The Omen (1976)

I think the last time that I watched The Omen (1976) was while I was in high school. I was at my friend’s house sitting on the far-right seat of his couch. Anyway, I specifically remember the birthday party scene but nothing beyond that. This scene and the rest of the movie are great. I appreciate this film and understand it to be a classic. I put it in a category along with The Exorcist regarding subject matter and shock factor for release period. Although, I do think Linda Blair’s iconic role is in another world altogether. That’s another blog for another time. Let’s talk about The Omen.

First, I’ll put this movie in perspective. It was released in 1976 at which time censorship, life, people, and the desensitization of people were at a different place than they are today. This is important for the significance of the plot. The basic story is that through unfortunate events, a man and his wife adopt a child who is the antichrist predicted in John’s Revelation. Keeping the release year in mind, a movie featuring this subject matter was not well received and was terrifying to society in 1976. Emily Reuben mentioned and elaborated on this in an article titled “The Untold Truth of The Omen” (2020). For today’s viewers, this movie is nothing. In fact, it was remade, with some enhancement in 2006 for a more modern audience. Now that we have The Omen in perspective, I’ll go ahead and get the boring weird stuff about me out of the way.

In this film you get to see a lot of England and Rome from the 70s which is cool. The mansions that a lot of this film take place in are classic and stereotypical. They have floor to ceiling bookshelves, fireplaces in every room, ornate ceiling work, and crazy rails and stairs. The grounds that you see the family walking on are magazine quality – the “lifestyles of the rich and famous” are represented well. A private jet from the 70s can be seen, an odd English limousine, some VW busses, and other odd cars are present throughout the movie. There is a view of an old Esso sign in the background during one scene and a photographer’s dark room is frequently seen. Some unique things are the clowns and circus equipment at Damien’s birthday party. The 1970’s USMC make an appearance in this movie. Something else small I noticed and liked was a vintage TV camera. The thing that stood out most though, was in a hospital scene. I take for granted that this hospital was in Rome. In this scene, the characters are talking to a nun. In the background you see the walls moving up and down. As the conversation ends, the nun steps into a person size space that comes open as the wall is moving. It is a single person elevator! I have never seen this before. The mechanics of this are crazy. How did it turn over and reset itself? Were these really used? This fascinated me, historically speaking, more than anything.

As far as the movie goes, I see why it has held a place in history. Aside from the plot and the time being a significance for this movie’s impact, the quality of the movie is also a factor. The effects for the time were very well done. As far as gore goes, there wasn’t a lot of it in this movie but, the few parts are well done. There is a scene involving a sheet of glass sliding from a truck that stands out to me. Some of the scenes are mesmerizing. The light from a room’s fireplace is hypnotizing as it dances through one scene. At one point in the plot a Rottweiler is walking down a dim lit hallway in classic fashion. This is the movie that made me first want a Rottweiler – just some trivia about me. Anyone who owns one of these amazing dogs knows that Rottweiler gait.  Scenes like these create feeling and connection in this movie. The pace of the movie is consistent, and it keeps your attention for the duration of it. There is a lot of foreshadowing, but this 70’s movie is worth watching regardless.

If you ever wonder why people don’t generally name their kids “Damien” anymore or why DMX likely used this name for his song, you can thank The Omen. While I was aware of this going in, I found it interesting that Reuben mentioned this too. She also pointed out that The Omen helped to get Star Wars made (2020). That’s something to be thankful for if nothing else. This movie is surely a cult classic and a must watch if you’re into classic films, films with historical cinematic impact, horror, supernatural horror, or just into cool movies. If you fall into any of the previous categories, put this on your watch list right away. It’s free on Tubi right now and, I’m sure it’s a cheap DVD purchase away on eBay.

Reference List

Reuben, E. (2020, June 16). The untold truth of the omen. Looper.com. The Untold Truth Of The Omen (looper.com)

Cinema Masterpieces. (2022). US one sheet original movie poster advance teaser. [Image]. Cinemasterpices.com. omen1apr09.jpg (1376×2006) (cinemasterpieces.com)