La Malédiction

The first and best in the series of films about devil-child Damien teamed a great cast (Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Patrick Troughton, Billie Whitelaw) with Harvey Stephens in a chilling performance as the child.

The deaths most of the cast meet are inventive and in some cases, memorable for many years after viewing the film - giving the opportunity for some unusual and striking visuals, while the whole film is soaked in that loud Goldsmith score to great effect.

The sequels, alas, were poor in comparison, but 'The Omen' stands alone of its type of seventies horror schlock.

Well made horror movie where numerous people meet horrible deaths by terrible demonic forces . This terror movie fundamentally centers on the rebirth of the anti-Christ, it's a creepy story where occur gruesome and bizarre deaths concerning Satan's son . American diplomat's family ( Gregory Peck and Lee Remick) adopts a baby , he's named Damien and has the devil mark : 666 . One time grown-up , young boy possessed with mysterious demonic powers causing wreak havoc and bizarre killings wherever he goes . The parents hire a nanny (Billie Whitelaw) and she schemes that delightful child anti-Christ can carry out all the evil plans . The little boy seems to be around when inexplicable deaths happen including rid of several interfering adults with the aim for world domination . Damien is poised for ruling devil over earth . Meanwhile the father is warned by a priest named Brennan (Patrick Thoughton) and a photographer( David Warner) and going on inexplicable deaths , as numerous of the roles come to a sticky final . At the ending the film puts a Biblic phrase : ¨Here is wisdom, let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast : for it is the number of a man , and is number is 666¨. Book of Revelation Chapter 13 verse 18 .

After the ¨Exorcist¨ , ¨Richard Donner's Omen¨ was one of the most famous films of all time and the major possession movie of the 70s and created an authentic sensation , originating various sequels: ¨Damien, Omen 2 ¨ with William Holden and Lee Grant ,in which Damien is again adopted by a basic couple and proceeds to wreak havoc wherever he goes ; ¨The final conflict¨ with Sam Neill and ¨Omen 4, the awakening ¨ with Faye Grant and Michael Woods ; furthermore a modern remake . The chief excitement lies in seeing what new and amazing victim can be dreamt by the believable effects . Meantime Damien seems to dispatch new bizarre killing every few minutes of the movie . Charismatic performance of excellent protagonists , Peck and Remick , and all around with special mention to Patrick Thougthon as unfortunate priest and Billie Whitelaw as nasty servant . Impressive score by Jerry Goldsmith , deservedly winner one Oscar and colorful cinematography by Gilbert Taylor . The motion picture is originally written by David Seltzer an compellingly directed by Richard Donner .Followed in 2006 by a remake by John Moore starred by Liev Schreiver and Julia Styles , the inevitable comparison between Schreiber and Gregory Peck reveals that Liev is just too cool for this role and though redundant to original film is a fitting description of the director John Moore ,however is sometimes a shot-for-shot recreation but it doesn't insult the viewer's intelligence. ¨ The Omen¨, the story about a little boy possessed with mysterious demonic powers who murders those persons who anger him was a phenomenon and remains one of the highest horror pictures of all time. The movie's intelligence , believable Fx , breathtaking score, luxurious photography all combined to make it a classic and its influence cannot be overstated . Along with ¨The exorcist¨spawned a wave of demonic possession movies that goes on unabated nowadays .

Classic. You bring the devil to your film and do it well, then you're competing with The Omen as much as you are The Exorcist, which to this day are arguably still the gold standards when it comes to Beelzebub showing up on screen.

Also a benchmark for creepy music adding additional creep: Gregorian chants start as a murmur, and built to a ratcheted intensity that simply put the film way over the top in the best possible way. This was 1976, remember, so what you'll get - and I'd say as an added bonus - is the very Seventies look and feel that movies had during this very unique era.

When Peck exhumes the grave, and when the film closes with young Damien smiling, the hair on one's back shoots through the roof. The Omen is simply all-time.

This movie was back when you had to be creepy to scare people, vs gross.

And there's nothing creepier than scary movies with religious undertones.

This movie is one of the rare good ones that came out of the 70s, still watchable today.

But you'll have to like older films in general, to be able to enjoy it.

It seems the negative reviews are all people who hate religion - but still put on a movie revolving around religious undertones. Lol It's not the movie's fault they're an idiot.

Historically, this is a great flick - because you can really see what 90s films would eventually be, in it.

Way ahead of its time, as to directing.

This movie plays with the intellect. It is frightening for what is not seen. From the grey overcast that blurs the skies of London and the dead stillness of the great Pereford mansion that houses the ill-fated Thorn family to the deepest recesses of civilization in the hollow underground of an ancient excavation site, the film effectively captures the viewer's interest and draws them into a world that is on the verge of the ultimate disaster - the birth of the anti-Christ.

Born into the world of politics and wealth, little Damien Thorn is the darling of the beautiful and privileged Robert and Katherine Thorn. Mysterious accidents and the overall feeling of death begin to shadow their lives until the horrifying truth of Damien's birth is uncovered millions of miles away in a grave in a decaying pagan cemetery in Italy. Gregory Peck gives a fine performance as ambitious politico Robert Thorn, a man who slowly discovers that his fate is interlinked in ancient biblical prophecy. With escalating horror, he uncovers a grand design that's unfolding under the unsuspecting eyes of the entire world - and he and his perfect family are at the centre of it. His search for the truth is one of the best in films, taking him to the farthest reaches of the globe and climaxing in an exciting and bizarre confrontation between himself and the face of evil.

Lee Remick is ethereal as his beautiful and tragic wife. The rest of the cast - Billie Whitelaw as the creepy Mrs. Baylock, David Warner as the doomed Jennings and Leo McKern as the mysterious archaeologist Bugenhagen - give the movie its singular dark and moody quality. THE OMEN has a few disturbing moments that shock rather than disgust, but the film is loaded with memorable scenes that are ingenious. It's the 'feeling' that the film incites that makes this movie unique. The haunted performances of the actors, the creepy-crawly musical score, the insinuation that doom is slowly creeping into the world with the birth of one lone child, all succeed in making THE OMEN one of the truest horror films.

Sometimes it's the knowing that something is going to happen that is more frightening than actually seeing it happen ...