The Omen (1976), directed by Richard Donner, stars Gregory Peck, Harvey Stephens, David Warner, Lee Remick, Billie Whitelaw, and Patrick Troughton. The film follows an American ambassador (Peck) and his wife (Remick) as they attempt to uncover the cause of the mysterious deaths that surround their young son, Damien (Stephens). With the help of Jennings (Warner), an intelligent journalist, the couple soon discovers that Damien may not be their real son, but instead the son of the devil himself: Satan. It’s up to the trio to uncover the validity of these theories and possibly quell an impending apocalypse. 

   Gregory Peck in the lead as Ambassador Robert Thorn is one of the elements that holds this film together. He is a veteran actor who starred in classic films such as Spellbound (1945), Roman Holiday (1953), and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). It’s no wonder he’s able to inject this somewhat schlocky horror film with a good amount of gravitas. His range allows us to feel the more intense personal struggles the character experiences. 

David Warner as Jennings is a breath of fresh air in the sense that he’s the rare journalist character who’s not annoying and constantly at odds with our protagonist. Instead, he becomes one of Robert Thorn’s few unlikely allies. The fact that the character is smart and driven makes him extremely likable. He is the one character who doesn’t have a personal stake in killing Damien and therefore acts as the voice of the audience. He balances out the frustration we feel relating to the parents and their inability to accept that their son is the antichrist.

Hands down, the most impressive performance the film has to offer is Harvey Stephens as Damien. He rarely talks but succeeds in providing some of the most chilling stares in all of cinema. His smile is simultaneously innocent and chilling. The film’s tone wouldn’t succeed if not for this performance at its center. Yes, he doesn’t have a lot to do, but the performance still sticks in one’s mind like superglue. I have a sneaking suspicion that anyone who has seen this film would never dare to name their child Damien.

The film immediately does an effective job of providing the main characters with certain personal complications that make their eventual situation a little less black and white. The fact that Robert Thorn is a US ambassador and possible future President makes the situation even more dire. The antichrist is a homeless guy with no political power? Big whoop. But the son of a US president? Now that’s a scary thought. This, along with the struggle of providing one’s child with unconditional love complicates the plot to the point of maximum tension. 

The Omen essentially works as a slasher film where nobody actually commits a murder. Every death is presented as self-inflicted or as a freak accident. You can tell that films such as Final Destination (2000) were heavily inspired by it. These death scenes, unfortunately, come off as a bit dated in terms of their scare factor but remain timeless on an intellectual level. These deaths are so perfectly paced and written that the simple idea of them chills a person to the bone whether they cause an immediate reaction or not. In a sense, the scares creep up on a person long after the credits roll. It helps that this features one of the most simplistically chilling horror movie endings in film history. 

Although some of the musical choices are dated to the point of pure cringe, the main score is one of the best that the religious horror sub-genre has to offer. It features a choir of strong Latin chants that feel akin to something religious zealots would sing while performing human sacrifice. I prefer this to something like The Exorcist (1973), which features a more modern score. Granted, I still think The Exorcist features one of the best scores of all time. The Omen’s score feels just a bit more appropriate for its subject matter.

The film is unfortunately a bit slow in parts, especially in the first half. The film spends just a bit too much time on the whole “What could possibly be going on?” portion of the story. I’m sure this worked for audiences in the 70s, but as a modern viewer, it feels boring and unnecessary. It also lacks a true feeling of mystery which would help carry the audience through this portion. There is no doubt as to whether or not Damien is the antichrist, it’s pretty clear from the start. Yet, the film still forces us to suffer through the “Is he or isn’t he?” stage. The surprises only seem to come from the shock/brutality of the deaths as opposed to story developments. 

One detail that bothered me was the fact that the devil seems to be all-powerful while God is essentially useless. When a film commits to the existence of one, it feels odd not to commit to the existence of the other. I suppose this works in giving the situation a feeling of hopelessness, but it also results in things feeling unbalanced, a balance that The Exorcist achieved perfectly. In a sense, The Omen’s themes seem surface-level by comparison. 

Overall, this is an undeniable classic that every horror fan should check out. Some of the production quality and execution of scares are a bit dated, but it remains effective simply due to the chillingly creative horror setpeices. The performances are great, the tone is balanced, and it doesn’t insult our intelligence. You might not jump, but you might have nightmares for weeks. B+