Welcome back to the scariest, and at times goriest, column here at Film Inquiry: Horrific Inquiry. Twice a month, I will be tackling all things horror, bringing two films back into the spotlight to terrify and frighten once more. And occasionally looking at those that could have pushed the envelope further. Join us as we dive deep into the heart of horror, but warning, there will be spoilers.
“It’s all for you Damien. It’s all for you.” – The Omen (2006)
Religion is a primary element within a plethora of horror films, their deeply rooted theologies creating the perfect stage for terror, retribution and even at times redemption. Where many horror films harness the horror of religious belief in the form of possession, not all lean into the occupation of the devil. Some are far worse. Some speak to the dawn of Armageddon.
What makes these religious based horrors so terrifying is their grounding in a true belief of the power of the devil and hell. There is a constant belief of unknown forces working to deceive and undermine, whether it be through a host or the birth of the anti-Christ. And with the stories throughout the Catholic faith of exorcisms and the Book of Revelation mapping out the end of times, it is hard to deny to deny the belief of its truthfulness. Horror films have been able to tap into this terror, shifting and molding it, bringing our fears to life. For some, these films succeed in the terror they are charged to create, for others, it is pure entertainment. When it comes to The Omen, it feels as though more entertainment is to be had, rather than horror, yet finds its own layer of terror that extends beyond religion.
Delivering the Anti-Christ
A remake of the 1976 classic, John Moore‘s The Omen was released on June 06, 2006. I remember going to the film not because I had an interest in The Omen itself, but because it was an Anti-Christ film showing on the dreaded day of 666. It was a brilliant marketing campaign, as I remember the theater being packed, an air of defiance filling the room as the audience collectively embraced the idea of what the release day symbolized. Honestly, no matter the quality of the film, I have found that those films that have a collective audience experience are the films that stick with the viewer the most. And I have not forgotten The Omen since.
As the film opens, it does not hesitate to get itself moving, the opening credits immediately presenting the 666 before transitioning to the Vatican Observatory in Rome, its telescope displaying the arrival of a comet similar to the one spoken of the night Jesus was born. Yet the look on the priest’s face does not match one of exultation, but rather terror. A convention called, the Book of Revelation read allowed the angel’s trumpets of Armageddon paired with real-life disasters signifying the completion of each stage. The Challenger explosion, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 tsunami, and the fall of the Twin Towers are each cited, the comet’s arrival is the latest sign the world is on the eve of Armageddon.
The Omen holds for a moment on this information before transitioning to Robert Thorne (Liev Schreiber) who is on his way to meet his wife Kate (Julia Stiles), currently in labor and experiencing complications. As he arrives at the hospital, the low lighting within the halls speaks to deals made in the shadows. And while Robert does not know the deal he is making, he makes it all the same. Informed that his child has died in birth, he accepts the words of Father Spiletto (Gionanni Lombardo Radice) without question, even when he is guided away from the idea of seeing his child. He momentarily grieves for the loss of his son and for the now barren state of his wife. “This meant so much to her,” he says.
There is a sweetness in the Father before him as he asks Robert to accept the Lord’s plan, to welcome a new chance to give love to another. He shows Robert another boy that was born in the same hour of his son, his mother dying in childbirth. Robert, reluctant at first, agrees to take the boy and raise it as his own, allowing his wife to believe he is the child she birthed. This entire opening sequence sets the stage for the rise of the Anti-Christ, these initial deceptions, some in love, will follow many of the film’s characters until its closing moments, proving that the power of the devil is always lurking and ready to strike.
The Anti-Christ Rises
Kate works as the constant representation of a state of uncertainty. From the moment she awakens and is presented the child, her first question to her husband is “who is this”. She speaks to the deeply ingrained nature of a mother’s innate knowledge of her child. While brief, this moment speaks to Kate’s knowing this is not her child. As the first three years of Damien’s life are shown through a montage of memories, there is no doubt about the love and acceptance he experiences from his two parents. Yet, a rise of an Anti-Christ is not immediate, but rather slow and meticulous. It starts with a lie that grows and becomes empowered by the happenings around that life. For the Thornes, an announcement that they are to move to London with the newly promoted United States ambassador sets the next action in motion for Damien to rise.
As the current ambassador finds himself stuck in traffic, The Omen leans into a Final Destination sequence of an all-knowing death coming for its latest victim. As a truck pins the ambassador in his limo, a cigarette explodes the vehicle, and Robert Throne is promoted to Ambassador of the US Embassy in London, placing him in a political position of power. And as the film moves ahead two more years, another element of the prophecy of the Anti-Christ is fulfilled.
Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) and Kate are the first to be reintroduced following the time jump. At the park, Kate takes a call with no one on the other line, Damien disappearing in the moments it took for her to end the call. As she franticly searches for her son, he leaps out from behind her in an attempt to scare her. There is a deeply felt concern for her son her, establishing the deep bond between them – and her deeply rooted concern in losing him. In retrospect, the film is clever in including this moment, rather than moving straight to the death of the nanny. It speaks to the connection of mother and son, even as an audience we know this is one crafted out of love rather than biological connection. But it also speaks to a possible underlining belief within Kate that Damien is not hers – that at any moment she could lose him.
As we move from Kate to Damien’s fifth birthday party, the film begins to change its pace, moving from slow meticulous preparation to an ever-increasing pace of success. The pieces have been moved into place over the years, and the final moves come swiftly. As Kate takes her son, the nanny becomes overcome by an unspoken request from a dog in the courtyard. The score swells with a haunting whispering feel, culminating in the nanny killing herself in front of the guests. The is a capture of shock and disbelief in the party guests, almost as time has slowed down. And while the camera franticly tries to capture the explosion of trauma and horror, it finally settles on Damien. It holds on Damien waving at the dog, his emotions absent of feeling for the loss of the young women.
And while the Anti-Christ may rise, there are always those who are tasked to prevent it.
Prevention is Futile
This comes in the form of Robert, photographer Keith (David Thewlis), and Father Brennan (Pete Postlethwaite). For Father Brennan, this is a chance for redemption. He was a part of the deception to swap the child from the beginning, putting Damien in Robert and Kate’s care. Yet, as we discover, cancer that riddles his body has him at death’s door. He makes a plea for Robert to accept Christ into his heart and to kill the boy. He warns Robert of the prophecy, of the grave danger to his wife and to himself. Yet, try as he might, the devil is always one step ahead.
For Keith, it is the chance to literally save his neck. As his photographs have proven, the devil leaves a mark on those it has targeted to kill. For the nanny, the rope shows up as a blurry line around her neck. For Father Brennan, a spike draws closer to his body each time his photo is taken. And for Keith, a slice across the neck. It once again speaks to Final Destination, specifically the third film, the devil and Death giving a hopeless attempt to be stopped. For Keith, he is given the foresight, but not the purest of intentions for success.
And finally, there is Robert. He pushes back against the truth, refusing to believe his son is the Anti-Christ and the task he must carry out to end him. As Father Brennan states, once the child has taken everything from him, he will kill Robert as well. For Robert, it is the truth that becomes his undoing. As he learns of Kate’s death, he does not accept the truth of Christ into his heart but rather the truth of revenge. He does not make the decision to kill Damien because he is the Anti-Christ, but rather because he killed Kate. This is further driven home as Robert finds the body of his real son in the cemetery, his skull bashed in. He wants revenge for the son he never had and for the wife he lost. And the moment he gives into revenge, he accepts that Damien has taken everything from him, and allows that truth to settle in both his heart and his mind.
Yet if either of these men had stopped walking down the path they traveled, the Anti-Christ would have still risen but they may have lived to see it. As they each make their decisions to prevent the rise of Damien, death befalls them. Father Brennan is impaled after revealing the prophecy to Robert, Keith after turning back to get the knives Robert refused to stab his son with and Robert at the moment just before placing the knife in Damien’s chest.
The End Heralded by Men
It was early in the film that I concluded that the end of the world would be heralded by men. Now it is important to note that it is not strictly by an evil that it will be heralded. Rather, with a combination kindness, pride and malice. This is seen early as Robert arrives at the hospital, Father Spiletto offering the swapping of the children. We know the malicious intent of Father Spiletto, even if not as deep as it truly runs. Yet, it is Robert who makes the decision to take the child – without the inclusion of his wife. This is a decision he makes on his own, for both the kindness of his wife and for the child. Yet, as antique as it is, he is the one that makes the decision that will change the course of his family – alone.
Robert fails to listen to Father Brennan as well, even though he knows that what the Father speaks of the child to some degree is true. And there are only a handful of people who know the truth about Damien’s paternity. There is pride in the arrogance and dismissal of Robert. And even as he is about to tell his wife, he holds back, eventually taking the secret of Damien’s paternity to his grave.
His pride in his dismissal of Father Brennan extends to Kate as well. Following the death of the nanny and the attack by Damien in the car, Kate expresses a desire to have Damien checked by a doctor. As Robert scoffs at Kate that the child has never been sick a day in his life, Kate expresses how weird that is, especially in comparison to other children. This is compounded by the search for a new nanny, Robert proposing that Kate no longer needs a nanny and could present an opportunity for her to further bond with Damien. His quiet criticism speaks both to his underlying knowledge of Damien’s paternity, but also Kate’s growing suspicion that something is wrong with Damien. As she speaks of always being there to raise her child, there is a sneaking suspicion that her question from the beginning, “Who is this”, was not a passing comment. Rather the start of Kate’s struggle with an unknown truth.
As Kate struggles with her feelings regarding Damien, especially following an incident at the zoo, she decides to seek help. Robert not only allows this to happen but allows the shrink to treat Kate as though she were crazy. As the shrink discloses to Robert, Kate believes in her head that her son is evil and that he isn’t hers. As Robert sits there listening, he does not correct the doctor by revealing the truth. Rather he allows the doctor and his wife to continue on as though she is crazy. He even goes as far as to state to the doctor that Kate’s wishes for an abortion will not be fulfilled. Once again, he makes the decision, not Kate. It is this decision that allows the next action of the prophecy to be enacted – the killing of the unborn child in the womb. And even after Damien’s attempt to kill Kate, and successful attempt to kill the baby inside her, as she pleads with Robert to not “let him kill her”, he says nothing of the truth and gives little comfort in his growing understanding of the threat and the truth that looms over them.
And finally, it is Robert’s thirst for revenge that seals his heralding of the apocalypse. If he had put his pride aside and listened to what Father Brennan had said, he might have stood a chance. But instead becomes the final piece of the prophecy comes to fruition.
Conclusion:
While a smaller part of the film, it is hard not to look at the terrifying aspect of the devil’s ability to prey on empathy. The entirety of the film and the prophecy hangs on Robert’s empathy and love for his wife to take the child as his. Kate’s death too weighs on the empathy of the nurse charged with protecting and caring for her, as Mrs. Baylock (Mia Farrow) preys on the emotion of a son missing his injured mother to gain access to her room. And in the final moments, as Robert is about to plunge the knife into Damien’s chest, Damien cries out “Please Daddy, don’t”. The words cut deep and stop Robert just for a moment. But a moment too long, the police, here shown as faceless individuals, arrive and shoot Robert dead.
The Omen may be a film about the Anti-Christ, but it is also a film that looks at the ills of man, the ability of evil to conquer good, and the role of the power we all process to play in the rise of evil. It is a film that can lend itself to different perspectives of examination and various interpretations of meaning. Where many horror films find terror of the devil trying to get inside, The Omen forces us to consider the possibility of it already being here.
Watch The Omen
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