Damien: Omen II

Damien: Omen IIis a 1978supernatural horror filmdirected byDon Taylor.It is the sequel toThe Omen,and the second installment ofThe Omenseries.It starsWilliam HoldenandLee Grant,withJonathan Scott-Taylor,Robert Foxworth,Lew Ayres,Sylvia Sidney,Lance Henriksen,Ian Hendry,andLeo McKern.Set seven years after the first film, it follows a now-pubescentDamien Thorn(Scott-Taylor) as he begins to realize his destiny as theAntichrist.

Damien: Omen II
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Don Taylor
Screenplay by	Stanley Mann Mike Hodges
Story by	Harvey Bernhard
Based on	Characters by David Seltzer
Produced by	Harvey Bernhard
Starring	William Holden Lee Grant
Cinematography	Bill Butler
Edited by	Robert Brown
Music by	Jerry Goldsmith
Production company	Mace Neufeld Productions
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	June 9, 1978(1978-06-09)
Running time	107 minutes
Countries	United States United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	$6.8 million
Box office	$26.5 million (US/Canada)

Franchise producerHarvey Bernhardwrote the screen story, with a screenplay byStanley MannandMike Hodges.Hodges was the original director, but was replaced by Don Taylor early in production. Unlike the first film, which was shot in England and Italy, filming of the sequel took place primarily in the United States, in locations aroundChicago, IllinoisandWisconsin.The opening scene was shot inIsrael.

It was released by20th Century Foxon June 9, 1978, and received mixed reviews from critics. A sequel,Omen III: The Final Conflict,was released in 1981.

Plot

One week afterthe events of the first film,archaeologist Carl Bugenhagen learns thatDamien Thornis still alive. InAcre,Israel,Bugenhagen asks his friend Michael Morgan to deliver a box to Damien's new guardian, explaining that Damien is the Antichrist and that the box contains the Seven Daggers ofMegiddoneeded to kill him. When Morgan expresses scepticism, Bugenhagen takes him to a local ruin to see the mural of Yigael's Wall, which was said to have been drawn by a monk who had visions of the Antichrist as he would appear from birth to adulthood. Morgan believes him upon seeing Damien's face painted on the mural, but both he and Bugenhagen are buried alive after the ruins abruptly collapse.

Seven years later, the 12-year-old Damien is living inChicagowith his aunt and uncle, Ann and Richard Thorn. Damien gets along well with his cousin Mark, with whom Damien is enrolled in a military academy, but is despised by Richard's aunt Marion, who sees him as a bad influence on Mark and threatens to cut Richard out of her will if he does not separate the two boys. Late one night, Marion suffers a fatal heart attack after being scared by a raven that appears in her room.

Over the following days, a number of other bizarre incidents surrounding the Thorn family occur: a photojournalist who tried to interview Richard after seeing Yigael's Wall (and Damien in person) is run over by a truck after being blinded by a raven attack, a senior manager of Thorn Industries (a corporation owned by the family) drowns in a frozen lake, and two other employees are suffocated by toxic fumes following an unexpected gas leak at a factory plant. The latter incident also sickens Damien's class, who were visiting the plant at the time. At the hospital, Damien is the only student found to be unaffected by the fumes, but a doctor suggests keeping him in the hospital as a precaution. The doctor later discovers that Damien's marrow cells resemble those of ajackal,but is killed by a falling elevator cable before he can report his findings.

Meanwhile, Bugenhagen's box has been found during an excavation of the ruins and delivered to the Thorn Museum. Dr. Warren, the museum's curator and Richard's friend, opens it and finds the sacred daggers, along with a letter by Bugenhagen explaining that Damien is the Antichrist. Warren rushes to inform Richard. Mark overhears their conversation and confronts Damien, who admits to being the Devil's son. Damien pleads with Mark to join him on his rise to power, but Mark's steadfast refusal "forces" Damien to kill Mark by causing ananeurysmin his cousin's brain.

Shaken by his son's death, Richard goes toNew York Cityto see a half-crazed Warren before being taken to the rail yard, where Yigael's Wall is being stored in a cargo carrier. As he sees Damien's image, Warren is killed in a freak locomotive accident, convincing Richard beyond doubt that Damien is the Antichrist. Upon his return, Richard has Damien picked up from his graduation at the academy while taking Ann to the museum in order for them to retrieve the daggers. After finding them, however, Ann uses them to kill Richard, revealing herself to be a Satanist and proclaiming that she's "always belonged to him". As she screams Damien's name, Damien, having overheard the altercation, unleashes his telekinetic ability and wills a nearby boiler room to explode, setting fire to the building andburning Ann with firekilling her instantly. Damien leaves the burning museum and is picked up by the family driver as the fire department arrives.

Cast

• William Holdenas Richard Thorn
• Lee Grantas Ann Thorn
• Jonathan Scott-TaylorasDamien Thorn
• Robert Foxworthas Paul Buher
• Lew Ayresas Bill Atherton
• Sylvia Sidneyas Aunt Marion
• Nicholas Pryoras Dr. Charles Warren
• Lance Henriksenas Sergeant Daniel Neff
• Elizabeth Shepherdas Joan Hart
• Lucas Donatas Mark Thorn
• Allan Arbusas Dr. David Pasarian
• Meshach Tayloras Dr. J. Kayne

Uncredited

• Leo McKernas Carl Bugenhagen
• Ian Hendryas Michael Morgan

Development and pre-production

Writing

David Seltzer,who wrote the first film's screenplay, was asked by the producers to write the second.Seltzer refused, for he had no interest in writing sequels. Years later he commented that if he had written the story for the secondOmen,he would have set it the day after the first installment, with Damien a child living in theWhite House.With Seltzer turning downOmen II,producerHarvey Bernhardduly outlined the story himself, andStanley Mannwas hired to write the screenplay.

The earliest drafts presented Damien as a teenager and featured a female love interest. The love interest was deleted in the final film.

Casting

Academy Award-winning veteran actor William Holden was considered to star as Robert Thorn in the firstOmen,but turned it down as he did not want to star in a picture about the devil.Gregory Peckwas selected as his replacement.The Omenwent on to become a huge hit, and Holden made sure he did not turn down the part of protagonist Richard Thorn in the sequel.Lee Grant, another Oscar-winner, was a fan of the firstOmen,and enthusiastically accepted the role of Ann Thorn.

Ray Berwick (1914–1990) trained and handled the crows used for several scenes in the film. Live birds and a crow puppet were used for the attack on photojournalist Joan Hart. Berwick also trained the avian actors in Alfred Hitchcock'sThe Birds(1963).

Leo McKernreprises his role as Carl Bugenhagen from the original film. McKern is the only cast member of the series to appear as the same character in more than one instalment, although actor Tommy Duggan appears in the first and third instalments of the series as different characters.

Damien: Omen IIwas the film debut ofMeshach Taylor(Dr. Kayne).

Production

Under Mike Hodges

Richard Donner,director of the first installment, was not available to direct the second; he was busy working onSuperman.British directorMike Hodgeswas hired to helm the film.Four weeks into principal photography, however, Hodges left the film: "artistic differences" was the reason given to the media, but the producers were unhappy with Hodges' working methods which they claimed were too slow and placing the film behind schedule.Hodges nonetheless maintained a screenwriter's credit on the finished film.

Harvey Bernhard cited a demonstrative instance where Hodges spent half a day's filming setting up a single shot of Damien coming from the stone pillars at the far end of the garden on the Thorn Estate in order to place abonfirein the foreground.In later interviews, Hodges gave his own account of his experiences working onOmen II.He claimed that Bernhard produced a gun during an argument about the design budget, also that he left of his own accord rather than being fired.

Under Don Taylor

Bernhard replaced Hodges withDon Taylor,who had a reputation for finishing films on time and under budget.Taylor reshot several of Hodges scenes, though several of the earlier director's takes remain in the final film, including:

• The entire opening sequence in Jerusalem.
• Some of the footage at the factory and at the military academy.
• The dinner where Aunt Marion shows her concern about Damien

Lance Henriksenexpressed frustration that Taylor cut most of his role and character development.

Taylor also added the twist ending of Ann Thorn being a secret disciple of Damien who kills Richard in the climax.

Filming locations

Unlike the first film, which was shot primarily inEngland,Damienwas filmed primarily in the United States.

The film was mainly set in Chicago and was largely filmed in that city's downtown. The Thorn Industries building was actuallyChicago City Hall.Another scene took place atGraceland Cemetery.Scenes that were supposedly at a New York City railroad freight yard, with theCBOT Towerand theSears Towerclearly visible in the background, were actually filmed at the Rock Island Railroad's 12th Street intermodel yard in Chicago, Illinois.

Other locations includedLake Forest Academy's campus, which was used as the Thorn Mansion, theNorthwestern Military and Naval Academy'sLake Geneva, Wisconsincampus, which was used for the military academy, with real Lake Geneva students portraying most of the academy cadets, and the Murphy Estate on Catfish Lake inEagle River, Wisconsinfor the skating scene, with local children playing the skaters. TheField Museum of Natural History,depicting the Thorn Museum, was also used in several scenes throughout the film, including some of its final minutes. The elevator scene was filmed at theMuseum of Science and Industry.

The opening scenes were filmed inAcre, Israel,as well as the ruins of the crusader city Akko.

The interiors were shot at20th Century Foxsoundstages in Los Angeles.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Onreview aggregatorwebsiteRotten Tomatoes,the film received anapproval ratingof 50% based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's consensus states: "Damiendishes out ghoulish scares and a Biblical body count to generate some morbid fun, but this repetitious sequel lacks the sophistication of its predecessor. "

Vincent CanbyofThe New York Timeswrote, "Perhaps my resistance has given out butDamien—Omen II,though it's as foolish as the first film, is rather more fun to watch and sometimes very stylish-looking. "Varietywrote, "Damien is obviously wearing out his welcome, but presold interest and a couple of gruesome, ghastly death scenes should shore up business for the summer."Gene Siskelof theChicago Tribunefound it inferior to the original because "there's nothing particularly surprising or horrifying about a teen-ager in league with the devil. Also, the commotion the kid inspires this time is not particularly frightening."Gary Arnold ofThe Washington Postwrote, "Far from advancing the unsavory premise of the first film, this one doggedly retraces its steps. The result is an inferior copy rather than a narrative continuation."Charles Champlinof theLos Angeles Timeswrote, "For all its slavish copying of the original, 'Damien — Omen II' plays differently. It's a hoot instead of a scream. Its deaths are frequent and exceedingly graphic, but you wait for them as for the acts on a variety bill. The connective tissue is frailer this time, and there is almost no accumulation of suspense."Richard Combs ofThe Monthly Film Bulletinwrote, "The main trouble with the Evil One as a protagonist is that his opposition never looks very convincing—and like its predecessor,Omen IIis based on a rather lame structure in which successive individuals discover something amiss about Damien and then meet an inexorably bloody end. "

Box office

The film opened at number one at the US box office with a gross of $3,880,880 in its opening weekend from 524 theaters.It went on to gross $26.5 million in the United States and Canada,generatingtheatrical rentalsof $12.1 million.Worldwide, it earned rentals of $20.6 million compared to $46.3 million for the original.

Soundtrack

Damien: Omen II
Soundtrack albumby Jerry Goldsmith
Released	1978
Genre	Film music
Label	20th Century FoxT-563
Producer	Jerry Goldsmith

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

After Harvey Bernhard had finished writing the story outline and was given the green light to start the production, the first person he contacted wasJerry Goldsmithbecause of the composer's busy schedule. Bernhard also felt that Goldsmith's music forThe Omenwas the highest point of that movie, and that without Goldsmith's music, thesequelwould not be successful.

Goldsmith'sOmen IIscore uses similar motifs to his originalOmenscore, but for the most part he avoided re-using the same musical cues. In fact, the first movie's famous "Ave Satani" theme is reprised only partially, just before the closing credits begin. Goldsmith composed a largely different main title theme forOmen II,albeit one that utilises Latin phrases as "Ave Satani" had done. Goldsmith'sOmen IIscore allows eerie choral effects and unusual electronic sound designs to take precedence over the piano and Gothic chanting.

UnlikeThe Omen(andThe Final Conflict),Jerry Goldsmith's score was recorded in the US, with the soundtrack album re-recorded in Britain for financial reasons.Lionel Newmanconducted both the film and album versions;Varèse Sarabandelater released an expanded CD including both, the liner notes of which explain the reasons behind the re-recording (a short-lived union rule meant that musicians had to be paid the full amount for the film and album use if the soundtrack was released on LP, doubling their fee. It was cheaper, therefore, to re-record in the UK than pay the orchestra double in the US). The liner notes also explain that some of the soundtrack's pieces have been rewritten slightly or even merged for the album re-recording. The audio quality of these UK-recorded album tracks also sounds noticeably more dynamic. Some sections of the film's soundtrack – the tapes of which were thought lost for many years – were discovered to have warped in storage and have noticeable and uncorrectable flaws.(The film soundtrack is listed from track 11 onwards).

All music is composed by Jerry Goldsmith

Damien: Omen II(Deluxe Edition)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Main Title"	5:05
2.	"Runaway Train"	2:41
3.	"Claws"	3:16
4.	"Thoughtful Night"	3:08
5.	"Broken Ice"	2:21
6.	"Fallen Temple"	2:57
7.	"I Love You, Mark"	4:39
8.	"Shafted"	3:03
9.	"The Knife"	3:23
10.	"End Title (All the Power)"	3:30
11.	"Main Title (Film Version)"	2:06
12.	"Face of the Antichrist (Film Version)"	2:21
13.	"Fallen Temple (Film Version)"	1:35
14.	"Aunt Marion's Visitor (Film Version)"	0:39
15.	"Another Thorn (Film Version)"	1:19
16.	"A Ravenous Killing (Film Version)"	3:09
17.	"Snowmobiles (Film Version)"	1:14
18.	"Broken Ice (Film Version)"	2:23
19.	"Number of the Beast (Film Version)"	1:35
20.	"Shafted (Film Version)"	3:03
21.	"The Daggers (Film Version)"	1:59
22.	"Thoughtful Night (Film Version)"	2:39
23.	"I Love You, Mark (Film Version)"	4:14
24.	"Runaway Train (Film Version)"	1:12
25.	"The Boy Has to Die (Film Version)"	1:27
26.	"All the Power and End Title (Film Version)"	3:15
Total length:		1:08:00

Home media

The film was released onvideocassetteduring the 1980s and 1990s. In 2000, it was part ofThe Omen QuadrilogyDVD set released in the US and UK, and was not available separately until 2005. In 2006, to coincide with the DVD release of the remake of the original film,The Omenand its sequels were released individually and together in an ultimate Pentalogy boxset digitally remastered and with more bonus features. In 2008, it was released onBlu-raywith its predecessor and 1981 sequel,Omen III: The Final Conflict.It is available asstreaming videowith aCinemaxsubscription, alongside its predecessor, sequels and remake, all of which are downloadable through Amazon,Apple'siTunesandVudu;it is also available alongsideThe Final Conflictfor streaming onDisney+via the international brandStar.

External links

• Damien: Omen IIatIMDb
• Damien: Omen IIat theTCM Movie Database
• Damien: Omen IIatRotten Tomatoes
• interview with Mike Hodges