Dom Robinson reviews
Damien: Omen II The first time was only a warning.
Distributed by
Encore Entertainment
Producers:
Screenplay:
Stanley Mann & Michael Hodges
Music:
Cast:
Richard Thorn: William Holden (Born Yesterday, The Bridge On The River Kwai, Casino Royale, Sabrina Fair, The Wild Bunch )
Ann Thorn: Lee Grant (Airport '77, Citizen Cohn, Defending Your Life, Fatal Love, In The Heat Of The Night )
Damien Thorn: Jonathan Scott-Taylor
Paul Buher: Robert Foxworth (Airport '77, With Savage Intent )
Charles Warren: Nicholas Pryor (Less Than Zero )
Bill Atherton: Lew Ayres
Aunt Marion: Sylvia Sidney (Beetlejuice, Dead End, Sabotage )
Sergeant Neff: Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Dead Man, Hard Target, Jennifer 8, No Escape, Piranha II: Flying Killers, The Quick And The Dead, TV: "Millenium" )
Joan Hart: Elizabeth Shepherd
Mark Thorn: Lucas Donat
Bugenhagen: Leo McKern (The Blue Lagoon, The French Lieutenant's Woman, A Man For All Seasons, TV: "Rumpole Of The Bailey", "Space 1999" )
Damien: Omen II
As Damien and his powers grow, he is watched over by shadowy disciples of evil
and anyone who tries to warn Thorn about Damien's true satanic nature meets a
grisly end. But time is running short - will Damien be destroyed by the forces
of light, or will he survive and flourish as the embodiment of evil on Earth?
The performances of all actors in the film, apart from the chilling face of
Damien, are all outshadowed by the fates dealt out to the cast members who
have a date with the Grim Reaper, most notably 'Death by lift-shaft' !
It's also worth noting that the eerie goings-on in the film echo the sentiments
of reality, since during pre-production on the first film, an IRA bomb rocked
the hotel where the producer and director were staying. A violent storm swept
through Rome during a location survey and a bolt of lightning struck Hadrian's
Gate, a landmark near producer Harvey Bernhard's hotel.
The jinx continued with Damien: Omen II as filming schedules went awry,
equipment was lost, a stunt-girl was almost killed, Bernhard's Los Angeles
apartment was destroyed by an inexplicable fire and his car shed a wheel on the
freeway shortly afterwards.
"These experiences have left their mark on myself, , Bernhard reflected. "They have made us cautious,
extremely so..."
The picture quality is mostly very good. Yes, the print is twenty years old
but looks better than expected so, presumably, it comes from the same digitally
remastered master for which the 1996 video re-releases were struck from.
It is also presented in its correct widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 - unlike
the video releases which were pan-and-scan. The cover artwork remains the same.
The only drawback on the quality is the presence of flecks on the original
print from time to time.
The sound quality is mono, but comes across very clear.
The laserdisc could use some more chapters, given that there are just 19 spread
throughout the 102 minutes of the film. The package is rounded off with the
original theatrical trailer.
In the summer of 1996, Fox Video dropped a clanger when they re-released the
trilogy on 6.6.96 on video, but only in pan-and-scan versions. Gladly, Encore
are redressing the balance, having already released the first film in widescreen
and now the sequel, just as Fox have got round to putting the first one out in
widescreen format.
Overall, the Omen trilogy (forget about the TV movie Omen IV: The
Awakening ) is one of the best suspense trilogies of all time. With the first
two discs already out and the final part on the way, you owe it to yourself
to buy this one now, especially at it's brilliant low price.
FILM : ***½
PICTURE QUALITY : ****
SOUND QUALITY : ***
EXTRAS : *
-------------------------------
OVERALL : ***
Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 1998.
[Up to the top of this page]
Amazon.co.uk Widgets
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
