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The Omen

year 1976decade 70sdirector Richard Donnergenre Horror

111 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Gregory Peck Robert Thorn
Lee Remick Katherine Thorn
David Warner Keith Jennings
Billie Whitelaw Mrs. Baylock
Patrick Troughton Father Brennan
Martin Benson Father Spiletto
Leo McKern Carl Bugenhagen (uncredited)
Tommy Duggan Priest
John Stride The Psychiatrist
Anthony Nicholls Dr. Fred Becker
Roy Boyd Reporter
Sheila Raynor Mrs. Ingrid Horton
Bruce Boa Thorn Aide 1
Don Fellows Thorn Aide 2
Patrick McAlinney Photographer
Betty McDowall American secretary
Nicholas Campbell embassy guard Marine Corporal

The Omen | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryanproducer Craig Horlbeck
Explore episodeClose episode

Half-Assed Internet Research

Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch persona lends seriousness to the horror premise.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:57Read transcript
  • Gregory Peck’s Atticus Finch persona lends seriousness to the horror premise.
  • Richard Donner’s run is traced from The Omen through Superman and the Lethal Weapon films.
  • The cinematographer is corrected from the mistaken Don Gilbert to Gilbert Taylor.
  • The film is reported to have won Jerry Goldsmith his only Oscar, for original score.
  • A $2.8 million budget and $61 million gross are reported; the small-budget success is compared with Blumhouse.
  • The baboons reportedly attacked after the alpha baboon was put in the car, following failed attempts using food and a baby baboon.

Roger Ebert's review

Ebert gave the film two and a half stars and emphasized its solemn approach.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:21Read transcript
  • Ebert gave the film two and a half stars and emphasized its solemn approach.
  • The hosts speculate that Ebert found the movie too serious or insufficiently story-driven.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Both final choices favor the fifth birthday party and nanny death.

In the discussion (12)
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:48Read transcript
  • Damien’s fifth birthday party and the nanny hanging are nominated; the thick window glass makes the death particularly unsettling.
  • The nanny’s possessiveness and the parents’ return to ordinary life after the death invite questions.
  • The red-eyed priest’s visit to Peck’s office is nominated.
  • The argument with the nanny and Damien’s terrified approach to the church are nominated.
  • The Windsor Safari scene is nominated; the animals’ fear suggests an unheard threat.
  • The new nanny arriving without being requested is recalled as another effective early scene.
  • The priest’s death in the storm is praised for its photography and use of London.
  • Damien knocking his mother over the railing and the cemetery discovery with attacking Rottweilers are nominated.
  • The nanny killing the mother and the graphic decapitation are nominated.
  • Peck fighting the nanny, checking Damien’s scalp, trapping the dog, and the church climax are nominated.
  • One choice narrows from the nanny and Brennan deaths to the fifth birthday party.
  • The second choice is also the birthday party, with special praise for the church refusal scene.

Apex Mountain

Jackals are called an unquestioned Apex Mountain candidate.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:16Read transcript
  • Jackals are called an unquestioned Apex Mountain candidate.

What’s Aged the Best?

Opening at 6 a.m. on June 6 immediately signals the devil.

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:16Read transcript
  • Opening at 6 a.m. on June 6 immediately signals the devil.
  • Animals sensing danger, the mother’s white veil, efficient filmmaking, and creepy music hold up.
  • The child actor is praised for an effective face and sparing use, compared with Jaws; casting reportedly involved testing children’s angry reactions.
  • 1970s London and Lee Remick’s screen presence are praised.
  • Photo foreshadowing and the nanny telling Damien she is there to protect him remain creepy.
  • Religious shrines, diaries, and priests losing senses from trauma are effective horror devices.
  • The Omen is credited with popularizing 666, compared with Friday the 13th making its superstition more prominent.
  • The casting of both Damiens is praised.

The Great Shot Gordo Award for Most Cinematic Shot

Tracking and crane shots around Brennan in the windy park are praised.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:38Read transcript
  • Tracking and crane shots around Brennan in the windy park are praised.
  • The last cemetery shot of the dogs behind the gate with the moon and the deep-focus compositions are praised.

The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film

The parents allow the dog to stay despite instructions and repeated fireable offenses, and accept that the other household staff have left.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:48Read transcript
  • The parents allow the dog to stay despite instructions and repeated fireable offenses, and accept that the other household staff have left.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Gregory Peck’s original impact casting is harder to appreciate today; Tom Hanks is offered as an analogy.

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:02Read transcript
  • Gregory Peck’s original impact casting is harder to appreciate today; Tom Hanks is offered as an analogy.
  • Peck’s Happy Birthday singing sounds unnatural.
  • Physical reference letters are easy to fake.
  • Lack of child seatbelts and the mother’s fall effects look dated; Remick reportedly refused the railing stunt after Ellen Burstyn’s injury.
  • The mark of the beast reportedly confused original audiences.
  • The novelization explains Brennan and Spiletto’s involvement with Satanists; the film leaves the 666 thigh mark insufficiently explained.

The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award

A parent might negotiate with the Antichrist child for benefits rather than kill him.

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:44Read transcript
  • A parent might negotiate with the Antichrist child for benefits rather than kill him.
  • The property is called underused; a five-season story could follow Damien from childhood through boarding school and politics to a reckoning.
  • An objection prefers films to fifty hours of television.
  • The proposal allows side plots such as House of Cards; the response emphasizes how dark the original films were willing to be.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

The first nanny is one choice; Baylock is considered too present, and the actor transcribed as Leo McCurran playing Boogan Hogan is the other choice.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:57Read transcript
  • The first nanny is one choice; Baylock is considered too present, and the actor transcribed as Leo McCurran playing Boogan Hogan is the other choice.
  • David Warner is praised but considered too prominent in the second half to qualify.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

David Warner is selected, with a discussion of becoming recognizable by name and later as the man from Titanic.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:15Read transcript
  • David Warner is selected, with a discussion of becoming recognizable by name and later as the man from Titanic.
  • Don Fellows, the office colleague, is an alternative, identified with a government role in Raiders.

Recasting Couch

A 2023 version could cast Taylor Swift as the ambassador and the football player transcribed as Travis Kelsey in the Lee Remick role.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:03Read transcript
  • A 2023 version could cast Taylor Swift as the ambassador and the football player transcribed as Travis Kelsey in the Lee Remick role.

Half-Assed Internet Research

An advertising executive’s reaction to The Late Great Planet Earth reportedly led to David Seltzer’s screenplay.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:38Read transcript
  • An advertising executive’s reaction to The Late Great Planet Earth reportedly led to David Seltzer’s screenplay.
  • Billy Whitelaw’s work with Samuel Beckett is discussed; Donner reportedly worried her obvious menace undermined ambiguity.
  • The hosts recount a supposedly cursed production: a hotel bombing, a canceled flight that crashed, lightning striking a plane, and a special-effects worker’s car accident.

Apex Mountain

Gregory Peck is rejected; Lee Remick remains uncertain despite the film’s success.

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:30Read transcript
  • Gregory Peck is rejected; Lee Remick remains uncertain despite the film’s success.
  • Rosemary’s Baby is preferred for the Antichrist, and The Shining for creepy tricycle-riding children.
  • Rottweilers and jackals are considered; the film transcribed as Hand That Rocks the Crater is preferred for evil nannies.

Picking Nits

Damien shows no earlier toddler evil before his fifth birthday; gradual maturation is offered as an explanation.

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:42Read transcript
  • Damien shows no earlier toddler evil before his fifth birthday; gradual maturation is offered as an explanation.
  • Mrs. Baylock’s interview and references receive insufficient scrutiny.
  • Peck rapidly recovers from a rusty cemetery spike through his shoulder despite the expected damage and infection.
  • The name Damien seems unusually sinister; ordinary alternatives would not have the same impact.
  • Brennan should explain the danger plainly instead of using biblical riddles and poems.

Is This Movie Better With…?

Samuel Jackson in the David Warner role would give the situation an incredulous reaction.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:21Read transcript
  • Samuel Jackson in the David Warner role would give the situation an incredulous reaction.
  • Wayne Jenkins taking Damien to the zoo prompts an impression.

Just One Oscar

Jerry Goldsmith is the agreed choice, with acknowledgement that he actually won.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:01Read transcript
  • Jerry Goldsmith is the agreed choice, with acknowledgement that he actually won.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Would the mother instinctively recognize that the replacement baby was not hers?

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:25Read transcript
  • Would the mother instinctively recognize that the replacement baby was not hers?
  • Spiletto’s killing and baby substitution make him a candidate for the most evil person in the film.
  • How does a jackal become pregnant with the Antichrist, and where would they find one?
  • Where did Mrs. Baylock come from?
  • Is the film about abortion? The hosts discuss Roe v. Wade timing, the father opposing abortion, and whether the mother was meant to have a child.

Best Double Feature

The Omen poster
The Omen
Poster unavailable
Omen 2
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:45Read transcript
  • Omen 2 is selected for several strong scenes, its creepy teenage Damien and twist, despite being inferior to the first film.
  • The sequel repeats the first film with the uncle; Seltzer’s proposed sequel placing Damien with the president is considered a missed opportunity.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

One participant refuses all memorabilia because of the cursed production; the other chooses the seven daggers for preparedness.

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:26Read transcript
  • One participant refuses all memorabilia because of the cursed production; the other chooses the seven daggers for preparedness.

Who Won the Movie?

Gregory Peck is a stated choice; Harvey Spencer Stephens receives tentative agreement after Satan/evil suggestions. No clear final consensus.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:05Read transcript
  • Satan or the overwhelming force of evil is floated before Gregory Peck is chosen.
  • Harvey Spencer Stephens, the child playing Damien, is proposed as the scariest child actor; the reply tentatively agrees, then believers in evil are floated.
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
Gregory Peck

Producer review

The producer prefers older horror’s message and filmmaking to modern shock horror, and praises the music.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:05Read transcript
  • The producer prefers older horror’s message and filmmaking to modern shock horror, and praises the music.
  • The nanny hanging is the scariest scene; Damien’s Angus Young-like clothes are also praised.

More from the conversation

The Omen, The Exorcist, and Rosemary’s Baby are discussed as ambitious religious horror reflecting 1970s anxiety and Watergate-era political distrust.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:04Read transcript
Evil-child examples include The Good Son, Orphan, Good Night Mommy, Brightburn, and We Need to Talk About Kevin; Donner grounds The Omen in parental anxieties.
Approx. transcript time · 00:05:10Read transcript
The Good Son and Brightburn illustrate parental denial; affluent families in The Omen, The Exorcist, and Rosemary’s Baby assume their lives are secure.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:15Read transcript
Discussion connects apocalyptic 1970s horror, Carrie and religious fear with changing social anxieties; Host is cited as a COVID-era example.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:28Read transcript
A personal story about an adult falling out of a birthday-party bouncy castle is compared with the nanny disaster.
Approx. transcript time · 00:26:27Read transcript
David Warner reportedly could not watch his own decapitation scene.
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:05Read transcript
A deleted ending reportedly has the dog smash through the windshield, Peck stab it with a screwdriver, and the nanny run over.
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:22Read transcript
The final image of Damien beside the president is praised; dialogue establishing the ambassador’s friendship with the president is offered as explanation.
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:29Read transcript
Discussion asks whether The Omen made Damien unusable as a baby name before Damian Lillard made it familiar again.
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:41Read transcript
An unnamed theme month is teased for next month; this does not establish a theme tag for the current episode.
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:15Read transcript