9. Damien - The Omen (1976)
Damien is a malefic little boy who is the Antichrist. He is adopted by the future US Ambassador to the UK Robert Thorn, whose wife Katherine has had a still born baby. She does not know her child was born dead and Robert puts Damien forth as their baby son. When Robert becomes ambassador, he moves his family to London where weird stuff begins to happen. The nanny kills herself and a priest called Father Brennan warns Robert that Damien is the Antichrist and will kill both him and Katherine. Robert dismisses this as nonsense until Damien organises it for Katherine to have an accident and lose her unborn child. Damien was earmarked especially for the Thorns as he would have access to world politics. The sight of a birthmark bearing the legend 666 finally convinces Robert once and for all that Damien is the son of Satan. Damien orchestrates Katherine's death and he kills Robert when he tries to bring him into the church to be exorcised. At the end, you see Damien grinning at the funeral as he is holding the US President's hand. Damien is a great Horror icon because he is a little boy and little boys can't be malevolent little turds, can they? Satanic, malevolent little turds to boot. The problem is, Damien doesn't mean to be a antagonistic presence, he isn't consciously evil, he is merely wiping out people who pose a threat to his survival. Subsequent sequels chronicle Damien's rise to the top, but he is never as entertaining or as effective as a horror icon than in the original The Omen.
Clare Simpson
Contributor
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
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Clare