Damien: Omen II (1978)

Director:

Don Taylor
(more)

Writers:

Harvey Bernhard (story)
David Seltzer (characters)
(more)

Release Date:

9 June 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The first time was only a warning.

Plot:

Damien the Antichrist, now age 13, finally learns of his destiny under the guidance of an unholy disciple of Satan. Meanwhile dark mystical forces begin to eliminate all those who suspect the child's true identity.

Plot Keywords:

Uncle | 13 Year Old | Antichrist | Aunt | Satan

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

William Holden	...	Richard Thorn
Lee Grant	...	Ann Thorn
Jonathan Scott-Taylor	...	Damien Thorn
Robert Foxworth	...	Paul Buher
Nicholas Pryor	...	Charles Warren
Lew Ayres	...	Bill Atherton
Sylvia Sidney	...	Aunt Marion
Lance Henriksen	...	Sergeant Neff
Elizabeth Shepherd	...	Joan Hart
Lucas Donat	...	Mark Thorn
Allan Arbus	...	Pasarian (as Alan Arbus)
Fritz Ford	...	Murray
Meshach Taylor	...	Dr. Kane
John J. Newcombe	...	Teddy
John Charles Burns	...	Butler
Paul Cook	...	Colonel
Diane Daniels	...	Jane
Robert E. Ingham	...	Teacher
William B. Fosser	...	Minister
Corney Morgan	...	Greenhouse Technician
Russell P. Delia	...	Truck Driver
Judith Dowd	...	Maid
Thomas O. Erhart Jr.	...	Sergeant #1
Sorin Serene Pricopie	...	Pasarian's Assistant (as Sorin Pricopie)
Robert J. Jones Jr.	...	Tour Guide
Rusdi Lane	...	Jim Gardner
Charles Mountain	...	Burial Priest
Cornelia Sanders	...	Young Girl
Felix Shuman	...	Dr. Fiedler
James Spinks	...	Technician #1
Owen Sullivan	...	Byron
William J. Whelehan	...	Security Guard
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ian Hendry	...	Michael (uncredited)
Gus Kaprales	...	Limo Driver (uncredited)
Leo McKern	...	Carl Bugenhagen (uncredited)

Directed by
Don Taylor
Mike Hodges		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Harvey Bernhard		(story)
David Seltzer		(characters)
Stanley Mann		(screenplay) and
Mike Hodges		(screenplay) (as Michael Hodges)

Produced by
Harvey Bernhard	....	producer
Joseph Lenzi	....	associate producer (as Joseph 'Pepi' Lenzi)
Charles Orme	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Bill Butler		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert Brown		(as Robert Brown Jr.)

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
Fred Harpman
Philip M. Jefferies

Makeup Department
Robert Dawn	....	makeup artist: Los Angeles
Lillian Toth	....	hairdresser: Chicago
Lillian Toth	....	makeup artist: Chicago

Production Management
Joseph Lenzi	....	production manager: Los Angeles (as Joseph 'Pepi' Lenzi)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jerry Ballew	....	first assistant director: Los Angeles
Bob Dahlin	....	second assistant director: Chicago
Al Nicholson	....	first assistant director: Los Angeles
Richard Luke Rothschild	....	second assistant director: Los Angeles

Art Department
Robert De Vestel	....	set decorator: Los Angeles (as Robert de Vestel)
William B. Fosser	....	associate set decorator: Chicago (as William Fosser)
Bill MacSems	....	property master: Los Angeles
Hendrik Wynands	....	construction coordinator: Los Angeles

Sound Department
William Hartman	....	sound editor: Los Angeles
Godfrey Marks	....	dialogue editor: Los Angeles
Al Overton	....	production sound mixer: Los Angeles
Edward Rossi	....	sound editor: Los Angeles
Theodore Soderberg	....	sound re-recording mixer: Los Angeles
Richard Sperber	....	sound editor: Los Angeles (as Richard A. Sperber)
Paul Wells	....	sound re-recording mixer: Los Angeles
Douglas O. Williams	....	sound re-recording mixer: Los Angeles

Special Effects by
Ira Anderson Jr.	....	special effects: Los Angeles

Visual Effects by
Stanley Cortez	....	miniatures photographer
Bill Hansard	....	process coordinator: Los Angeles
Chuck Taylor	....	miniatures maker

Stunts
Max Kleven	....	stunt coordinator: Los Angeles
Jerry Brutsche	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kitty O'Neil	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Derek V. Browne	....	assistant camera: Israel (as Derek Browne)
Colin J. Campbell	....	gaffer: Los Angeles (as Colin Campbell)
James R. Connell	....	camera operator: Los Angeles (as James Connell)
John D. Crededio	....	gaffer: Chicago (as John Crededio)
Al Giddings	....	underwater photographer: Los Angeles
George Hill	....	key grip: Los Angeles
Robert McLain	....	key grip: Chicago (as Robert McLaine Jr.)
Ed Nielsen	....	assistant camera: Chicago
Jack L. Richards	....	camera operator: Chicago (as Jack Richards)
Don Smetzer	....	still photographer: Chicago
Ron Taberer	....	assistant camera: Israel
Gilbert Taylor	....	cinematographer: Israel (as Gil Taylor)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Burton Miller	....	wardrobe: Miss Grant
Ray Summers	....	wardrobe: Los Angeles

Editorial Department
David Garfield	....	assistant editor: Los Angeles
Willie Navarro	....	assistant editor: Los Angeles

Music Department
Leonard A. Engel	....	music editor: Los Angeles (as Len Engel)

Transportation Department
James F. Hogan	....	transportation captain: Chicago (as James Hogan)

Other crew
Ray Berwick	....	raven trainer: Los Angeles
Rusty Lemorande	....	production assistant: Chicago
Audrey Levy	....	production assistant: Chicago
Dr. W.S. McBirnie	....	technical advisor (as Dr. W.S. McBirnie Ph.D.)
H. Bud Otto	....	script supervisor: Los Angeles
Zach Staenberg	....	production assistant: Chicago

Thanks
Cornelius Morgan	....	special thanks: Chicago Police Department (as Sergeant Cornelius Morgan)
Lucie Salenger	....	special thanks: State of Illinois Film Office (as Lucy Salenger)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1980) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• CBS/Fox Video (1984) (Belgium) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Encore Entertainment (????) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Fox Video (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Israfilm Motion Picture Services  Israel sequences serviced by
• Kawasaki Motors  snowmobiles
• Kawasaki Motors  winter clothing
• City Hall, Chicago  special thanks
• Northwestern Military and Naval Academy  special thanks
• Chicago Motion Picture Services  special thanks
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color by (as DeLuxe)

Also Known As:

Omen II
Omen II: Damien (reissue title)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | South Korea:15 | Canada:18A (video rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2006) | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Finland:K-18 | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Don Taylor replaced director Mike Hodges as a result of creative differences. However, the few scenes Hodges directed were kept, like the scenes at the factory and at the military school, and also the dinner where Aunt Marion shows her concern about Damien.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Damien reads aloud from Revelation 13 but what he reads is actually cobbled together from seperate sections of the Bible. In order, they are Revelation 13:4, 19:19, Daniel 8:25 and concluding with Revelation 13:16-18.

Quotes:

Mark Thorn: [Talking about Neff, that he might be the next platoon leader] That must be him.
Damien Thorn: He looks okay.
Mark Thorn: They're all the same.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Martian Child (2007)

Lacks the intelligence and originality that made the first film so good.

DAMIEN: OMEN II (1978)

THE GOOD:

--There is some good suspense sequences in this film. I loved the death under the ice (goddamn that would be a horrible way to die), the birds attacking the reporter and the intense murder of Mark by Damien.

--Jonathan Scott-Taylor's performance in this film is great. At the start I had my doubts about his performance but as the movie went on he became more and more entertaining to watch. I really bought his performance as Damien - it felt very real and it seemed to me like I was watching the real Antichrist unfold in front of my eyes.

--The score, just like it was in the first film, is terrific, memorable and thrilling.

THE BAD:

--Aside from the strong first half, this movie is basically a stale rehash of the original after a while. We get the daggers, the warning person (the reporter this time) and that same wall thing we got last time. It makes the film seem like they had no ideas for a second movie, which makes me how the hell they're gonna come up with a good idea for the third film.

--This movie is WAY too repetitive. It feels like a slasher after a short while - its death, funeral/grieving, death, funeral/grieving.repeat until ANNOYED. What happened to the infrequent yet shocking and brilliant deaths of the first film, and the interesting storyline we got in the first film?

--The characters aren't very well established (I forgot who was who numerous times) and I wasn't really interested in them as people and didn't really give a crap if they died or not.

--What the hell was up with that stupid subplot with the Uncle's business? That had no place in the movie. We get so many scenes and conversations discussing that business and how it's gonna change the world and stuff and it doesn't amount to anything or have even any place in this movie at all.

--Damien's character is really uneven and it was so frustrating. One minute he's this stand-up young gentlemen, then a blood thirsty little Antichrist brat, and then he's back to being that wonderful cadet in the military, and then he's back on the bratness. Did this piss anyone else off? In the first movie he was pure evil, but it seemed like in this one the writer tried to develop the character's grief and understanding of his life whilst at the same time continuing the run of evil Damien. Though I did enjoy the performance by Scott-Taylor as previously mentioned.

RATING:

5/10 - "Damien: Omen II" lacks the originality and intelligence that made the first film such a hit.

IF YOU LIKED THIS MOVIE I RECOMMEND:

The Exorcist (9/10) Final Destination (8/10) Final Destination 2 (7/10) The Omen (8/10) Stigmata (6/10)