The Big Whatsit

Damien Omen II was the stuff of playground legend. As kids, we could ignore the paper-thin plot and concentrate on what really mattered i.e. which was the film’s nastiest death? Personally, the thought of being trapped under ice was enough to give me the heebie-jeebies, though I could also see the merit in not being cut in two by a speeding lift cable, and I certainly didn’t fancy the idea of getting run over by a juggernaut after having mine eyes pecked out by a raven. DOII served up killings to suit nearly all tastes, from the fairly mundane (heart attack) through to grotesque (crushed by a colliding train cart) and frankly bizarre (Damien can kill you with his mind) slayings that befell anyone who got in the way of the Antichrist, even indirectly. What self-respecting schoolchild wouldn’t love it?

How it stands up to grown-up viewings is an altogether different matter, of course. What stands out now is the total weakness of the story, which seems to exist only to bump people off in various imaginative ways. The psychological complexities of The Omen are non-existent in this instalment. For a start, Damo is now clearly Satan. Any ambiguity over his identity from the first episode is forgotten, as he learns how to get all Beelzebub on peoples’ ass, an early example of this being his ability to reduce the class bully to a gibbering wreck just be looking at him. Later, he demonstrates an encyclopaedic knowledge of history, proof of a diabolical presence if ever I’ve heard of one.

Following the demise of his original family, DOII kicks off with our ‘hero’ (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) being adopted by another member of the Thorn dynasty. Richard (an ill-looking William Holden), like his late brother Robert is a prominent American, only this time he’s an industrial giant. His company, Thorn Industries, is exploring fresh fields for profit. Bill Atherton (Lew Ayres) is the ethical employee who disagrees with the more ruthless Paul Buher’s (Robert Foxworth) scheme to exploit Third World famine. It doesn’t take too many cranial nodes to work out who out of these two will still be alive by the end of the picture. It turns out that the latter isn’t only a sod in the business world but also has a vested interest in Damien’s upbringing. People seem to know who he is, like infernal agents whose role is to prepare him for adulthood. Indeed, everyone in the story neatly falls into the category of ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ or for the purposes of this movie the ‘dead’ and ‘winners.’ Only Thorn’s other son, Mark (Lucas Donat) comes across as an innocent, as though that’s likely to save him.

The tone of the film is set early. Carl Bugenhagen (Leo McKern, a rare survivor from the original movie) entreats a sceptical colleague to check out an ancient painted wall, proof he argues that Damien is the Antichrist. As Jerry Goldsmith’s music rises in urgency, the pair enter a temple’s catacombs, and there deep underground is the evidence. The face of the six-year old Damien stares out from the wall, and it’s at that precise moment that the old temple collapses… From there, anyone who even thinks ill of Satan Jr. has little more than a horrific end coming to them. It’s those who don’t get involved even that directly who I feel sorry for, such as the poor bugger who analyses Damo’s blood and matches his cells with those of a jackal - he literally goes to pieces. Or the engineer who could stand in the way of Buher’s malevolent plans for Thorn Industries - his death’s a gas.

Corpses litter the narrative, with the next gruesome death taking place within ten minutes of the previous one. After a while, it’s impossible to imagine that there’s any hope for the good guys. They’re flesh and blood, no match for the forces of darkness, and often enough their fragile lives are snuffed out before they even realise their part in Damien’s bid for world domination. And it’s a real weakness within the movie. Death follows death with almost weary predictability so that you know who’s going to be handed their cards long before they do - the only question being what form their ‘popping off’ will take.

There’s one glimmer of hope for the movie. Roughly halfway through, Damien is urged by his mentor, Sergeant Neff (Lance Henriksen) to read the book of Revelations. He does, and in a sudden moment of clarity understands exactly who he is. Bellowing ‘Why me?’ bleakly into the dusk, you start to wonder whether DOII will consider the character’s existential wrestling with his own demonic soul, with all the alleogrical teenage questions over identity that are implied. But no; the next time we see Damien, he’s reconciled with his dark intent and ready to dole out infernal judgement.

Otherwise, there’s little to stop the horned lad. Decent production values, the return of Goldmith’s terrific score and some fine performances (I especially liked (i) Foxworth, whose turn simply oozes an understated sense of evil (ii) Lee Grant as Mrs Thorn, who also emerges as the Whore of Babylon - fancy that (iii) Scott -Taylor, not bad as an adolescent Antichrist) can’t save the wasted plot. Once you realise that anyone who even considers standing in Damien’s way faces the final curtain, the film loses any real suspense, and it’s simply a matter of agreeing on the most elaborate execution scene. Hats off to the movie for coming up with some real stomach-clenchers. No two deaths in DOII (and there are many) are the same, and I’m a little surprised that Top Trumps haven’t exploited this fact for one of their special editions. The playground mob would love it…