There
isn't much that bothers Christians more than the Anti-Christ, so
choosing that subject for a horror film, is an obvious yet brilliant
decision. You already know some people are on edge, as soon as they
enter the theater. All you have to do is push them over the line, but
that's easier said than done.
The
antagonist of this movie is a five year old child. That's a unique
problem, when you're dealing with this genre. After all, the audience
wants to be frightened, and one way or the other, you're going to
have to deliver. Ultimately, "The Omen" handles the problem
in a creative way.
Classic
Movie Trailers - The Omen (1976)
They
could have tried to make Damian a physical threat. If they went in
that direction, they might have ended up with a comedy. While
"Child's Play" proved, that a pint-size demon can work
onscreen, a toddler is not Chucky and Chucky is not a toddler. That
is to say that we really don't have a frame of reference, for a doll
that has come to life, but we know how threatening little boys are
and you can pretty much kick 'em around.
What
they could have done, was jump the story forward a bit, to when the
child becomes a young man. That would have been an entirely different
movie and I'm not sure how that would have played. After a quick
Wikipedia search, I didn't see much competition for "The Omen"
in '76; Freddy debuted in '84, Jason wasn't big until '81, and
Michael Myers was still a few years off. We'll never know now, but a
grown Damian could have been a thing.
Interestingly,
"Carrie" also opened in '76. So, if "The Omen"
went with option number three, it would have beat that film by five
months. As I see it, that was one of the more viable solutions. All
you would have to do is hoist the boy up on a wire, add flying
objects and wind effects and you have your Son of Satan.
If
the kid can roll his eyes towards the back of his head, that's
perfect. Admittedly though, that's probably asking too much. Contact
lenses is definitely out of the question, but a few cheap effects
would have sold it just fine. The only real problem with that kind of
approach, is that you lay all your cards on the table right away.
Instead
of doing that, the filmmakers used misdirection. Damian wasn't the
problem himself; it was the people, animals and things around him,
that went and did the horrible things. With that sort of scenario,
you actually gain a bit of mileage you wouldn't have otherwise. For
one thing, this movie has more variety than its peers.
With
most pictures like this, it's the same thing over and over. A slasher
film, for example, is just a guy with a mask and some sort of weapon.
You can only knife characters so many times, before it gets boring
and repetitive. Even if Damian succumbed to the Dark Side, he would
have to use the Force like MacGyver, just to keep things interesting.
Here
though, you're never quite sure how the death is going to happen. You
know it's coming, you just don't know from where. Personally, I
sensed evil as soon as I saw that nanny. The dog was a hell hound
obviously, but everything was ominous; there wasn't a safe place
anywhere.
Honestly,
I can't say the little brat was totally innocent. There were a few,
unfortunate events, that he may or may not have influenced. Granted,
he did cause a pretty serious spill, but boys will be boys and you
can't prove intent.
The
final scenes brought us back to the very first obstacle. Damian's
still five, and he needs a lot more than a spanking. Unfortunately,
you can't do a lot more without demonizing your hero and leaving the
audience in shock. He may be the root of all evil but it's kind of
hard to tell for sure, and a child so young will still elicit
sympathy.
So
I think the end was appropriate, given what we saw. There was enough
doubt to keep us from wanting blood, and there was enough fun to
justify a sequel. In hindsight, I'm sure that was planned from the
start. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to drag the kid to church,
to give the cops time and every excuse to stop him.
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See
"The Omen" on Netflix!
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