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I love the idea of introducing the antichrist as a child. The ambiguity of Damien's powers and the fact that he barely appears or really does anything in the first movie is a kickass reflection of what I personally think is scary about all children -- kids don't know anything about society and their brains develop the "civilized" parts last, making them able to see through societal bullshit but also kind of little psychopaths. IMO the effect gets worse the more we learn about Damien as a character, because the point should be the adults' uneasiness around him and their discomfort with lack of control. Damien himself isn't as important as the nihilism and doom he represents to the adults.
always was intrigued and horrified by the concept of the antichrist if like jesus it will have any choice to follow its destiny or not. or if like we fear the antichrist is predetermined and unable to ever stray from the path of darkness nor even be able too. either way the antichrist will forever be the perfect representations of all mans faults and how they damage all of us. the only fictional antichrist ive seen take a more postive path is definitly Charlie from Hazbin Hotel.
That cemetary scene is so awesome. The first sequel was passable, the third... Well it had Sam Neil, I guess. The less said about the remake the better.
@@FFKonoko It's not missing out. The fourth didn't have anything to do with Damien and was just... Really really bad. The only reason I saw it was because it was included in the boxed set I have of them.
@@LucyLioness100 Honestly, as skeptical as I am regarding so many of these "film curses", it is hard to deny there were tons of weird incidents involving the film. However, the 70's were also incredibly turbulent.
@@theunbearablejuan indeed. I believe they were mainly pure accidental circumstances & not really the whole “curse” thing. If someone does believe that Satan was messing with the production, that’s their choice 🙂
OTOH, it feels like an absolute crime that this was the only movie Jerry Goldsmith ever won an Oscar for. Nominated *eighteen times* and only won once.
@Monique Foto The Oscars have specific preferences, that doesn't mean they have no credibility, it just means that they're geared toward a certain type of movie, or at least geared away from certain other types. That's fine by me; the committee is human, humans have limitations, and they still tend to reward top-tier cinematic achievements for the most part, even if a lot gets left out.
Ryan didn't mention it but the dad secretly adopts Damien and doesn't tell his wife. She has no idea her baby died and that Damien isn't her biological child. (Whaa??) The hospital chaplain tells him that they just happen to have a baby whose mother died in childbirth so they can do a swaparoo. He just didn't mention that she was a jackal.
@DisappointingPorn There's a theory I keep hearing, tying "The Omen" to "Rosemary's Baby". While compelling and cool, it's also sad, because it's a clear indication that the people who believe it haven't actually seen the former. The idea was that, though Rosemary couldn't go through with killing her own child, she also couldn't stomach the idea of raising the Anti-Christ. So, evading the Satanists in her building, she abandons the baby at a hospital far enough away from their clutches, and she takes her own life immediately after leaving the grounds of said hospital. Looking back, part of me wishes that both films' producers had decided to go with a similar linked plot. (10/27/2022)
The most memorable thing the 2006 one has aside from early 2000s gore is that it played up the 06/06/2006 theatrical date SO MUCH at the time. It seemed like that was everywhere that summer.
I’ll say this it was shot well. One I remember from that is the dog with the nanny. The cinematography displayed it almost like a painting in some scenes.
Having *totally* forgotten that Sam Neill played the adult Damien in The Omen III, seeing him pop-up in this video, especially pre-Jurassic Park, was a bit of a jump-scare if I'm being honest. 😆😈
@@oops6876 RIIIIIIGGHHT, I knew there was a Sam Neill movie from somewhere in the 80's that I was forgetting when I wrote my comment! I've never watched Possession but I *have* heard and seen clips of it circulating around, so maybe I will now, thanks for the recommend. 😉
@@mohamadafifazizizaidi5625 Oh yes of course, mainly I was referring to how surprising it was for me to see him associated with the Omen. Haven't see EH but I *have* watched ITMOM a few times.
There were a few evil children in movies before this like The Bad Seed or Village of the Damned. It's a shame The Omen is being forgotten because I think it fits nicely in a trifecta with The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby.
I do like "Omen 3: The Final Conflict" and Damian losing at the end because, well, the Bible literally said he was going to lose. He even quotes his foretold doom at the beginning of the film, confident that knowing events beforehand as well as the people who were sent out to stop him gives him an edge. When he was little and had no control over his power he defeated everyone that threatened him, but now that he's a grown man and knows what his purpose in life is and who his enemies are, he should be absolutely invincible. Right??? Damian miscalculating his love interest being the one to do him in shows that no one, not even him, cam escape their destiny. Damian was foretold to get within a hair's breadth of total victory and achieve world domination but collapse right at the finish line. And, as prepared as he was to face his adversaries, he still fell, just as he himself foretold.
I barely remember the Omen Trilogy from when I saw it a long time ago, but there was a part in Omen 2 that sticks with me. When Damien finds out what he is, there’s a scene following it where he appears genuinely upset by the revelation. It was the one time the series portrayed him has himself caught up in a fate he did not control or have the ability to reject.
Love the Twilight Zone reference at the beginning of this video. An all-powerful psychopathic child is so scary. "You're a bad man. You're a very bad man!"
theres a whole game series based of this movie where you play as said antichrist child and its really fun and really shows how terrfying the antichrist would be as 99 percent of people cant do a thing to them.
I knew that Good Omens does parody the movie, but I've never watched it, so seeing just how much of it made it into Good Omens is really interesting - and yes, of course also funny.
Watched this quite young, remember really liking it. I hated the nanny, she scared the fuck out of me. Her encouragement of Damian's evilness freaked me out, I think because that question of nature vs nurture. Its why I liked reading Good Omen's because it left it up to him to choose after having normal childhood. I also liked the stories of him grown up and dealing with this legacy.
I was obsessed with this series when i was a kid (maybe cause i was brought up in a very religious household, and the concept of the Antichrist was hella interesting to me)..just rewatched it 2 months ago, could say it def didn't hold up that well
The Omen is my favorite horror movie. It's so quotable and dramatic and underappreciated. I love how it presents the nature of Damien as secondary and how much it is about the hubris of a shitty husband not consulting his wife enough with parenting decisions and listening only to other people's counsel when evil has already taken hold of their doomed lives.
I never actually watched the movie myself but my dad did as a kid. So he told me the story when he was home all alone, while my grandmother was giving birth in the hospital. He watched the movie and got so scared that he barricaded the entire house. I can only imagine how terrified he was when my grandmother came home with a little baby. XD
Ikr, thank you. I'm just watching this out of curiosity. I might not watch it all. I already know dude doesn't know wtf he's talking abt. I'm 54, I remember when this came out. I was a kid when the 1rst one came out. The Omen was huge. The Omen & the Exorcist were the biggest horror films of the 70's.
I just love the atmosphere in the original film. I also love how every time they give you any information it just makes everything look creepier. How megiddo means armageddon making the daggers sound like powerful artifacts or how the cemetery is etruscan making it look ancient and not Christian
I read the book Good Omens by Prattchet&Gaiman as a preteen and had no idea how closely it was following and poking fun at The Omen (down to the name!) until I was older and realised mid first watch of the movie that it seemed Very Familiar ! It's so interesting how much this series permeated pop culture
I honestly found this really interesting. I loved your description of the sequels. I know apparently they're bad but I honestly think the premise sounds like it'd work: Damien being conditioned by the adults to follow in their footsteps of continuing environmental destruction for their own selfish greed, thus making it the adult world that dooms itself by passing down this knowledge to the next generation and encouraging them to follow. Idk I feel there's a solid premise in there.
I've only seen the original and I had no idea Sam Neil is the ACTUAL ANTICHRIST in the third one. He just seems to gravitate towards movies with apocalyptic shenanigans and I love it.
The Omen sequels are epic compared to the mess of the Exorcist sequels and prequels Only #3 was any good and that's because it was based on Blatty's actual sequel Legion
The highlights I remembered about 2 were man perms galore, and the old lady caseworker from Beetlejuice plays a spinster aunt who gets murdered. (I love her.) And 3 was just Sam Neil wearing vests for 2 hours. The Omen 4 was cheap Canadian made for TV dreck with a girl devilspawn. The original had a great ending, and I think it would have been just fine to leave it there.
Always a fan of Patrick Troughton's role as the priest. I was introduced to him, and I assume a lot of people were, through Doctor Who - so seeing his range of being the cosmic hobo to a troubled, ignored priest is a treat.
Mine was opposite. I saw The Omen when I was 10. Didn’t start watching DW till about 19, and was completely shocked at the fact that the 2nd Doctor was the heroin addicted ex cult member Priest
After a prolific career as a TV director, "The Omen" was Richard Donner's breakout feature, followed by "Superman", "Ladyhawk", "The Goonies", "Lethal Weapon", and "Scrooged".
I remember there also being a TV series that was on Fox before the buy out that had the premise of retconning the sequels and instead focus on having the conflict be Damian deciding if he actually wants to be the Anti-Christ or not. It sounded like it was doing okay but didn't have the numbers to keep it going for more than one season.
The first movie was great. I think it’s funny how they built up the whole 7 daggers, and him needing to be killed in a church thing. In the second movie it’s like they discarded the idea that it needed to be done in a church, and in the third they discarded the idea that he needed to be killed with all daggers 😂
ah, the omen trilogy... some of the first horror movies baby me watched on tv while my grandparents were babysitting me but basically left me alone and thus had no idea what i was watching. good times
The Omen II is greatly underrated as a sequel. The Omen III is the ultimate "what could have been" if Richard Donner had returned to direct it, as he wanted. Sam Neill, with supporting casting choices by Donner and a good budget, would have been a terrific movie to end the trilogy.
I think what makes these movies hit home so much is that a lot of people in the world are parents or have a little brothers & sisters! The thought of what if something is wrong with my child or sibling wether it be a demon /devil or something else wrong scares us alone!
The 70s was an interesting time for horror films. It was interesting seeing the clash between conservative and liberal values and films like The Exorcist and The Omen and The Amityville Horror reflect those changes
Favorite one. The teenage Damien was having a time with it, and when he killed Mark he was the only one to offer to take Mark with him. Which in a way, is sweet. 😛
I've watched this film once or twice as a teen and this is one of those films that I have NEVER forgotten. There's really something so ominous about it all and the horror around the whole movie leaves you strapped to your seat and speechless. This movie is a MUST see for anyone who loves horror.
I still stand by my feeling that the bird and semi truck killing that reporter in part 2 is one of the best unintentionally funny moments in the horror genre
Glad you’re (hopefully) feeling better and more creatively inspired! Have you ever read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman? It’s a really clever parody of The Omen written by two very witty authors. I would definitely recommend it if you haven’t read it or watched the show.
To your point of Damien having little screentime despite being set up as the supernatural big bad - in the first film, Damien doesn't have supernatural powers... at least, none that he uses. It's the malevolent forces of hell, sometimes invisible and sometimes personified as the nanny or the dogs, that are protecting Damien and causing all of the carnage. Damien's time hasn't come yet. The most Damien ever does is ride his tricycle into his mum, pushing her off a bannister, and even that scene is set up as if his trike is being guided somehow.
I love the Omen movies, for the sheer 1970s-1980s of them all. Some of the scenes are great, especially in the first one: the hanging nanny, the church and animal park scenes, and my fave, the tricycle attack. And Sam Neill is devilishly gorgeous.
Glad to see another video! I enjoyed The Omen. It works thanks to Gregory Peck's convincing performance. I didn't care for the other two films. In The Omen, Damien doesn't actually kill anybody. The babysitter sets him up to cause his mother's accident. There's a sense of invisible forces driving the story, and a child who cannot help his own nature or the things that happen around him just because he is what he is. "Good Omens" took that concept and ran away with it.
I thought that Damien had a human mother aside from Satan, but in reality it was a symbolic jackal. The first film is legitimately iconic, the nanny hanging herself, the priest impalement, Damien's origin, and the ending are the most memorable scenes in The Omen. To this day, Hollywood makes unnecessary sequels because money.
I actually really like the remake. It manages to create some genuinely creepy moments and disturbing imagery. Liev Schreiber does a great job at making you feel for the father.
Idk I'm a parent and I'm oddly amused at how much my kid looked like Damien when he was younger, the fact that one of our friends unprovoked called him the antichrist and pledged allegiance to him, and the fact we literally couldn't walk by a church in the way to school when he was in kindergarten or he'd start screaming and try to run across the road away from it. But I mean he's either the antichrist or he's not, not much I can do about that one lol
Random trivia - my godfather was the Vicar of the church where young Damian freaked out in the car. Utterly irrelevant I know but always makes me smile when I watch this movie lol
Honestly I really like the whole trilogy, the timelines messed up and the third one especially have a very disappointing ending but I’d say they’re a fun watch, surprisingly I’d say 2 is probably the most interesting since it’s all about Damien unsure on what he wants to be
I talk about The Omen ALL THE TIME. Maybe it’s because I was raised Catholic, but I’ve always loved the movie since my parents weirdly allowed me to watch it as a 4 year old. It was one of the first movies to spark my lifelong love of the spooky and horror movies. I used to laugh at the part where the one character gets his head cut off and it spins because I suppose, I too am the child of the devil lmao The original Omen (wasn’t a big fan of the 2006 remake and don’t remember much about it besides the very prominent use of red as a motif for evil) is definitely underrated. The nanny scene at the birthday party? Iconic.
I liked the beginning of the Omen remake (when they are explaining the signs in the Vatican), the rest you can keep. The original was the creepiest yo!😵💫
11:12 Damien's true form is probably a human jackal hybrid which is why animals fear him because they see what he really looks like and can sense his evil.
After rewatching the original on Disney+, it still holds up for its effective horror. And i guess at least Fox was planning to make a new Omen movie with Disney continuing production with it.
I remember the music being horrific, and the large black bird attacking the reporter in part 2 as particularly scary. Nevertheless, the original Omen was actually quite sad, because the Thorns seemed like such good people (even sadder when realizing it's Atticus Finch!)
I remember being so mad when I was younger that Damien died at the end of 3, and demanding that it didn't make sense because 'the dagger can kill him, but they didn't say it had to do it by itself, it's not even a deep stab!' That was the beginning of me yelling at horror movie characters
Nice video! And speaking of underrated and forgotten horror flicks, I’m surprised you haven’t touched on ‘The Serpent and the Rainbow’ yet. No one’s made any good video about that movie on here and it has such a unique premise that really hasn’t been done again since, at least not in the way that Wes Craven approached it.
What I like about Omen is, not only it gave us one of the best creepy kids concept there is, but it also explored it in later films. In part 3 in particular, Damien was appointed not only for the US Ambassador, but also for the President of the Youth Advisory Board in UN. That gave Damien an opportunity to turn many teenagers and kids into his disciples. And later in the films those disciples of kids and teenagers took part into massive kids slaughter in whole Britain. That's actually one of the most unsettling, yet memorable parts of the third film.
I remember first watching clips of this on a "Haunted Hollywood" video in the 1980s. I really like the mystery of Damien's Origin. Plus, I was happy Father Brennan was the 2nd Doctor. The 2nd and 3rd films were fine. The 2006 remake was soulless in the bad way.
While I knew of this movie through cultural osmosis, I didn't realize how much it influenced one of my favorite books Good Omens, to the point where I definitely think it was intentional on Gaiman and Prachett's part. Awesome video as always!
Have you looked into American exploitation horror like Last House on The Left and I Spit on Your Grave? Also, I still highly recommend The Changeling (1980) which is still one of the best haunting movies out there.
Sam Neill playing adult Damien is really fun because it immediately reminds me of Possession 1981, which unlike the Omen series actually has the balls to end on a proper apocalypse.
As someone who doesn’t like to watch horror movies but finds them interesting, hence watching your well crafted analysis of these movies, watching this makes me want to rewatch Good Omens. The show is good without the context of The Omen, but knowing *just* how much it riffs and parodies the film adds much better context
The first one was very scary. I watched all 3 but it’s the only one that I really remembered very much. I wish the concepts in the sequels were as troubling as the first.
Except there is 4 films before the remake..? I'm so confused by everyone talking about it being a trilogy and all 3 films, but there's 4, and then the remake.
I remember as a teen being genuinely scared when the remake released on June 6th 2006. I have a brother 2 years my junior and having him just entering his teens and suddenly being an allround little shit maybe made the thought of demon kids hit a little closer to home ^^; Lovely video, thanks for your insight!
If you’ve never seen the Exorcist sequels, or if you have, I’d love to hear your thoughts! It’s so surprising they have one perfect sequel among the awful rest of them
It would be interesting to have a full vid on the Exorcist sequels; the third one is actually pretty good though I wish we had the true version that Blatty made
I never noticed Final Destination 3 stole it's photographs foreshadowing deaths from here lol I've been hoping to see your analysis of The Omen for awhile now. Glad you did it! Great look at this classic horror (and its sequels)!
I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining The Omen was. It’s not the best horror film (Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist clearly have it beat in the “parenting an evil child” trope) but I enjoyed it. As a parent, the film definitely has more weight than if I had seen it before having my kid. Small children can be creepy as hell (when my son was a baby, I’d be feeding him at night in the dark and he’d suddenly sit up straight and start whispering gibberish fervently as if he was having an intense conversation with someone else I couldn’t see. I’d try to get his attention but he’d ignore me until he relaxed and simply took his bottle. 😳) Have you covered Rosemary’s Baby? I’d also enjoy you reviewing Peter Jackson’s horror films like Dead Alive.
I used to watch the Omen, the Omen II and Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter every Christmas because some movie channel played them at every year for some reason. The bird going after the lady in the car in Omen II was always just as dinner started
It's hilarious that everyone's so terrified of Damien, yet he does absolutely nothing wrong and is just a normal toddler. Even the part where he knocks his mother over the ledge with his tricycle is clearly an accident. Yet his mother basically abandons him, his father tries to murder him, and like 3 other people want him dead. The only person who tries to protect Damien is the psycho nanny.
Getting Gregory Peck to play the lead was a coup in casting. He had so much screen presence and he acts his butt off in this film. Mrs. Baylock is a creepy AF supporting villain. RIP David Warner (Jennings the photographer).
Hmmm...the 2nd installment was actually my favorite of the trilogy. Because Damien is seen shredding his innocence and accepting then embracing who he truly is, as you said in the video. Also, you do not know who to trust in the 2nd film. Anyone can be a disciple of Damien;s, as we saw.
I grew up with this movie in the 70s. It really is the perfect horror masterpiece. I always wanted to know more about Father Brennan’s role. He said he was there when Damien was born and needed repentance. I guess I could read the novel. Never got into the sequels. The atmosphere was like a made for TV 80s movie.
I've honestly never watched any of The Omen films but like you said, I've seen satire and other media mocking it. My grandparents loved this film bc of Gregory Peck and they enjoyed 70s horror.
watching the omen when i was 11 or 12 has ingrained a VISCERAL fear of driving behind trucks carrying sheets of glass in me. even in my mid twenties i absolutely cannot stand driving being a pickup truck that has window glass on it, despite knowing its not going anywhere.
You gotta watch the Eli Roth history of horror documentarys they go category by category an 1 of them was demonic devil children... It has the actual people that were involved in the making of the films or actors that were in it an give their thoughts opinions and what it all means definitely should check it out if u love horror history!
The Jerry Goldsmith score should count as it's own character. If there was any ambiguity about Damien's true nature, it's smashed every time Ave Satani swells on the soundtrack.
Speaking as a parent, the Idea that my children are actually evil and must be destroyed is unspeakably ugly to me. Movies like this, rosemarys baby, and pet sematary, scare the hell out of me.
I barely recognised Sam Neill, I'm not sure I've ever seen him so young. He's aged very well, lines of distinction helping define his face. Great actor.
They could've gone in such a different direction with that fourth movie. Damien's girlfriend in "The Final Conflict" realizes his true nature AFTER they've slept together. When the powers that be decided to make a fourth film, they could've wrote it that she'd become pregnant and died in childbirth, like the hospital chaplain claimed that Damien's biological mother did in the first movie. HER child, a daughter, like the fourth film actually had, would've then become the new Anti-Christ. (10/27/2022)
This idea of a pregnancy by damien before his partial defeat was explored on a fourth and fifth novel written long before that horrible TV part 4 we originally got. The original concept was for 7 theatrical releases before fox decided to go with the more uplifting conclusion we got in three.
Writing this comment with sending you the love that you finally got. The First Omen is possibly one of the best horror movies ever made and i pray we get the trilogy we always deserved
I liked the fact that it ended with Jesus and His second coming. It is the mirror of Damiens life, no matter how Damien and Satan mechanized things humans and good will win. Damien's power drained as soon as Jesus appeared. Also, it is to show that however insidious something is, perserverance and faith will correct it. It is the infinite good as opposed to the devil's finite power.
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Cover your head in the presence of rain.
Cover "Wind Chill" it's a horror movie with Emily Blunt
cover ravenous with guy pierce please
Also cover barbarian, it is a modern day classic
Isn't it a quadrilogy not a trilogy
4 the awakening
I love the idea of introducing the antichrist as a child. The ambiguity of Damien's powers and the fact that he barely appears or really does anything in the first movie is a kickass reflection of what I personally think is scary about all children -- kids don't know anything about society and their brains develop the "civilized" parts last, making them able to see through societal bullshit but also kind of little psychopaths. IMO the effect gets worse the more we learn about Damien as a character, because the point should be the adults' uneasiness around him and their discomfort with lack of control. Damien himself isn't as important as the nihilism and doom he represents to the adults.
One might even suggest that he represents the fear the adults have regarding passing on their legacy to the next generation.
always was intrigued and horrified by the concept of the antichrist if like jesus it will have any choice to follow its destiny or not.
or if like we fear the antichrist is predetermined and unable to ever stray from the path of darkness nor even be able too.
either way the antichrist will forever be the perfect representations of all mans faults and how they damage all of us.
the only fictional antichrist ive seen take a more postive path is definitly Charlie from Hazbin Hotel.
Children are awful and terrifying that’s true
The first Omen film is genuinely fantastic, and it is a shame that it's not as talked about as much when compared to other films like The Exorcist
That cemetary scene is so awesome. The first sequel was passable, the third... Well it had Sam Neil, I guess.
The less said about the remake the better.
@@Syurtpiutha am I taking crazy pills or is everyone missing out on a film?
Like...there was 4 omen films before the remake?
@@FFKonoko It's not missing out. The fourth didn't have anything to do with Damien and was just... Really really bad. The only reason I saw it was because it was included in the boxed set I have of them.
@@Syurtpiutha It's very loosely linked to Damien through *spoilers*
Damien is Delia's real father
@@aroha9090 Sure, but it didn't suck any less. Or make me regret watching it any less.
The nanny jumping off scene is still so iconic
SO much this. It's her face and expression, the way she seems joyous as she jumps.
YIKES.
@@lizfinkelstein1323 ITS ALL FOR YOU!😃🥹🥳
She really kills the vibe at that birthday party. Lol. Hate it when someone feels like they've gotta pull focus and upstage the birthday boy. Rude.
Shut up!
Jack Palance dughter that is..
Honestly, I think the most interesting part of these movies is the production and “urban legends” surrounding them.
The “curse” is truly eerie with all the accidents that occurred during the production
@@LucyLioness100 Honestly, as skeptical as I am regarding so many of these "film curses", it is hard to deny there were tons of weird incidents involving the film. However, the 70's were also incredibly turbulent.
the urban legend of the evil bastard child
@@theunbearablejuan indeed. I believe they were mainly pure accidental circumstances & not really the whole “curse” thing. If someone does believe that Satan was messing with the production, that’s their choice 🙂
@@theunbearablejuan exactly, the same happened with the exorcist. I truely think it was the time
It's always weird to hear the words "Oscar nominated" and "horror" in the same sentence
But try Oscar winning!
OTOH, it feels like an absolute crime that this was the only movie Jerry Goldsmith ever won an Oscar for. Nominated *eighteen times* and only won once.
@Monique Foto The Oscars have specific preferences, that doesn't mean they have no credibility, it just means that they're geared toward a certain type of movie, or at least geared away from certain other types. That's fine by me; the committee is human, humans have limitations, and they still tend to reward top-tier cinematic achievements for the most part, even if a lot gets left out.
Kinda like African and not hearing dictator after it
The only other time a horror film has won an award was Fredrich March winning best actor for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
I’ve always loved the reveal that the true mother is a jackal. It’s just so perfectly demonic.
Ryan didn't mention it but the dad secretly adopts Damien and doesn't tell his wife. She has no idea her baby died and that Damien isn't her biological child. (Whaa??) The hospital chaplain tells him that they just happen to have a baby whose mother died in childbirth so they can do a swaparoo. He just didn't mention that she was a jackal.
@DisappointingPorn There's a theory I keep hearing, tying "The Omen" to "Rosemary's Baby". While compelling and cool, it's also sad, because it's a clear indication that the people who believe it haven't actually seen the former. The idea was that, though Rosemary couldn't go through with killing her own child, she also couldn't stomach the idea of raising the Anti-Christ. So, evading the Satanists in her building, she abandons the baby at a hospital far enough away from their clutches, and she takes her own life immediately after leaving the grounds of said hospital. Looking back, part of me wishes that both films' producers had decided to go with a similar linked plot. (10/27/2022)
@@lisah-p8474 pretty sure they killed their baby too. They purposely wanted them to have him because of his political connections.
@@lisah-p8474 yeah that hospital totally killed their real baby!
Yeah, it's perfectly eerie...until you stop to realize that his mother being a jackal means that Satan quite LITERALLY screwed the pooch! 😂
The most memorable thing the 2006 one has aside from early 2000s gore is that it played up the 06/06/2006 theatrical date SO MUCH at the time. It seemed like that was everywhere that summer.
That might be the only time I remember the weather for a particular date, LOL.
I’ll say this it was shot well. One I remember from that is the dog with the nanny. The cinematography displayed it almost like a painting in some scenes.
Having *totally* forgotten that Sam Neill played the adult Damien in The Omen III, seeing him pop-up in this video, especially pre-Jurassic Park, was a bit of a jump-scare if I'm being honest. 😆😈
Check out Possession if you can manage to find it 👍
@@oops6876 RIIIIIIGGHHT, I knew there was a Sam Neill movie from somewhere in the 80's that I was forgetting when I wrote my comment! I've never watched Possession but I *have* heard and seen clips of it circulating around, so maybe I will now, thanks for the recommend. 😉
@@DJtheBlack-RibbonedRose You NEED to watch Possession, it's an incredible film. Sam is excellent in it.
In post-JP, don't forget *In the Mouth of Madness* & *Event Horizon*
@@mohamadafifazizizaidi5625 Oh yes of course, mainly I was referring to how surprising it was for me to see him associated with the Omen. Haven't see EH but I *have* watched ITMOM a few times.
There were a few evil children in movies before this like The Bad Seed or Village of the Damned. It's a shame The Omen is being forgotten because I think it fits nicely in a trifecta with The Exorcist and Rosemary's Baby.
I was going to mention those movies also. I guess Ryan doesn't watch black & white movies. 👻
There's also the creepy kids in the original Star Trek episodes.
The Bad Seed holds up imo
The Omen isn't forgotten at all. It's considered a classic and rightly so.
@@sarahwarnock2707 I agree with you, my mom and I watch it every October 😲
I do like "Omen 3: The Final Conflict" and Damian losing at the end because, well, the Bible literally said he was going to lose. He even quotes his foretold doom at the beginning of the film, confident that knowing events beforehand as well as the people who were sent out to stop him gives him an edge. When he was little and had no control over his power he defeated everyone that threatened him, but now that he's a grown man and knows what his purpose in life is and who his enemies are, he should be absolutely invincible. Right??? Damian miscalculating his love interest being the one to do him in shows that no one, not even him, cam escape their destiny. Damian was foretold to get within a hair's breadth of total victory and achieve world domination but collapse right at the finish line. And, as prepared as he was to face his adversaries, he still fell, just as he himself foretold.
I love the end of The Omen...being so used to a 'happy ending' as a child, the bleakness made me really remember this move.
I barely remember the Omen Trilogy from when I saw it a long time ago, but there was a part in Omen 2 that sticks with me. When Damien finds out what he is, there’s a scene following it where he appears genuinely upset by the revelation. It was the one time the series portrayed him has himself caught up in a fate he did not control or have the ability to reject.
Love the Twilight Zone reference at the beginning of this video. An all-powerful psychopathic child is so scary. "You're a bad man. You're a very bad man!"
Is that the show simpsons parodied in one of threehouse horror parts?
theres a whole game series based of this movie where you play as said antichrist child and its really fun and really shows how terrfying the antichrist would be as 99 percent of people cant do a thing to them.
@@housewilma4904 I remember watching a few playthroughs of those games back in the day. Also, I had to look it up, and the title is lucius!
@@weaponizedautism3269 Yes! I saw the Simpsons parody before I watched the Twilight zone episode. My mind was blown 😂
@@housewilma4904It’s called Lucius!
The thing that made me smile most throughout here was all the moments of, "Hey, they made fun of that in Good Omens!"
I was thinking the same thing, it's kinda hard to take it seriously when I kept giggling
I've found my fellow people.
Edit: just realised that Ryan just narrowly avoided uploading this on the Earth's birthday. I'm mildly disappointed now.
Omg. Yes 🤣
I knew that Good Omens does parody the movie, but I've never watched it, so seeing just how much of it made it into Good Omens is really interesting - and yes, of course also funny.
@@subtlefire7256
It’s so much more than a parody of the Omen.
Watched this quite young, remember really liking it.
I hated the nanny, she scared the fuck out of me. Her encouragement of Damian's evilness freaked me out, I think because that question of nature vs nurture.
Its why I liked reading Good Omen's because it left it up to him to choose after having normal childhood.
I also liked the stories of him grown up and dealing with this legacy.
I was obsessed with this series when i was a kid (maybe cause i was brought up in a very religious household, and the concept of the Antichrist was hella interesting to me)..just rewatched it 2 months ago, could say it def didn't hold up that well
The Omen is my favorite horror movie. It's so quotable and dramatic and underappreciated. I love how it presents the nature of Damien as secondary and how much it is about the hubris of a shitty husband not consulting his wife enough with parenting decisions and listening only to other people's counsel when evil has already taken hold of their doomed lives.
I maintain Damien: Omen II is one of the more underrated horror sequels along with Psycho II.
Thought i was the only one that loved psycho 2
That's literally my favorite horror movie of all time
@@lordschwann5417 Tarantino's been banging the drums for Psycho 2 for around 20 years, so it's developed a big cult following.
Psycho 2 is great
I do not disagree.
I never actually watched the movie myself but my dad did as a kid.
So he told me the story when he was home all alone, while my grandmother was giving birth in the hospital. He watched the movie and got so scared that he barricaded the entire house. I can only imagine how terrified he was when my grandmother came home with a little baby. XD
Wow, what a movie to show when introducing a new family member.
@@whitedragoness23 Yeah xD
Cult classic? You can't be serious. The Omen was a MASSIVE hit and is rightly considered a classic. Gregory Peck was in it and the score won an Oscar.
This guy has clearly no idea what he's talking about.
Ikr, thank you. I'm just watching this out of curiosity. I might not watch it all. I already know dude doesn't know wtf he's talking abt. I'm 54, I remember when this came out. I was a kid when the 1rst one came out. The Omen was huge. The Omen & the Exorcist were the biggest horror films of the 70's.
@@Hell-Awaits Exactly, that's what I'm saying too.
Calling the Omen trilogy "forgotten" in the title says it all. Another UA-cam nitwit.
He has no idea this is a CLASSIC .
I just love the atmosphere in the original film. I also love how every time they give you any information it just makes everything look creepier. How megiddo means armageddon making the daggers sound like powerful artifacts or how the cemetery is etruscan making it look ancient and not Christian
I read the book Good Omens by Prattchet&Gaiman as a preteen and had no idea how closely it was following and poking fun at The Omen (down to the name!) until I was older and realised mid first watch of the movie that it seemed Very Familiar ! It's so interesting how much this series permeated pop culture
It can’t be understated how brilliant of a casting choice Gregory Peck was at the time. Everyone loved him, so surely nothing could happen to him… 😅
David Warner was brilliant too, playing a heroic character helping Peck, a role Warner played just before he got typecast as a villain.
Understated or overstated?
I honestly found this really interesting. I loved your description of the sequels. I know apparently they're bad but I honestly think the premise sounds like it'd work: Damien being conditioned by the adults to follow in their footsteps of continuing environmental destruction for their own selfish greed, thus making it the adult world that dooms itself by passing down this knowledge to the next generation and encouraging them to follow. Idk I feel there's a solid premise in there.
I've only seen the original and I had no idea Sam Neil is the ACTUAL ANTICHRIST in the third one. He just seems to gravitate towards movies with apocalyptic shenanigans and I love it.
I forget about the existence of The Omen sequels even more frequently than I do The Exorcist ones.
Same. Atleast the exorcist sequel is infamous enough that it gets remembered. The omen ones are just so forgettable.
The Omen sequels are epic compared to the mess of the Exorcist sequels and prequels Only #3 was any good and that's because it was based on Blatty's actual sequel Legion
The Exorcist 3 is good
@@lrts1lrts181 has one of the best scare moments in horror
The highlights I remembered about 2 were man perms galore, and the old lady caseworker from Beetlejuice plays a spinster aunt who gets murdered. (I love her.) And 3 was just Sam Neil wearing vests for 2 hours. The Omen 4 was cheap Canadian made for TV dreck with a girl devilspawn. The original had a great ending, and I think it would have been just fine to leave it there.
Always a fan of Patrick Troughton's role as the priest. I was introduced to him, and I assume a lot of people were, through Doctor Who - so seeing his range of being the cosmic hobo to a troubled, ignored priest is a treat.
Why is that so astounding? He was an actor - and a very good one - The fact he can act varied parts equally well is not that stunning really.
Mine was opposite. I saw The Omen when I was 10. Didn’t start watching DW till about 19, and was completely shocked at the fact that the 2nd Doctor was the heroin addicted ex cult member Priest
After a prolific career as a TV director, "The Omen" was Richard Donner's breakout feature, followed by "Superman", "Ladyhawk", "The Goonies", "Lethal Weapon", and "Scrooged".
I remember there also being a TV series that was on Fox before the buy out that had the premise of retconning the sequels and instead focus on having the conflict be Damian deciding if he actually wants to be the Anti-Christ or not. It sounded like it was doing okay but didn't have the numbers to keep it going for more than one season.
The first movie was great. I think it’s funny how they built up the whole 7 daggers, and him needing to be killed in a church thing. In the second movie it’s like they discarded the idea that it needed to be done in a church, and in the third they discarded the idea that he needed to be killed with all daggers 😂
Damien was too OP
And in the first omen they discarded him being born from a jackal lol
ah, the omen trilogy... some of the first horror movies baby me watched on tv while my grandparents were babysitting me but basically left me alone and thus had no idea what i was watching. good times
The Omen II is greatly underrated as a sequel. The Omen III is the ultimate "what could have been" if Richard Donner had returned to direct it, as he wanted. Sam Neill, with supporting casting choices by Donner and a good budget, would have been a terrific movie to end the trilogy.
I think what makes these movies hit home so much is that a lot of people in the world are parents or have a little brothers & sisters!
The thought of what if something is wrong with my child or sibling wether it be a demon /devil or something else wrong scares us alone!
The 70s was an interesting time for horror films. It was interesting seeing the clash between conservative and liberal values and films like The Exorcist and The Omen and The Amityville Horror reflect those changes
In a weird way, the "demon child" horror films of the 70s were a sort of allegory for abortion rights vs religious beliefs
I'm a big fan of Omen 2, it's a shame so few enjoy it. It really humanises Damien, only to later bring into even sharper contrast his inhumanity.
Yes, I really enjoyed Omen 2, really good sequel continuing his ominous rise to power. 👹 The first Omen tho scared the crap out of me as a child! 😱
a rare good sequel
For real if they ever remake the omen again
Wish they do smth with omen 2
Favorite one. The teenage Damien was having a time with it, and when he killed Mark he was the only one to offer to take Mark with him. Which in a way, is sweet. 😛
I've watched this film once or twice as a teen and this is one of those films that I have NEVER forgotten. There's really something so ominous about it all and the horror around the whole movie leaves you strapped to your seat and speechless. This movie is a MUST see for anyone who loves horror.
"Look at me, Damien. It's all for you!"
I still stand by my feeling that the bird and semi truck killing that reporter in part 2 is one of the best unintentionally funny moments in the horror genre
Agreed. I actually thought most of the deaths were more hilarious than horrific. They only worked because of Jerry Goldsmith's score.
The bird was a d*ck.
Glad you’re (hopefully) feeling better and more creatively inspired! Have you ever read Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman? It’s a really clever parody of The Omen written by two very witty authors. I would definitely recommend it if you haven’t read it or watched the show.
To your point of Damien having little screentime despite being set up as the supernatural big bad - in the first film, Damien doesn't have supernatural powers... at least, none that he uses. It's the malevolent forces of hell, sometimes invisible and sometimes personified as the nanny or the dogs, that are protecting Damien and causing all of the carnage. Damien's time hasn't come yet. The most Damien ever does is ride his tricycle into his mum, pushing her off a bannister, and even that scene is set up as if his trike is being guided somehow.
Whos here after watching the first omen
So this is why someone once called me hellspawn.
I saw it as a child, for some reason the most terrifying part was when someone says Damiens mother was a jackal.
Absolute same. There was an audible record scratch in my head at that part and it somehow filled me with dread.
I love the Omen movies, for the sheer 1970s-1980s of them all. Some of the scenes are great, especially in the first one: the hanging nanny, the church and animal park scenes, and my fave, the tricycle attack. And Sam Neill is devilishly gorgeous.
The Jackal is also representative of the Egyptian god of death; Anubis.
Thank you for crediting Jerry Goldsmith, who composed the stunning music for all three movies.
Glad to see another video! I enjoyed The Omen. It works thanks to Gregory Peck's convincing performance. I didn't care for the other two films. In The Omen, Damien doesn't actually kill anybody. The babysitter sets him up to cause his mother's accident. There's a sense of invisible forces driving the story, and a child who cannot help his own nature or the things that happen around him just because he is what he is. "Good Omens" took that concept and ran away with it.
I thought that Damien had a human mother aside from Satan, but in reality it was a symbolic jackal. The first film is legitimately iconic, the nanny hanging herself, the priest impalement, Damien's origin, and the ending are the most memorable scenes in The Omen. To this day, Hollywood makes unnecessary sequels because money.
I actually really like the remake. It manages to create some genuinely creepy moments and disturbing imagery. Liev Schreiber does a great job at making you feel for the father.
A year onward and the Omenverse continues :P
Wow! Antman 3 trailer AND a Ryan Hollinger vid? Today is a good day :)
Idk I'm a parent and I'm oddly amused at how much my kid looked like Damien when he was younger, the fact that one of our friends unprovoked called him the antichrist and pledged allegiance to him, and the fact we literally couldn't walk by a church in the way to school when he was in kindergarten or he'd start screaming and try to run across the road away from it.
But I mean he's either the antichrist or he's not, not much I can do about that one lol
@@scottneil1187 Ahh another 616 connoisseur.
And I have not, although we did make jokes about doing so around the time of the church stuff ngl.
Random trivia - my godfather was the Vicar of the church where young Damian freaked out in the car. Utterly irrelevant I know but always makes me smile when I watch this movie lol
I love you covering lesser known sequels to popular movies
Honestly I really like the whole trilogy, the timelines messed up and the third one especially have a very disappointing ending but I’d say they’re a fun watch, surprisingly I’d say 2 is probably the most interesting since it’s all about Damien unsure on what he wants to be
I talk about The Omen ALL THE TIME. Maybe it’s because I was raised Catholic, but I’ve always loved the movie since my parents weirdly allowed me to watch it as a 4 year old. It was one of the first movies to spark my lifelong love of the spooky and horror movies. I used to laugh at the part where the one character gets his head cut off and it spins because I suppose, I too am the child of the devil lmao The original Omen (wasn’t a big fan of the 2006 remake and don’t remember much about it besides the very prominent use of red as a motif for evil) is definitely underrated. The nanny scene at the birthday party? Iconic.
I liked the beginning of the Omen remake (when they are explaining the signs in the Vatican), the rest you can keep. The original was the creepiest yo!😵💫
the tv show “damien” was also actually really good!!
Yes it is such a disappointment that there is only one season.
4:30 Don’t worry folks he’s not dead, he’ll regenerate into Jon Pertwee soon enough.
There is a tv show as well which I remember liking
The Omen 3 is probably one of my favorite guilty pleasures. I just love Sam Neil
11:12 Damien's true form is probably a human jackal hybrid which is why animals fear him because they see what he really looks like and can sense his evil.
After rewatching the original on Disney+, it still holds up for its effective horror.
And i guess at least Fox was planning to make a new Omen movie with Disney continuing production with it.
“Disney+”
Excuse me, WHAT
@@liquidbismuth1044 Ryan shows that it's on Disney+ in UK/Ireland.
I remember the music being horrific, and the large black bird attacking the reporter in part 2 as particularly scary. Nevertheless, the original Omen was actually quite sad, because the Thorns seemed like such good people (even sadder when realizing it's Atticus Finch!)
When you have no plans for diwali and this video drops. Gonna spend the diwali listening to Ryan say hoyever
Things I'd think would be cool for you to cover.
'Something Wicked This Way Comes'
'Dragonslayer'
The two Exorcist prequels
'Mothman Prophecies'
I remember being so mad when I was younger that Damien died at the end of 3, and demanding that it didn't make sense because 'the dagger can kill him, but they didn't say it had to do it by itself, it's not even a deep stab!'
That was the beginning of me yelling at horror movie characters
Nice video!
And speaking of underrated and forgotten horror flicks, I’m surprised you haven’t touched on ‘The Serpent and the Rainbow’ yet. No one’s made any good video about that movie on here and it has such a unique premise that really hasn’t been done again since, at least not in the way that Wes Craven approached it.
i would love to see a video essay on tv series follow ups to horror movies. the omen series was pretty but exorcist was good
What I like about Omen is, not only it gave us one of the best creepy kids concept there is, but it also explored it in later films.
In part 3 in particular, Damien was appointed not only for the US Ambassador, but also for the President of the Youth Advisory Board in UN. That gave Damien an opportunity to turn many teenagers and kids into his disciples. And later in the films those disciples of kids and teenagers took part into massive kids slaughter in whole Britain.
That's actually one of the most unsettling, yet memorable parts of the third film.
I remember first watching clips of this on a "Haunted Hollywood" video in the 1980s. I really like the mystery of Damien's Origin. Plus, I was happy Father Brennan was the 2nd Doctor. The 2nd and 3rd films were fine. The 2006 remake was soulless in the bad way.
It was released on 6-6-(200)6 though!
While I knew of this movie through cultural osmosis, I didn't realize how much it influenced one of my favorite books Good Omens, to the point where I definitely think it was intentional on Gaiman and Prachett's part.
Awesome video as always!
Have you looked into American exploitation horror like Last House on The Left and I Spit on Your Grave? Also, I still highly recommend The Changeling (1980) which is still one of the best haunting movies out there.
Sam Neill playing adult Damien is really fun because it immediately reminds me of Possession 1981, which unlike the Omen series actually has the balls to end on a proper apocalypse.
You are just awesome, always love your videos 🥰🥰
As someone who doesn’t like to watch horror movies but finds them interesting, hence watching your well crafted analysis of these movies, watching this makes me want to rewatch Good Omens. The show is good without the context of The Omen, but knowing *just* how much it riffs and parodies the film adds much better context
The first one was very scary. I watched all 3 but it’s the only one that I really remembered very much. I wish the concepts in the sequels were as troubling as the first.
Except there is 4 films before the remake..?
I'm so confused by everyone talking about it being a trilogy and all 3 films, but there's 4, and then the remake.
I remember as a teen being genuinely scared when the remake released on June 6th 2006. I have a brother 2 years my junior and having him just entering his teens and suddenly being an allround little shit maybe made the thought of demon kids hit a little closer to home ^^;
Lovely video, thanks for your insight!
If you’ve never seen the Exorcist sequels, or if you have, I’d love to hear your thoughts! It’s so surprising they have one perfect sequel among the awful rest of them
He’s talked about Legion
I seem to remember him referencing Legion, but he’s never done a full video on the movie, that I know of.
It would be interesting to have a full vid on the Exorcist sequels; the third one is actually pretty good though I wish we had the true version that Blatty made
I never noticed Final Destination 3 stole it's photographs foreshadowing deaths from here lol
I've been hoping to see your analysis of The Omen for awhile now. Glad you did it! Great look at this classic horror (and its sequels)!
I was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining The Omen was. It’s not the best horror film (Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist clearly have it beat in the “parenting an evil child” trope) but I enjoyed it. As a parent, the film definitely has more weight than if I had seen it before having my kid. Small children can be creepy as hell (when my son was a baby, I’d be feeding him at night in the dark and he’d suddenly sit up straight and start whispering gibberish fervently as if he was having an intense conversation with someone else I couldn’t see. I’d try to get his attention but he’d ignore me until he relaxed and simply took his bottle. 😳)
Have you covered Rosemary’s Baby? I’d also enjoy you reviewing Peter Jackson’s horror films like Dead Alive.
I used to watch the Omen, the Omen II and Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter every Christmas because some movie channel played them at every year for some reason. The bird going after the lady in the car in Omen II was always just as dinner started
It's hilarious that everyone's so terrified of Damien, yet he does absolutely nothing wrong and is just a normal toddler. Even the part where he knocks his mother over the ledge with his tricycle is clearly an accident. Yet his mother basically abandons him, his father tries to murder him, and like 3 other people want him dead. The only person who tries to protect Damien is the psycho nanny.
No. Damien was trying his mother's fingers loose before she fell.
Getting Gregory Peck to play the lead was a coup in casting. He had so much screen presence and he acts his butt off in this film.
Mrs. Baylock is a creepy AF supporting villain.
RIP David Warner (Jennings the photographer).
The first movie is way, way more terrifying when you're a parent lol
Hmmm...the 2nd installment was actually my favorite of the trilogy. Because Damien is seen shredding his innocence and accepting then embracing who he truly is, as you said in the video. Also, you do not know who to trust in the 2nd film. Anyone can be a disciple of Damien;s, as we saw.
I grew up with this movie in the 70s. It really is the perfect horror masterpiece.
I always wanted to know more about Father Brennan’s role. He said he was there when Damien was born and needed repentance. I guess I could read the novel. Never got into the sequels. The atmosphere was like a made for TV 80s movie.
Speaking of forgotten horror from the 70s. Burnt Offerings is legitimately one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. Please cover.
I've honestly never watched any of The Omen films but like you said, I've seen satire and other media mocking it. My grandparents loved this film bc of Gregory Peck and they enjoyed 70s horror.
“The Omen”… ruining it for all kids named Damien..
watching the omen when i was 11 or 12 has ingrained a VISCERAL fear of driving behind trucks carrying sheets of glass in me.
even in my mid twenties i absolutely cannot stand driving being a pickup truck that has window glass on it, despite knowing its not going anywhere.
First one is one of the best of the genre. Never saw any of the sequels though
_Hoyever,_ this man's voice is my lullaby at night.
The Horror Whisperer, take me away...
You gotta watch the Eli Roth history of horror documentarys they go category by category an 1 of them was demonic devil children... It has the actual people that were involved in the making of the films or actors that were in it an give their thoughts opinions and what it all means definitely should check it out if u love horror history!
The Jerry Goldsmith score should count as it's own character. If there was any ambiguity about Damien's true nature, it's smashed every time Ave Satani swells on the soundtrack.
Speaking as a parent, the Idea that my children are actually evil and must be destroyed is unspeakably ugly to me. Movies like this, rosemarys baby, and pet sematary, scare the hell out of me.
I barely recognised Sam Neill, I'm not sure I've ever seen him so young. He's aged very well, lines of distinction helping define his face. Great actor.
They could've gone in such a different direction with that fourth movie. Damien's girlfriend in "The Final Conflict" realizes his true nature AFTER they've slept together. When the powers that be decided to make a fourth film, they could've wrote it that she'd become pregnant and died in childbirth, like the hospital chaplain claimed that Damien's biological mother did in the first movie. HER child, a daughter, like the fourth film actually had, would've then become the new Anti-Christ. (10/27/2022)
This idea of a pregnancy by damien before his partial defeat was explored on a fourth and fifth novel written long before that horrible TV part 4 we originally got.
The original concept was for 7 theatrical releases before fox decided to go with the more uplifting conclusion we got in three.
Writing this comment with sending you the love that you finally got. The First Omen is possibly one of the best horror movies ever made and i pray we get the trilogy we always deserved
dude really just stood there watching the spike come down on him. like bruh move one foot to the left. lol
I liked the fact that it ended with Jesus and His second coming. It is the mirror of Damiens life, no matter how Damien and Satan mechanized things humans and good will win. Damien's power drained as soon as Jesus appeared. Also, it is to show that however insidious something is, perserverance and faith will correct it. It is the infinite good as opposed to the devil's finite power.