Well, this did not go according to plan. The week before last I had seen an advert for a double feature of The Omen and its sequel Omen II. Now I own a Blu-ray of The Omen (not the sequel which is a seriously flawed film) but I have never seen it on the big screen. Last night I couldn’t find the showing I had read about. Bummed at my boned headed mistake – whatever it was – I informed my sweetie-wife that I would be home on Wednesday night and watched The Omen on Blu-ray.

This morning Facebook reminded me of the showing but since I don’t feel like watching it twice the same week so I’ll watch something on Wednesday.

The Omen is part of a cycle of Devil/Satanic films from the 70s. This particular subgenre of horror had quite a surge in popularity after the smashing success of The Exorcist and pretty much the subgenre didn’t run out of steam until the flood of slasher films in the late 70’s and early 80s.

Sturgeon’s law applies equally well to the devil movies with most being forgettable fair that merely grabbed tropes and clichés in an attempt to leap on the bandwagon, but the two that do stand out are worthy films, The Exorcist and The Omen.

The Exorcist stands on firmer theological grounds but The Omen, directed by Richard Donner who also gave us Superman: The Motion Picture, Ladyhawke, and Lethal Weapon, took what might have been a tired and overly violent movie and made a tight, taunt film that moves on character and the corrupting power of secrets.

The film is about the Thorne family, Robert Thorne a successful politician and close personal friend to the president, Katherine (Kathy) Thrones his supportive and loving wife, and their ‘son’ Damien.

The quotes are there for a reason, Kathy Thorne, while Robert was ambassador to Italy, gave birth to their first son but Robert is informed that the child died immediately. The priest at the hospital offered Robert a chance to turn the tragedy into something better. There was another baby whose mother died in childbirth, perhaps the Ambassador can take this child as his own? His wife need not know. Thorne unable to give his wife the devastating news chooses the lie and they present the baby to Kathy as her own. Everything that follows in the story is a direct consequence of Thorne’s action and his lies to support it.

Years later death stalks the Thornes, mysterious suicides, fantastically bizarre accidents, and the strange ravings of a dying priest propel the Ambassador on a quest to unravel the truth of what he agreed to that fateful morning of June 6 at 6 am.

This film was remade in 2006 but it performed poorly and when I tried to watch it on Blu-ray I stopped the movie before it finished. The truth of the matter is while the script is decent what elevated the original is the director and a superb cast. Gregory Peck as Ambassador Thorne brings considerable gravitas to the production creating an atmosphere making it is easier to believe the fantastic elements. Lee Remick takes a role that really has very little on the page and imbues it with an inner life that enhances the audience identification her tragic character. Rounding out the cast are fantastic character actors such as David Warner, Leo McKern, Billie Whitelaw, and Patrick Troughton.

This is a movie well worth seeing.