When producer Harvey Bernhard and director Richard Donner were casting Damien in the original Omen, at one point they hit enough of a wall that they briefly considered making the character into a girl instead. Then the (literally) ball-busting Harvey Stephens presented himself and a little evil star was born. (For more on that, see here.)
Years later, Bernhard would opt to re-visit that idea, a good decade after the supposedly last entry in the Omen series, The Final Conflict. Bernhard was coming off a string of hit-and-miss films that either became cult favorites (The Beast Within, Ladyhawke) or bona fide smashes with a fervent following that persist to this day (The Goonies, The Lost Boys), with two of them reuniting him with director Donner (Ladyhawke, The Goonies).
Bernhard hit upon the idea of resurrecting The Omen as a new series of TV films that would tie into the original series in a way that would present itself over time, beginning with this film. If it had been a huge hit, then he would likely have continued with at least two more in the series, just as with the original trilogy, but alas, such was not the case. If you've actually seen the film, you can probably guess why.
Bernhard concocted the story himself, just as he did for the second entry in the original franchise, Damien: Omen II, only this time he actually co-wrote the screenplay as well. As he was no professional writer, Bernhard drafted Brian Taggert to help. Taggert was coming off several well-regarded projects, including the slasher flick Visiting Hours (with Damien: Omen II vet Lee Grant and William Shatner) and the man-vs-ginormous-killer-rat movie Of Unknown Origin.
However, Taggert is undeniably best-known for his writing on the massively-successful miniseries V: The Final Battle, as well as several episodes of the subsequent TV series. Other notable credits include: Friday the 13th director Sean S. Cunningham's The New Kids, the TV-series spin-off Wanted: Dead or Alive (with Rutger Hauer and KISS' Gene Simmons), Poltergeist III, The Cover Girl Murders and Trucks, the remake of Stephen King's story of the same name, which he previously filmed as Maximum Overdrive.
The same year as this film, Taggert also wrote the TV movies Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (a remake of the original, featuring the Redgrave sisters, Lynn and Vanessa) and one with a somewhat similar plot to the Omen series: Child of Darkness, Child of Light, about two virgin births- one supposedly the son of God, the other the son of the Devil.
Bernhard's idea was to have a self-aware devil child this time around- one who took a much more proactive approach than Damien. As fans of the series know, crazy stuff swirls around Damien in the first film, but it's done in such a way that it could be a coincidence. It isn't until the second film, in which Damien finds out who he really is, that he starts intentionally trying to use his inherent powers to hurt or even kill people.
Here, from the get-go, little Delia (primarily played by Asia Vieira) seems to know exactly what she is and that she possesses the power to seriously hurt or kill people, and she's not afraid to use it if someone even slightly pisses her off. However- spoiler alert for those who haven't seen it- as we later discover, she isn't actually the Antichrist, but rather, Damien's daughter, presumably a result of his coupling with Kate Reynolds in the last film, though it's never quite acknowledged as such.
In addition, it seems that Delia was intentionally placed with the York family in anticipation of two things: to once again embed an evil presence within a prominent political family likely to rise in the ranks in the future and in anticipation of the future birth of the actual "new" Antichrist, for which she will serve as a protector. (What?!! You mean to say a girl can't be an Antichrist? #Timesup)
It gets even crazier, believe it or not. It seems that one of the many weird side effects of being the daughter of the Antichrist is that girls mature faster- like WAY faster. Delia has her period at eight! Shortly thereafter, she was implanted with the embryo of the Antichrist, which she carried until it could be transferred into her adoptive mother, Karen (Faye Grant) to carry to term. #HerToo! (Also... so THAT'S where PLL got that nutty implanted birth twist, lol.)
The film leads us to believe the newborn baby, Alexander, is the one in danger- we all know this series' history with babies- when, in fact, Delia is meant to be his protector, as it turns out. Of course, mother Karen doesn't see it that way, leading her behavior to become more and more erratic as she becomes convinced that Delia is out to get her child. Do I even need to tell you things don't end well for poor Karen?
Of course, the main draw for the series is usually those patented grisly deaths- but would a TV-movie be able to replicate what went down in an R-Rated movie? What do you think? The answer is a resounding no, although it gets an "A" for effort at times, thanks to some amusing editing and occasional clever ideas.
For instance, in one scene, after a man runs his car into a truck with a sharp-edged piece of metal jutting out of it, taking off his head in the process, instead of showing it, the film cuts to a ball rolling down the street, so you get the idea. Not that you wouldn't, anyway, mind you, but it is an amusing edit, if a bit on the nose.
Is this a worthy substitute for actually seeing what really happens? Um, no. But it is pretty funny, which is better than nothing, and as good a substitute for actual gore as you can get on TV at that time, I suppose. Oddly, though, there is some fairly gory/crazy stuff here, leaving one to wonder why they opted to censor themselves instead of going for broke more.
At the very least, they could have shot the stuff and included it as part of an "unrated cut" later on, as happened a lot in those days with certain horror movies. After all, the film was released in theaters in several countries, including Australia and the UK. Why not shoot it, anyway and include it on the theatrical and VHS (and later on, DVD) releases? Too late now, obviously.
Be that as it may, the movie does have some solid shocks in it, in spite of all the restraint shown most of the time. In one scene that should send ophiophobes fleeing for the exits, a private detective (Michael Lerner) tracks down the former nun-turned-Pentecostal-preacher, Sister Yvonne, aka Felicity (Megan Leitch) at a tent revival, where, in time-honored tradition, she has become a snake-handler. (Before that, she was a snake-handler of a different sort- aka a hooker.)
The private dick- emphasis on the last part- flashes her a picture of Delia, hoping to get a reaction. Boy, does he ever. She freaks out, gets repeatedly bitten by the snakes, who go on a biting rampage, escaping their container and attacking everyone, including the detective. The poor girl later dies a miserable death at the hospital, with bites all over her body and face, albeit not before giving the guy a crucial clue, as one does in movies like this.
In another scene, Delia visits a Psychic Fair with her New Age nanny, as one does in the 90's, and almost immediately wreaks complete havoc, causing one guy to recoil in shock and accidentally start a fire, which then catches other people on fire. Next thing you know, all manners of people are running around on fire, screaming and freaking out, as one does when on fire. It's pretty intense, but also a little funny, given how quickly things go from zero to insane.
But as crazy as these scenes are, nothing holds a candle to the absolutely bonkers sequence with the detective, who first sees a Christmas display turn evil, the baby in the manger adopting a look that wouldn't have been out of place in the last entry, then runs into an alley as the infamous Jerry Goldsmith "Ave Satani" theme kicks in and is confronted by... a demonic choir actually shown "singing" the song, as the lead singer holds out a cross and smacks it up, flips it and turns it upside-down in the detective's horrified face. Oh no! I'm not kidding.
Shortly thereafter, he runs into the street, where, a la the first film, where the priest stood in place for far too long awaiting the metal pole to impale him for what seemed an eternity, the detective stands there as a literal wrecking ball smashes through a building and into him, as the film hilariously cuts to an egg being broken. Again with the clever edit- well-played, Omen IV.
As you might have guessed by now, this film is fully in the arena of so-bad-it's-good territory, especially from about the mid-point (around about the time Delia finds out it's her premature time of the month) onward. By the time the mother, Karen bursts into her doctor's office and demands the "truth"- because, of course, the doctor is in on it- and drives a scalpel into his hand, pinning him to his own desk (which, oddly enough, IS shown in graphic detail), the movie is completely in bonkers-land.
Honestly, when that scene with the private detective came on, I half-wondered if I was watching a Wayans Brothers spoof of an Omen movie instead of the real deal. It's hilariously bad most of the time, TBH. That said, it's nothing if not watch-ably terrible, at least, which is better than nothing.
Had this film succeeded, 20th Century Fox wouldn't have stopped there, intending to relaunch several other of their famous titles as TV-franchises, with the Predator and The Fly series being eyed as possibilities, but such was not the case, so the idea was stopped dead in its tracks.
Perhaps needless to say, the critics savaged the film, and its roundly seen as the final nail in the coffin of the franchise, effectively stopping it dead in its tracks for over a decade, until the inevitable remake was released. It has a dismal 20% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an average rating of 2/10, which ain't great.
Be that as it may, let's take a brief look at the cast, which isn't half bad, to be fair, even if the material fails them at times. As the tiny terror Delia, there's Asia Vieira, who, interestingly enough, has a long-running association with children's programming. The Canadian-born actress made her debut in the film The Good Mother, as the child of Diane Keaton and Liam Neeson, in a movie directed by Leonard "Spock" Nimoy- not too shabby there.
A role in the Canadian series Street Legal followed, along with turns in the well-regarded TV-movie The Kissing Place and the all-star ensemble piece, Used People, as the younger version of actress Marcia Gay Harden's character.
The kids' programming then flooded in, including the TV-movie The Biggest Little Ticket, voice-over work on The Magic School Bus, and leading turns on The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon and Disney's Flash-Forward (see pic above), alongside a young Ben Foster and Jewel Staite (Firefly).
Vieira did keep a toe in the water of horror, via guest spots on the kid-friendly Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Tales from the Cryptkeeper, so there's that, but most of her work continued to be on the small screen moving forward from around the 2000's, primarily in TV-movies and series. One notable exception is her role in A Home at the End of the World (pictured above), alongside Colin Farrell and Robin Wright. Sadly, she seems to be M.I.A. from the business as of 2009.
As Delia's adoptive mother, Karen York, there's the lovely Faye Grant, probably best-known for her leading role in the aforementioned V series, which, given co-screenwriter Taggert's involvement in that, was probably how she came to be cast in this film. She was also in the comedic superhero series, The Greatest American Hero.
Grant's notable roles include both the big and small screen, including the movies Crossing Delancy, The January Man, Internal Affairs, The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag, Drive Me Crazy and My Best Friend's Girl and the TV-movie Senior Trip and appearances on the shows The Incredible Hulk, Tales from the Crypt, Time of Your Life and State of Grace.
However, sadly, Grant may best be known to my younger readers as the ex-wife of actor Stephen Collins, of 7th Heaven fame, another show on which she also appeared. Grant was the one who allegedly blew the whistle on Collins for past sexual abuse of minors via a tape recording she had of him confessing to it in a therapy session, though she denied leaking it. He later publicly confessed to the accusations and apologized. Needless to say, the couple broke up shortly thereafter.
Another familiar face in the cast is veteran character actor Michael Lerner, who plays the private detective, Earl Knight, who has a fondness for cats, which seem to always be around him for some reason, even in a bar he visits. I'm surprised one didn't ride in on that wrecking ball like a naked Miley Cyrus to take him out, lol.
Lerner is probably best-known for his Oscar-nominated turn in the Coen Brothers classic Barton Fink, but he's been in plenty of other excellent movies as well. Some of them include: The Candidate, St. Ives, The Other Side of Midnight, the 80's remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice, the underrated cult flicks Strange Invaders and Anguish, Eight Men Out, Harlem Nights, Maniac Cop 2, Newsies, Radioland Murders, The Road to Wellville, Godzilla (1998), Safe Men, The Mod Squad, Elf, Art School Confidential, A Serious Man, Life During Wartime, Mirror Mirror and X-Men: Days of Future Past. He's done plenty of TV as well, dating back to the 60's and as recently as Glee and Maron.
Other cast members worth a mention are: Michael Woods (Lady Beware, The Haunting of Sarah Hardy) as Gene York, Karen's politician husband; Madison Mason (Dreamscape, Eagle Eye, Transformers) as the evil Dr. Hastings; Ann Hearn (Lorenzo's Oil, The Accused) as Jo, the New Age nanny; Don S. Davis (Twin Peaks, Stargate SG-1) as Woods' adviser, Jake Madison; Jim Byrnes as Noah, Jo's spiritual adviser or whatever, who gets while the getting's good; and Megan Leitch (also in the horror flicks The Resurrected, The Misbegotten and Mirror Mirror) as Sister Yvonne/Felicity, who has quite the journey, going from a nun to a hooker to a tent revival preacher!
Also, Duncan Fraser (Needful Things, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Odin on Supernatural) and Joy Coghill, who plays the gruff Sister Francesca, were both guest stars on the aforementioned X-Files and Stargate SG-1 and none other than the Cigarette Man himself, William B. Davis, has a brief cameo as a lawyer. Given that co-stars Don S. Davis also played Scully's father, and Megan Leitch played Mulder's beloved abducted sister, fans of The X-Files might enjoy this one more than the average viewer.
As with Damen: Omen II, this one ran into trouble, director-wise. It was initially directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard, who was coming off the also-iffy Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers and went on to mostly direct foreign films and TV-movies, after Hollywood proved not to his liking- or vice versa, for that matter. He flat-out quit the production after butting heads with Bernhard and others.
He was then replaced by Jorge Montesi, primarily a TV director, who was then best-known for directing episodes of Something is Out There, the rebooted Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Friday the 13th: The Series, Wiseguy and 21 Jump Street. Given the reception of this film, it was right back to episodic TV for him afterwards, though he did his fair share of TV movies as well, including the legendary (he said snarkily) Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?, for which all else is forgiven, lol.
Honestly, Omen IV: The Awakening isn't great, by any stretch of the imagination. Clearly, producer Bernhard was beating a dead horse at this point, and unfortunately, this would prove to be his final production, though he didn't die until 2014. (Strangely, he wasn't at all involved in the remake- perhaps it was a case of once bitten, twice shy?)
Even the stalwart Jerry Goldsmith knew enough to stay away from this stinker, though he did allow some of his themes (from the first and third films, respectively) to be used. I can't help but wonder if he would have signed off on it if he saw HOW they were used, especially in that ludicrous demonic choir sequence. Doing his best to fill his sizable shoes is Jonathan Sheffer, who's fine, but no Goldsmith.
To be fair, I did like the final shot, which cranes up into an overhead shot to show the pathway forming an upside-down cross- that was genuinely cool, even if it denies us the expected shot of Delia grinning at the camera, a la Damien in the first two entries. But who can blame Bernhard for trying to do his own thing? Even if the results are... well, this movie.
Oh well. At least it has a few effective sequences- the car accident, the snake handling scene, the nanny's plunge onto the merry-go-round, and the tail-end of the detective death, with the wrecking ball. The rest is suitably nut-bar, and admittedly bad movie nirvana, from Delia's Barbie munching to her causing a bully to wet his pants in front of a bunch of kids to her "shadowy aura" to the Rottweiler rescue and insane Psychic Faire (their spelling, but of course) scene. You win some, you lose some, I guess.
Join me next time for a look at the final big-screen entry, the 2006 remake, to be followed by a brief recap of the TV series and an overall wrap-up. See you then!
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