BEFORE: Once again, my birthday has come around (39? Again? Imagine that...) and I'm afraid this year I don't have an appropriate film, or even one I feel very connected to - at least last year I watched some creepy Edgar Allen Poe films... It's too bad my birthday comes smack in the middle of Shock-tober, since I'm not even a huge fan of horror films. I guess I'll reward myself by finishing off another franchise, even though this entry in the "Omen" series was technically a TV movie, a clear violation of my rules. But hey, it came in the "Omen" box set, so it counts, right?
THE PLOT: Damien Thorn's prophecy is reborn in a mysterious girl named Delia, who is adopted by two attorneys.
AFTER: I didn't see the connection to the other films in the series at first - probably because the filmmakers neglected to include any, for the first 2/3 of the film. I guess Damien's spirit had to go somewhere, since they did a rather incorrect job of dispatching him in "Omen III" (the not-so-Final Conflict, as it turns out...)
Delia's adoption causes a spontaneous eclipse (whatever that is...again we've got troubles with real-world astronomy), but shouldn't that have happened at the time of her birth? She also seems to be able to cause arbitrary earthquakes, invert crosses, and make priests and nuns convulse in pain. If you experience convulsions around this young girl, please consult your doctor - or the nearest exorcist.
Once again we've got the Rottweiler hellhound, and the unlikely "accidents" that befall anyone who gets too close to the truth. This was filmed during the New Age-y 90's (good times...) so there's a bunch of stuff about inner light and crystals mixed in with the quotes from the Book of Revelation. Delia's visit to the Psychic Fair results in it being burned down - but really, who invited the clowns and the fire-jugglers to the Psychic Fair? It's not a circus, this is science! (sort of...)
More creepy nannies, even creepier doctors, and a conspiracy that reaches all the way up to...a political action committee! Who could have dreamed that they would be so corrupt? Say it ain't so...jeez, if you can't trust lobbyists, who can you trust? But I didn't realize that Satan's interests were being represented in Congress - I guess I shouldn't be so surprised.
The eventual resurrection of Damien strains the boundaries of believability - not to mention the human reproductive system. And Delia's adoptive mother learns that once you go down into the rabbit hole that is the Book of Revelation (or the prophecies of Nostradamus, for that matter) you start to see all the connections, real or imagined, and it's hard to get yourself back to reality. You're riding on the rails of the crazy train...
Starring Faye Grant, Michael Woods, and character actors Michael Lerner (last seen in "Art School Confidential") and Don Davis (last seen in "Con Air" but more famous for appearing in "Twin Peaks" and the "Stargate" TV series).
RATING: 3 out of 10 headstones. An unfortunate and unnecessary end to the franchise.
SPOOK-O-METER: 2 out of 10. The girl is nasty, but honestly, so are a lot of 10-year old girls. And most of the accidents are fairly explainable - a woman walked into a pit of snakes, and wasn't prepared to get bitten? That's just bad planning.
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