Damien: Omen II

"Damien Omen II" should of been in reality the third film in the "Omen Series". The producers for some reason decided to age up Damien which proved problematic for this film.

David Seltzer, who wrote the first film's screenplay, was asked by the producers to write the second. Seltzer refused as he had no interest in writing sequels. Years later, Seltzer commented that had he written the story for the second Omen, he would have set it the day after the first movie, with Damien a child living in The White House. With Seltzer turning down Omen II, producer Harvey Bernhard duly outlined the story himself, and Stanley Mann was hired to write the screenplay.

This film is a little slow. The original director (Mike Hodge) was replaced. Now how much material that he shot that ended up in the final film is unknown to me.

This film main problem is that there is almost no element of surprise discovery for the audience. The death scenes however are still effective (Even to this day) and it does scare you but not as much as the original did.

The film is worth watching because the film is has Adult Actors that know how to act.

If you liked the first installment, you probably will like Damien-Omen II. It still has the creepiness involved in the first movie and the theme of good vs. evil. But like the first Omen movie, it is quite predictable. Some of the kill scenes are good though, especially the elevator scene.

Take a shot and rent this one. Just don't expect to see a classic.

I'm an avid fan of the original "Omen". I think it was everything that "The Exorcist" is made out to be by fans and critics all over the world: thrilling, intriguing and incredibly creepy. With it's apocalyptic open ending a second part could only take away from the original's ending.

The truth is, "Damien: Omen II" is by no means as bad as it could have been. Sure, the excitement and the perfect structure of the original aren't there. Basically, this plays out like an early ancestor of the "Final Destination"-franchise. Characters become aware of who Damien is and from this point on we know they're doomed and anticipate their gruesome death. Most of all the movie is muddled with bad character development. Lance Henriksen's character, for instance, is never elaborated on. It doesn't make him any more mysterious, it just feels incomplete.

A good portion of the movie is spent with nothing much going on except for a few people dying around Damien while he just keeps on living a completely normal life unaware of who he his. Then, all of a sudden everything happens way too quickly. Damien finds out about his destiny and immediately accepts it. The same goes for his father, who is infuriated at first when someone suggests that his son might be Satan's spawn, only to accept that fact shortly afterwards. The final climax and ending arrive just as quickly leaving you wondering why the whole thing was so unbalanced.

Still, as long as it's running "Damien: Omen II" doesn't fail to entertain. Like every "Omen"-movie up to and including "The Final Conflict" this one has this nice 70's UK-flair that you can get lost in for a few hours on homey evenings in front of the television. It may not be enough to make the series go down in history as one of the best, but these movies are all very watchable in one sitting, making this one of the most coherent franchises of the horror genre.

One more example that a sequel can be the equal, or even better sometimes, than the original, the first opus. Here it is exactly the case. Richard Donner was busy elsewhere with SUPERMAN filming, so Don Taylor was hired, after Mike Hodges left, to direct this one. Former actor Taylor proved he was a good film maker with ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF APES, another sequel of a not less excellent series, and so the result is here. I felt excatly the same joy and pleasure, excitement with this one, as for the previous stuff: Richard Donner's movie. Production design, acting, directing, editing, special effects, overall atmosphere are absolutely the same, if not maybe a bit better. William Holden as comfortable as Gregory Peck two years before. I think the EXORCIST sequel - during the same period, late seventies - was a bit different from the William Friedkin's first opus of the franchise. But Boorman's film was certainly not less interesting, just different. A simple smart declination of the genuine material. Here, I repeat, the difference between the two features is very very thin, IF there is a difference. Watch out for the elevator and train sequences, scenes that could have inspired FINAL DESTINATION films series....

Damien:Omen 2 is a very enjoyable sequel to The Omen in my opinion the first is better but i did enjoy this also. This film was released in 1978 2 years after the first and it tells the story of Damien the Anti-Christ who is now age 12 he is starting to understand his duty in the line of Satan whilst a strange crow eliminates any people who know his real identity and are seen enemies in the eyes of Satan. This film is not the best in the Omen series but it is a very watchable film, it isn't a film that will bore you to death and it isn't a film that will keep you on the end of your seat for 100 minutes but i do recommend it to the people who are interested in these films it is a clever entry in the omen franchise

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