Damien

I have just finished watching the first episode of Damien and enjoyed it overall, unfortunately let down slightly by poor acting from Tiffany Hines and Megalyn Echikunwoke who both had the emotional range of a brick but Bradley James was good ( I mean I never expect top notch acting but surely an actress should be able to conjure a few tears when called for ). The use of footage from the original film was well used and gave us just enough to jog the memory without having to watch it.

But if you have not seen the original film then get watching but don't watch any of the others ( just don't! its not pretty ). So Overall 7 out of 10 for episode one.

Damien (2016): TV series on Fox, a direct sequel to The Omen film. Damien is now 30 and works as a war photographer. Things start to go strange, people die around him, friends, enemies, those who know about his past. The Devil Dogs are pretty busy but other deaths result from being dragged into an escalator by a tie (terrible way to lose face) or being crushed by a taxicab. There are competing cultists who want to protect Damien and also those who wish to kill him. Quite dark and violent even though Damien is an engaging character who is a reluctant Antichrist. There was only one season of ten episodes and I'm halfway through it. I suspect I'll be left wanting more. 8/10.

Having watched all three Omens film during my youth, I was a bit reluctant at first whether or not it would be possible to take a classic like that and bring it into the TV-series era. I've watched 10 episodes so far, and I must admit, they've nailed it! Its a thrilling experience from episode 2 and on wards, and the suspense only rises per episode. The TV-Series does a really good job of providing a bit of feedback from the first film into season 1 so it sort of binds it together, and gains a plausible "life" of its own as a TV-series. If you love dark stories, and the everlasting story of good vs evil, where the boundaries are often erased as nothing is truly completely light nor dark, but can be either at any side, you should really take a good look at Damien, which has a lot of gloomy sides.

I am quite amazed as I didn't expect a TV series to take over from the first two films in the Omen series so well.

The characters are very well cast and played. The plot is very believable (that is if you thought Omen was). The confusion of Damien as to who he is or may be is credible.

So what more to say ? I look forward to each episode and have waited four episodes before writing this review just to make sure it really does work.

It uses some clips from the movie to add to the credibility of the story and does it very well.

The acting and directing are very very solid and well worth watching.

If you hadn't guessed I think this is a very good series and I hope it has many many years to run.

I have confidence in Glen Mazzara's creation of this series, even if the critics out there trashing it, do not. One critic went so far as to say he would never give this show another chance after viewing the pilot. What tripe and how close minded. I gave Hannibal a chance, a re-working of another well-known character, and was richly rewarded. I intend to give this series a shot, let it unfold and see how it hits me, as a big fan of the 1976 Richard Donner film from which it draws thematically and musically. What I like about the pilot episode: the modern updating, the acting, the music, and not making Damien good or bad but basically innocent until his 30th birthday (why, I will leave for you to discover), upon which he must start grappling with horrific memories of his long-past childhood.

It makes no sense for Damien to start out evil in this show, as that leaves his character nowhere to go. What I hope will be explored is if the nature of evil, whether you believe in Revelation/the Bible or not, is a growth, a given, a concept that can be overcome, or something you ultimately must submit to and revel in as your true nature. And that conflict, the gray area, is much more interesting to me. This series will sink or swim, based on its ability to draw out that narrative. And in just viewing the pilot, I think it has a lot of possibility.