The Omen (1976)

Director: Richard Donner

Starring: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Leo McKern

More info: IMDb

Tagline: OUR FINAL WARNING.

Plot: An American ambassador learns to his horror that his son is actually the literal Antichrist.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah.

#24 of 31 Days of Horror 2010.
#150 on Drive-In Delirium Volume 2 (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)

I've always enjoyed this flick despite it's pacing issues and that Peck is too dramatic. For the most part I dig his performance...I don't know. Maybe it's because he's a 9 foot tall mass of solid rock. David Warner is terrific as always and it's nice to see Leo McKern in anything. The kid that plays Damien, Harvey Stephens, was well cast. He's got that look that feels at home in a Stanley Kubrick film. And the score! HOLY FUCKING SHIT! Jerry Goldsmith hit this one out of the park, winning an Academy Award bookended by John Williams (JAWS the previous year and STAR WARS the year after).


The kills are abso-fucking-tastic! The sequels are interesting despite their flaws. Besides Goldsmith besting himself with each successive film, I really like the grand ideas thrown out there in these pictures. Too bad the movies don't quite live up to them in such a grand way. Avoid the recent remake. It's not good and it doesn't even try until the end credits to recognize Goldsmith's iconic themes and that's just unforgivable.