BEFORE: Fast-forward 7 or 8 years, and Damien is back - and so is that creepy Latin choral music that sounds like an evil version of "Carmina Burana". Did you ever notice that you don't meet too many people named Damien any more? That's because of these films, I bet. I went back and read my review of "The Omen" remake from last year, and I realized I forgot to turn on the Spook-O-Meter for this year's horror films - I'll have to back and fix those reviews.
THE PLOT: Damien the Antichrist, now age 13, finally learns of his destiny under the guidance of an unholy disciple of Satan.
AFTER: Looks like they took my advice, and shipped Damien off to boarding school - actually a military academy. That's a relief - the son of Satan can't get into much trouble in the military, now can he?
Once again, the people who figure out Damien's true nature all seem to meet with untimely demises - some of which are rather graphic.
They also explain a bit about what we saw in the first film - somehow Damien's mother was a jackal? How did that work, exactly? Must have been an interesting courtship...
Unfortunately, this is pretty much a re-tread of the first film, the only difference being that this time, Damien knows who he is, and figures out how to make these "accidents" occur to the people who cross him.
And the movie takes liberty with aging Damien - this sequel was released just two years after "The Omen", but the kid aged 7 or 8 years. Neat trick.
Starring William Holden (last seen in "The Wild Bunch"), Lee Grant (last seen in "Airport '77"), Lance Henriksen (last seen in "Powder"), Robert Foxworth (also last seen in "Airport '77"), Nicholas Pryor (last seen in "Hoffa"), Leo McKern (again), and Allan Arbus (most famous for playing Dr. Sidney Freedman on "M*A*S*H"), also Meschach Taylor (later famous for being on the sitcom "Designing Women").
RATING: 4 out of 10 headstones
SPOOK-O-METER: 7 out of 10. Creepy teenager is creepy. Also, some pretty nasty death scenes - I'll bet this inspired films like "Final Destination".
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