النذير

The moral dilemmas, the mounting tension, stoic Gregory Peck and Lee Remick coming to their own separate conclusions, the baboons, the Priest, the photographer revelation, the graveyard dogs, that freaking scary Nanny and our beloved Damian: the scariest kid on film as the Antichrist! The mythology needed little explanation and the acting took this horror to the highest level of suspension of disbelief. Director Richard Donner weaves it all together with a Carmina Burana -esque score . And yet the eternal question lingers "What do you know about my son"? How can you not consider what you would do faced with this horror scenario? That is why this is so horrifyingly personal and a must watch!

The first and best in the series of films about devil-child Damien teamed a great cast (Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Patrick Troughton, Billie Whitelaw) with Harvey Stephens in a chilling performance as the child. The deaths most of the cast meet are inventive and in some cases, memorable for many years after viewing the film - giving the opportunity for some unusual and striking visuals, while the whole film is soaked in that loud Goldsmith score to great effect. The sequels, alas, were poor in comparison, but 'The Omen' stands alone of its type of seventies horror schlock.

Classic. You bring the devil to your film and do it well, then you're competing with The Omen as much as you are The Exorcist, which to this day are arguably still the gold standards when it comes to Beelzebub showing up on screen. Also a benchmark for creepy music adding additional creep: Gregorian chants start as a murmur, and built to a ratcheted intensity that simply put the film way over the top in the best possible way. This was 1976, remember, so what you'll get - and I'd say as an added bonus - is the very Seventies look and feel that movies had during this very unique era. When Peck exhumes the grave, and when the film closes with young Damien smiling, the hair on one's back shoots through the roof. The Omen is simply all-time.

The Omen... it's a great film, and one of the best of the horror genre. It still remains atmospheric and genuinely frightening after all this time, and no matter how many times I've watched it the impact is still there. One or two parts may have dated slightly, other than that, and knowing me it's me being picky, there's little to complain about. the Omen is especially held together by a truly unsettling atmosphere and some imaginative death scenes. Jerry Goldsmith's score is also fantastic, and the film looks very nice. Richard Donner's direction is excellent, the pacing is just about right and the cast is distinguished, not only from Gregory Peck but also from David Warner, Leo McKern and especially Lee Remick as well as a genuinely terrifying Billie Whitelaw. In conclusion, just great and highly recommended. 9/10 Bethany Cox