Damien – Omen II (1978)

Damien – Omen II: Directed by Don Taylor, Mike Hodges. With William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Robert Foxworth. Damien the Antichrist, now about to turn thirteen years old, finally learns of his destiny under the guidance of an unholy disciple of Satan. Meanwhile dark forces begin to eliminate all those who suspect the child’s true identity.

“This sequel to THE OMEN is a u0026quot;funu0026quot; film. It continues the story of the anti-Christ Damien into his teenage years and his years in military school. Now adopted into the family of his fatheru0026#39;s brother, an unsuspecting Damien is unwittingly at the centre of a plot to bring Satanu0026#39;s son to the threshold of power. Everyone around him is at risk as the secret of Damienu0026#39;s birth is under threat of exposure by forces emerging from around the world – and at the root of this threat are the mad depictions painted on an ancient wall that reveal the very face of evil.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eJonathon Scott-Taylor gives a commanding and creepy performance as the ultimate misfit son. Looking particularly significant in his military outfit, Scott-Taylor captures – as much as the script allows him – the torment of self-discovery as the truth of his existence is revealed to him. The script could have demanded more from such a fascinating scenario, and tried to make Damien more of a Miltonic Satanic Hero, but the film chooses to go for as much shock value whenever it can. Mysterious and violent accidents – linked by the ever-present shadow of a raven of death – dominate this movie from beginning to end. The scene involving an ill-fated lady on a deserted country road is one of its most grotesque. As death and destruction mount, Damien goes from self-possessed orphan to self-recognized supreme power in the span of two hours.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWilliam Holden and Lee Grant play Damienu0026#39;s surrogate parents, Richard and Ann Thorn. They are not really allowed to display their incredible talents in this film, but Holden does fine trying to duplicate Pecku0026#39;s memorable performance in the original. Grant does what she can with this supporting role, but has a great moment in the film that proves worthy to wait for. The always wonderful Sylvia Sidney makes a memorable appearance as one of Damienu0026#39;s greatest u0026quot;thornsu0026quot; – the troublemaking menace Aunt Marion. And the ending is a bit of a shock if you watch the film closely, particularly if you listen to the exposition early on in the film about u0026quot;The Whore of Babylon.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnother highlight is Jerry Goldsmithu0026#39;s title score – empowering, commanding and downright evil, the opening score is one of my favorites.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enAlthough not as creepy as the first film, DAMIEN: OMEN II has its moments, and is worth seeing for anyone who likes to have a fun time with all this biblical stuff.”