Director: Richard Donner
Cast: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Billie Whitelaw
Screenplay: David Seltzer
111 mins. Rated R.

In the wake of The Exorcist, movies about the devil and demons became more prevalent, to the point that they are one of the more notable subgenres of the time. For producer Harvey Bernhard, the idea for The Omen occurred after a conversation about the Bible with a friend. Soon enough, David Seltzer (Shining Through) was hard at work on the screenplay. What followed would become one of the biggest devil films ever made.

Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck, Cape Fear) is a brand-new father, but only for a few moments. When his newborn child dies moments after birth, he makes a decision swap in another child for his to save the situation, keeping the secret from wife Katherine (Lee Remick, Anatomy of a Murder). Several years pass, and Robert discovers connections between his son and various “accidents” that take the lives of people near him. An intrepid photographer joins him on his journey to discover the true parentage of his son Damien, a truth he may not be willing to accept.

The first time I saw The Omen, I didn’t really care for it, but the film has grown on me quite a bit in recent rewatches. I’ve come to appreciate the earnest performance of Gregory Peck as Robert Thorn, a man dealing with the worst possible realizations. It helps that Richard Donner (The Goonies) asked Seltzer to remove supernatural confirmation from the film, so we as the audience question the reality unfolding along with Robert. Sure, that was kind of outdone in the sequels, but for this initial film, that element still holds up, as the intensity to which Peck’s performance goes to attain the answers to his horrific question.

David Warner (Titanic) stands out as well in role of photographer Keith, and I also quite enjoyed Patrick Troughton as Father Brennan, only just now realizing he was a Doctor Who. Harvey Stephens also carries a well-cast presence as Damien, a performance consisting largely of stares, moodly glances, and standing still, but it works for what Donner needs, and Donner deserves the most credit for pulling that performance out of Stephens, who had not acted prior.

Donner’s film struggles a bit with pacing and an odd ordering of some of its scenes that mess with the flow a bit. It’s never enough to derail the film, but ridding the film of Lee Remick for large stretches removes some interesting ideas about a mother’s love for her child, something that is met in the patriarchal sense with Robert.

The main reason, to me, why the movie has maintained its noteworthy prestige is that Jerry Goldsmith score. To date, it’s the only Oscar Goldsmith received, and the song Ave Satani is the only Best Original Song winner for a horror film. It’s the kind of score that stays in my head for days after watching the movie. Am I possessed? Can’t say for certain. Does the music make me want to commit sin for Damien? Maybe. It’s a phenomenal score that’s become synonymous with an entire subgenre, like how Carpenter’s Halloween score did for slashers.

The Omen is a movie that grows on me, and while I’ve always preferred the sequel, this original film is clearly iconic and extremely watchable, with a great set of performances, an unnerving score, and a screenplay that never gives the answers you seek, Donner’s film is a classic of the genre worthy of your Halloween watchlist.

4/5
-Kyle A. Goethe