Sensing they had a big hit on their hands, 20th Century Fox almost immediately commissioned a sequel to The Omen. As per the ending of the reshoot they did at Alan Ladd Jr's insistence, screenwriter David Seltzer wanted to set it directly after the first one, with little Damien being adopted by the President of the United States himself and crazy, un-explainable things continuing to swirl around the seemingly innocent child.
Fox balked at this approach, instead wanting to cut to the chase somewhat and age Damien up in years. Not interested in this tack, and not wanting to be tied down to an ongoing franchise, Seltzer promptly dropped out of the project.
He would go on to modest success with movies like Prophecy, Lucas, Punchline, Bird on a Wire and Dragonfly, before begrudgingly returning to the franchise that made his name with the Omen remake in 2006. The original Omen, however, remains his most celebrated effort, much to his chagrin- and amusement, considering he was a gun for hire for the project.
The sequel suffered an even bigger blow when director Richard Donner, now a hot commodity, was hired on by Warner Brothers to do the big-budget Superman film, the first modern superhero movie, which would keep him occupied for years to come, as he went right into directing the sequel. (Although, as fans of that franchise know, he would later be fired himself and replaced by director Richard Lester... maybe there is an Omen curse after all?)
Wanting to remain a part of the series he created, producer Harvey Bernhard volunteered to write the story himself, suggesting they set it in high school, where Damien could be more actively- and believably- involved in what was going on. The studio, however, wanted to skew younger, wanting to milk the hopefully ongoing franchise for all it was worth.
Bernhard reluctantly agreed, setting the film in part at a military academy, with Damien starting the film around 12 and presumably turning 13 at some point- a suitably devilish number to end things on. Bernhard also wanted Damien to discover he was the Antichrist in the film, and rather than embracing it wholeheartedly, actually struggling with it considerably, almost as a more demonic version of dealing with puberty.
The studio signed off on the pitch, and Bernhard hired a new screenwriter, Stanley Mann (Firestarter, Conan the Destroyer), to flesh things out, collaborating with him to come up with suitably over-the-top death scenes and freaky scenarios, a la the first film. The famed "elevator" death scene was Bernhard's idea, for instance, which he plotted out meticulously.
With Donner out of the picture as well, director Mike Hodges was hired. Hodges was then best known for his two gritty films with Michael Caine, Get Carter (later remade with Sylvester Stallone) and Pulp, as well as the interesting sci-fi flick The Terminal Man. Unfortunately, Hodges was even more methodical than Bernhard, at one point taking an entire day of shooting to get a simple shot of a flag being raised! Unfortunately, Hodges had shot just enough footage that Bernhard couldn't get rid of it altogether, and re-shoot it from the ground up, so he was forced to use it anyway and edit it as best as he could.
The footage mostly takes place at the military academy, as well as the early bits with the Thorn family at their home, primarily the stuff with Sylvia Sidney, a Golden Age Hollywood actress who had been in Hitchcock's Sabotage and Fritz Lang's Fury, though younger audiences probably know her better for her role in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice. Hodges also shot the memorable opening sequence, featuring the lone returnee from the original film, Leo McKern, reprising his role as Bugenhagen- albeit not for long.
Hodges was given a story credit for his contributions, and Don Taylor, a former actor and longtime friend of star William Holden, with a reputation for bringing in films on time and within the given budget, was hired instead. (Hodges would go on to do the cult favorite Flash Gordon in the early 80's.) As a director, Taylor was best known for directing Escape from the Planet of the Apes, 1973's version of Tom Sawyer and the 1977 version of The Island of Dr. Moreau.
With that taken care of, the production carried on in earnest, and was indeed brought in on time and on budget, in spite of the hiccups. The film was given approximately twice the budget of the original, around 4 million, though a good 2 million more was spent on marketing the film and securing the talents of composer Jerry Goldsmith for a second go-round, which Bernhard felt was essential to the original film's success, and thus worth the more inflated, post-Oscar price he got the second time around.
Luckily for Bernhard, Goldsmith proved worth the extra effort, as he came up with a much more elaborate score for the film this time, complete with freaky choral effects and strange electronic sound designs. Interestingly, to keep costs down for the soundtrack album, the complete score was re-recorded in the UK, as it would have cost more to do it in the States, as the orchestra would have had to been paid their full fee twice because of an arcane, long since-discontinued rule.
As a result, the version of the score on the film and the one on the soundtrack are noticeably different, with the soundtrack one more overtly dynamic, if not necessarily better, though I imagine that's a matter of personal opinion. Lucky for completists, both versions have since been made available on CD in a Deluxe Edition, so you can make that decision for yourselves. Unfortunately, some of the tracks were warped in storage and unusable, so technically, even the Deluxe Edition is somewhat incomplete.
On a side note, those of my readers that are fans of the metal band Iron Maiden will be delighted to know that one of their signature tunes, "The Number of the Beast," was inspired by this movie. Bassist/songwriter Steve Harris saw the movie and had nightmares about it, directly leading him to compose the song, complete with an intro taken directly from The Bible, just as The Omen was known for. Fun fact: Originally, the intro was to be read by cult icon Vincent Price, but he wanted too much money, so they used someone else instead!
In addition to the aforementioned cast, the film is also notable for sort-of reuniting two original Avengers- no, not the Marvel team of the same name, but rather the cult classic 60's British TV show later remade as an American movie with Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes. Actor Ian Hendry, who plays Bugenhagen's ill-fated companion in the opening scene, was, in fact, the original lead on the show before it changed direction and made former sidekick John Steed (Patrick Macnee) the lead after Henry opted to leave before the show's second season to pursue a big-screen career.
Meanwhile, actress Elizabeth Shepherd (The Tomb of Ligeia), who plays reporter Joan Hart, a heretofore unmentioned former friend of the photographer played by David Warner in the first film, was the original Emma Peel, before relative unknown Diana Rigg took over the role and rode it and her legendary leather catsuit to huge stardom. Though Henry and Shepherd don't actually have any scenes together, I still thought it was interesting enough to mention.
Another well-known actor featured in the film was Lew Ayres, another old friend of Holden's, as he also plays in the film as Bill Atherton, the senior manager at Thorn Industries, who is wary of relative newcomer Paul Buher's iffy methods and pays the price for it. Ayres was Oscar-nominated for the movie Johnny Belinda, played Dr. Kildare in no less than nine movies and was also in the film adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front. This would prove to be his final film, though he did go on to do the TV-Miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot.
As Paul Buher, we have Robert Foxworth, who, somewhat ironically, would go on to work with OG Omen screenwriter David Seltzer on the eco-horror movie Prophecy, which some of you might remember from the giant mutant killer bear that once graced the cover of a memorable issue of Fangoria. Foxworth also played Dr. Frankenstein in the 1973 version of the tale, by TV's Dan Curtis, of Dark Shadows fame.
He went onto to become a TV regular throughout the 80's onward, notably on Falcon Crest and lots of sci-fi, including several appearances on multiple versions of Star Trek (Deep Space Nine and Enterprise), Babylon Five and Stargate SG-1. He's also the voice of Ratchet in the Transformers films!
Another face no doubt familiar to genre fans is that of noted character actor Lance Henriksen, as Sgt. Neff, the military man that serves as Damien's watchdog at the academy, in lieu of a real one. Though he doesn't get much of a showcase here, as his part was shortened down considerably from page to screen, he would certainly go onto much success, appearing in such notable movies as The Right Stuff, The Terminator, several films in the Alien series (as the android Bishop), Near Dark, Pumpkinhead, Man's Best Friend, Scream 3, and as the lead in X-Files creator Chris Carter's underrated Millennium series.
As the second wife of Holden's Richard Thorn, Ann, there's the excellent Lee Grant, who's in one of my all-time favorite movies, Valley of the Dolls, alongside then-future Manson victim Sharon Tate. After getting an Oscar nod for her debut role in 1951's Detective Story, Grant's career took a hit when she refused to testify against her husband, who was accused of being affiliated with the Communist party, resulting in her getting blacklisted in the industry.
Fortunately, she was later removed from the list and resumed her career, though it cost her her husband, as the two divorced in 1960. She was in the TV version of Peyton Place for a few years, then returned to the big screen for the classic Dolls, Shampoo and In the Heat of the Night.
However, genre fans likely know her better for her more horrific efforts, which include The Spell, The Swarm, Visiting Hours and a small role in David Lynch's spectacular Mulholland Drive. She's really great here, as the wife more devoted to Damien than she is her husband. Naturally, there's a reason for that- note the whole "second wife" thing.
Many have commented- spoiler alert for those who haven't seen it- upon the fact that her character is killed in the end, in spite of being pretty clearly on Team Damien. There's a great fan theory that explains this involving her character representing the Whore of Babylon in the film- note her reaction to a statue of it when she sees it in a slideshow and is told the story, in which the Whore, who is shown riding the "Desolate One," perished in a fire and was burned to death.
Going by this theory, this scene is both an indication of her destiny- a foreshadowing of how she will die- and a hint that she is there to look out for Damien and will pay the price for it, even if she does her job, which she obviously does.
Another great theory posits several characters in the film as representing the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, with Damien as the Conqueror on the white horse, Sgt. Neff as the rider on the red horse, representing War; Paul Buher as the rider of the black horse, representing Famine (note his devious plot to control the populace of a Third-World country via having control over their food); and the ever-present black raven as Death.
Getting back to the cast, the film also features the motion picture debut of Meshach Taylor, as the Doctor who finds out something he shouldn't about Damien's blood and meets with the film's most awe-inspiring death, the infamous elevator scene. Taylor appeared in such genre fan favorites as The Howling, The Beast Within, Explorers and Warning Sign, before hitting the big time in the 80's with the one-two punch of the Mannequin films and the long-running TV-show Designing Women.
Other notable cast members include Nicholas Pryor (Airplane!, Risky Business, The Hunger Games- Mockingjay, Part One) as Charles Warren, who warns Charles Thorn about Damien and catches a runaway train to death; and Allan Arbus (Putney Swope, Coffy, TV's MASH), as the doctor who finds out a little more than he should about Buher's dastardly plot and pays the price via chemical asphyxiation.
Rounding out the cast are newcomers Lucas Donat as Mark, Richard Thorn's son from a previous marriage; and Jonathan Scott-Taylor as the titular Damien. Though neither would go on to much, acting-wise, Donat later became a leading ad exec for various companies, including eHarmony, LegalZoom and Hotwire and is the Chief Brand Officer of TrueCar.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian-born Taylor, who was also in the teen musical Bugsy Malone (with Jodie Foster) and the Emmy-nominated TV-movie The Four Feathers prior to this film, did a few more TV shows and movies, including the film Shadey, the BBC miniseries The Mill on the Floss and the show Triangle, before he dropped out of the business in the late 80's and became a lawyer in the UK.
It's too bad, as both show early promise as actors, effectively capturing the angst of both being middle-school aged, a topic rarely covered in film, and the insanity of their given situation. On a personal note, as my name is Mark, I was also more emotionally connected to the material- at one point, they even sing "Happy Birthday" to Mark! (Note also, in a neat bit of foreshadowing, when Mark cuts the cake, he does so on the part of it representing an icy lake, just before someone dies on it.)
As such, I was fairly invested in the film in a way I might not have been otherwise, even though I readily admit the first film is far superior. As a kid, though, I definitely related to this one more, and not just because of the Mark thing, but because I right around the right age of the two pre-teen characters when I saw it.
Truth be told, there are a lot of missed opportunities here. In addition to the film not exploring the dynamic between Mark and Damien more and Damien's struggle to come to terms with who he is and making that more of the focus, instead of the goings-on within Richard Thorn's company and family and the like, the movie also whiffs many of the suspense sequences to boot.
For instance, the death of Sylvia Sidney's character is pretty meh- she literally just sees a crow and keels over dead!- and the Allan Arbus character simply chokes on chemical gas fumes. Compare that to scenes in which no one even dies in the original, i.e. the baboon and dog attack scenes and the scene where Damien's parents try to take him to church, and you can see what I mean. The first film is just way more intense and on a much more consistent level- it's literally one impressive set-piece after another. It's here where the sequel most desperately misses the touch of former screenwriter David Seltzer.
That said, the set-pieces that are well-thought-out are indeed impressive and total show-stoppers. The opening sequence is appropriately claustrophobic and sets up the film nicely. The crow attack on the reporter is an intense homage to Hitchcock's The Birds, even going so far as to use that film's bird trainer for maximum effect, and would only be topped by Dario Argento's even more spectacular crow-abetted scene in Opera.
It and the elevator scene are easily the most graphic and oft-censored scenes in the film. I also quite enjoyed the train scene, though it could have gone a little further, gore-wise, and been even more fantastic. It's hard not to watch these films and think of the later Final Destination series, which would also hinge themselves on elaborate, graphic Rube Goldberg-ian deaths.
Another impressively-shot scene is the one at the ice hockey game, which is just remarkable. As producer Bernhard points out in the commentary, both a stunt man and a camera-man had to actually go under the ice to get the necessary shots- this was obviously pre-CGI- which results in a scene that's tantamount to watching a car wreck happen in real time and being unable to look away. You want to help, but what can you- or anyone else, for that matter- do? It's an intense scene for sure, and the movie could have used a few more of them.
Still, when all is said and done, this was a more than worthy sequel to the original, with plenty of great scenes to make up for the slow spots. I particularly dug the stuff with Damien at the school, like the scene where he confronts the bully, Darth Vader-style, and almost chokes him to death, and the one where he snaps off every answer to the questions his professor gives him in rapid succession. Who among us hasn't wished they could do that?
In addition, you've got that hilarious, if brief, bit where Damien, after winning an award, totally macks on several young girls, with a pimp-friendly funk score on the soundtrack, no less. The Antichrist is a boss with the ladies! Who knew? I'm sure I wasn't alone in wishing I could make THAT happen, either, lol.
Though the ending is a bit rushed and somewhat abrupt, it does have one solid twist (the thing with Lee Grant's character), and, of course, that final evil look at the camera by Damien that closes out the movie, a direct call-back to the original. Though admittedly uneven, it's a worthy successor to The Omen and nothing to be ashamed about.
Unfortunately, the film only made about $26 million at the box office, which, while not at all a bad return investment on a $6 million-ish budget, was definitely a come-down from the $60 million gross of the first film. As such, it effectively curtailed Fox's original plans for an ongoing series of films, though it made just enough to justify at least a final installment, albeit at roughly around the same budget, which prevented Bernhard from going as all-out as he might have liked.
All told, though, I really enjoyed the film this go-round, and was surprised at how much of an impact it made on me, especially reflecting back on the state of mind I was in when I first saw it. It's cool when a film can take you back to a particular time in your past and make you remember what was going on in your life and how it affected you personally, and I don't think I realized how much the film meant to me back then until re-watching it now, as an adult.
As I mentioned in the last review, the original had me reading religious texts and various books on the subject at an early age, and this one really drove that home for me in a big way, thanks to the addition of a character closer to my age at the time named Mark, which made for a more personal connection with the film back then, when I first saw it in the 80's.
As such, even if it is an imperfect film, it does hold a special place in my heart, like films we saw as kids often do, even if they don't hold up as well as we might have hoped. But would the next film in the series impact me as much as this one? Tune in Friday to find out, as I tackle The Final Conflict! 👿
No comments:
Post a Comment