Typical horror sequel...

When Richard Donner crafted the prolific 1976 horror film The Omen it was met with a generally strong response from the critics, and enjoyed a profitable sum at the box office. The Omen was fundamentally a bunch of religious mumbo jumbo (based on the Book of Revelations) mixed with stellar acting, effective horror scenes and an interesting screenplay. The film was in particular and artistic triumph - boasting eye-catching production design and fascinating satanic images. Through my eyes the film was underwhelming, but interesting viewing nonetheless. The studio's decision to green-light a sequel was not an artistic choice...it's simply another question of how much money a sequel can reel in for the greedy studio heads.

Richard Donner was entrenched in his commitment to direct Superman when the script for Damien: The Omen II was busily being penned. Donner had no interest in returning for this instalment, and he would have no reason to return: the cliffhanger for the first film works because of the sense of never-ending terror. Hence, the audience are left to draw their own conclusions. Unfortunately with such a meaty cliffhanger and room for a sequel, the studio doesn't take the interpretation option: instead they select the sequel option as it means more money for them.

Damien: The Omen II opens a few days after the first film concluded. The purpose of the opening is to depict a dialogue scene that basically recaps the ending of the first film, and begin things with a bang. Fast-forward seven years and we find adolescent, 13-year-old Damien Thorn (Scott-Taylor) who's currently living with other relatives: Uncle Richard (Holden), Auntie Ann (Grant) and his cousin Mark (Donat). Damien has become a surprisingly successful young man considering what happened to him several years earlier. As the film opens, Damien and Mark are being sent to military school. This sequel is mainly concerned with Damien, the Antichrist, coming to terms with his unholy heritage and horrific destiny. Like the first film, the current guardians of the son of Satan begin suspecting things after freak occurrences that result in people getting maliciously killed or brutally injured. The stage is set for another fruitless string of events as people work to eliminate the satanic influences that are prominent in Damien's unhuman body.

Of course, we all know that more sequels are to come and hence the string of events all appear to be for absolutely nothing! Because of the nature of the film's conclusion, this whole second instalment is completely unnecessary and lacks most of the charm of the original. Also, now that other sequels to the film exist, we can predict what the outcome will be like. Let's see...the next film stars Damien and has no prime characters from this film included. Begin your theorising!

Damien: The Omen II has a few interesting aspects that redeem this theoretically useless sequel. The film poses a few interesting questions in relation to the Antichrist and his discovery of his heritage. The dialogue ably sets up the film for the initial few scenes before falling back into clichéd territory. That is, people who rant truthfully about Damien are going to be killed pretty soon. It doesn't take long for the outlandish and exceedingly gory death scenes to kick in. Composer Jerry Goldsmith contributes a foreboding score that establishes a terrifying atmosphere. Unfortunately, like most horror movies, this is a case of aiming for as much gore as possible instead of scares. There are a few effective horror scenes, but overall an insufficient amount. One of the film's most notable features is a few creative deaths like drowning under the ice, sliced in half, etc. This is reminiscent of the famous beheading scene featured in its predecessor.

Overall, Damien: The Omen II is an unnecessary sequel that lacks a certain charm. William Holden is the only veteran actor to find in the cast and, similar to Gregory Peck in the first film, comes off as dull and unexciting. This sequel may be useless, but it is competently made and occasionally is very spine-chilling despite some shortcomings in the screenplay. Sequel: The Final Conflict.

6.2/10