IHdb

ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - June 25th

"THE OMEN" released in 1976

"Sanguis bebimus, corpus edimus, tolle corpus Satani, ave Satani!" ("We drink the blood, We eat the body, Raise the body of Satan, Hail Satan!") - these first lines sang by Latin choir in the chilling Gregorian chant-like theme "Ave Satani" was first heard by terrified audiences in 1976, and they immediately knew that The Omen was going to be a very different kind of horror movie!

Watch The Omen trailer!

Beginning in Rome on June 6th (at 6am), American diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) is given the tragic news that his son has died in childbirth. He is convinced by the hospital chaplain, Father Spiletto (Martin Benson), to secretly adopt an orphan whose mother died at the same time. Robert agrees to the adoption, but hides the truth from  his wife Katherine (Lee Remick), raising the child who they name Damien as their own. Five years later, Robert is appointed U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and almost immediately strange and tragic events begin to surround their young son (Harvey Spencer Stephens); beginning with his nanny cheerfully hanging herself in front of the children and guests at Damien's birthday party. Two mysterious figures then appear in Richard's life; a manic Catholic priest Father Brennan (Patrick Troughton) warning Robert that his wife is pregnant again which places her in danger from Damien, and the sinister Mrs Baylock (Billie Whitelaw) who appears unannounced as the replacement governess. Shortly after Brennan's "accidental" death, Katherine is hospitalized after falling over an upstairs banister; having been pushed by Damien. Robert realizes he must now search for the truth about his adopted son, aided by photographer Keith Jennings (David Warner). Travelling first to Rome and then to Israel, Robert and Jennings learn the full extent of the evil forces surrounding Damien from Carl Bugenhagen (Leo McKern), that Damien is in fact the Antichrist!

Producer Harvey Bernhard was first intrigued about making a film about the Antichrist from a story by his friend Bob Munger. Bernhard immediately hired David Seltzer to write the screenplay, taking Seltzer almost an entire year to complete. Once Richard Donner was brought on board to direct, he requested that Seltzer remove all suggestions of the supernatural and allow nothing that would not happen in real life; the idea was that there should be some degree of doubt over whether or not Thorn was deranged. Donner also talked the noted cinematographer Gilbert Taylor into coming out of retirement to shoot this film. After Charlton Heston, Roy Scheider, Dick Van Dyke, and William Holden turned down the lead role, Gregory Peck signed on to play Robert Thorn as he liked the idea that is was more of a psychological thriller rather than a horror film.

When filming first began Donner found that the best way to direct the young Stephens was to provoke genuine reactions before the camera; when Damien is angry at being taken to church, Donner got his peeved facial expression by shouting to Stephens off camera "What are you looking at you little bugger? I'll clobber you." Another example was during filming of the last scene at the cemetery - Donner first tried to achieve this effect by making goofy funny faces at Stephens' from behind the camera before finally using reverse psychology telling him, "Don't you dare laugh. If you laugh, I won't be your friend." So of course Stephens naturally wanted to laugh, and instead smiled directly into the camera, giving that chilling sinister smile to the audience! The scene was brilliantly underscored by Jerry Goldsmiths "Ave Satani" theme, which Donner and Bernhard had to convince 20th Century Fox studio head Alan Ladd Jr. to provide extra money for the now iconic music.

Using a massive marketing campaign similar to Jaws (released the year before), The Omen was a massive commercial success eventually grossing over $60 million at the box office. Critics were almost universal in their praise for the film as well and was considered one of the best films of 1976. And while critics tore into the Exorcist (1973) for being too gratuitously gory, The Omen was well received for its discreet lack of bloodshed; despite having a brutal violent decapitation scene that almost threatened to give the film an X rating! At the 49th Academy Awards, Goldsmith won his first and only Oscar for Best Original Score. Ironically Goldsmith himself did not attend to receive his award as he had been nominated 8 times before without winning and didn't want to go through the ordeal of losing again!

The Omen series would of course continue with Damien: The Omen II (1978) and The Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981), as well as the 2006 remake The Omen, with Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles starring in the roles played by Peck and Remick 30-years before.

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE:   86%