10 Real Reasons Movie Characters Seemed So Sinister

10. Harvey Spencer Stephens' Hair & Eye Colour Were Darkened - The Omen

Richard Donner's classic horror film The Omen is especially celebrated for its gut-wrenching unease and the note-perfect casting of four-year-old Harvey Spencer Stephens as the sublimely creepy young Antichrist, Damien.

But it isn't simply that Donner and his casting director picked a child with a piercing gaze: the production employed some sneaky help from the makeup department to ensure Damien looked as unsettlingly "off" as possible.

For starters, Stephens' hair was dyed from his natural blond colour to black, and he was also given contact lenses to darken the colour of his eyes.

These are both subtle alterations that most audiences would never even notice - especially as it was Stephens' first-ever role - but together they add up to accentuate his performance and make us unconsciously accept that something truly isn't right with this young boy.