Rent The Omen (1976)

One of The Great Horror Films - The Omen review by GI

The Omen remains a genuinely unsettling and riveting horror film. It rattles along at breathtaking speed with great characters, it's essentially a mystery thriller with dark religious based plot. Gregory Peck, who at the time had been retired for a few years and whose presence here lends the film extra gravitas, plays Robert Thorne. He's an American diplomat married to Kathy (Lee Remick) who is desperate to have a child and is a bit highly strung. When their son, born in Rome, is stillborn Robert decides to prevent undo heartache for Kathy by agreeing to unofficially adopt a baby whose mother has died the same night. He keeps this a secret from his wife who believes the child is hers. Five years later and Robert is now the US ambassador to Great Britain when he gets a visit from a bizarre priest who warns him that his son, Damien, is not what he seems. After a series of violent deaths linked to Damien Robert, with the help of a photographer (David Warner), sets off to find out where Damien really did originate from. Director Richard Donner cleverly decided to have nothing supernatural occur so the horror comes from atmosphere, dark shadows and the soundtrack is very spooky (although the deaths are very shocking). The supporting characters are fantastic especially Billie Whitelaw who plays the sinister Mrs Baylock and Patrick Troughton as Father Brennan. This is a film that is one of the best horror films about satanic worship and it's up there with The Exorcist (1973) and it's definitely one to see if you've never had the chance. It was pointlessly remade in 2006 so if that's in your mind forget it, this original is topnotch. The sequels are all average so forget those but see this if you haven't already.