 2018), he has been a most versatile performer.
  • Allan Arbus, who plays company scientist “Pasarian,” has only one “l” in his first name in the credits of this film – and this fact is the only notable thing about him here. Arbus is probably best remembered from a recurring role as psychiatrist “Maj. Sidney Friedman” on TV’s “M*A*S*H” and was in “The Electric Horseman” with Robert Redford (click here for my review).
  • Mike Hodges was the original director, but was replaced after filming began by Don Taylor because of creative differences. I can’t say whether this helped the film or not, since only a couple of scenes by Hodges were kept in the film (including a dinner scene with Sidney.
  • Finally and directly from IMDb.com: “ ‘Davidson Military Academy’ is really Northwestern Military and Naval Academy in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and has the same insignia. This school merged with St. John’s Military Academy in 1995 to be St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin.”

© Chuck Curry and A Gator in Naples, 2015, 2018, 2020.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without
express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner
is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that
full and clear credit is given to Chuck Curry and A Gator in Naples
with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Unknown's avatar

Published by FloridaGator80

Leave a Reply