Damien: Omen II (1978)

Directed by Don Taylor [Other horror films: The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)] & Mike Hodges [Other horror films: The Terminal Man (1974), Black Rainbow (1989)]

Much like the first movie, Damien: Omen II is a film I saw bits and pieces of quite often in my childhood. I can’t swear I sat through the whole thing, and if I did, I doubt I understood some of the subplots, but it’s a movie I always enjoyed, and actually tend to like more than the first movie.

A large part of that is because of the pacing. The first movie was a bit slow at times, which is amazing, as this movie, at an hour and 47 minutes, is only a little shorter than the first movie’s hour and 51 minute run-time, and yet, this one just seems to move quicker. There’s also the fact Damien is 12 years old, and has a decent amount more agency than he did in the first movie, including control of his awesome abilities.

I also love a lot of the deaths in this movie. I don’t think any match the glass plate decapitation in the first film, but there’s a lot of memorable sequences here. I think the most striking may be the elevator scene, in which someone’s body gets severed in half. A woman gets her eyes slashed at by a raven, and blindly runs into the road, getting hit by a semi. Some people drown in falling sand – an opening scene which I’ve never forgotten. And though not at all gory, someone gets impaled by a train. Even the guy drowning beneath the ice was A+ material. Plenty of quality scenes in this one.

Performances are solid too. Even smaller roles, such as those by Elizabeth Shepherd (The Tomb of Ligeia), Sylvia Sidney (God Told Me To, Death at Love House, Snowbeast, Beetlejuice), Meshach Taylor (Hyenas), Leo McKern (X the Unknown, along with being the only returning face from the first movie), Lew Ayres (She Waits, Donovan’s Brain, Salem’s Lot), and Nicholas Pryor (Brain Dead), all did reasonably well, and though some didn’t have much time to make an impression, I think most were able to do so.

At times, Jonathan Scott-Taylor seemed a little melodramatic as Damien, and Lucas Donat occasionally had the same problem, but for younger actors, I thought they worked well together. Lance Henriksen (Mansion of the Doomed, In the Spider’s Web, The Invitation, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Mangler 2) wasn’t really in the spotlight, but he was quality when he popped up. Robert Foxworth (It Happened at Lakewood Manor, Prophecy, Deathmoon, The Devil’s Daughter) had a good, dark aura to him.

William Holden made for an engaging character, and I could buy him as Gregory Peck’s brother. Especially toward the end, as he was learning more and more about Damien’s backstory, he really had time to shine. Likewise, while Lee Grant (The Spell, Visiting Hours) doesn’t make much of an impression until the finale, she really does make an impression come the finale, and even has a somewhat surprising story arc.

Again, I really liked the performances in this movie. It’s a fun story with plenty of interesting deaths and a solid finale, all with quality performances and moving at a quick pace. Admittedly, I’m probably one of the few who enjoys it more than the first movie, but I do, and though I don’t think it’s a significantly better film, it is one that I’ll never have a problem revisiting.

8/10