USA, 1978
107m
35mm film, “filmed in Panavision” [anamorphic], colour, 2.35:1
mono, English
An American horror film directed by Don Taylor. Production began on 12 October 1977 and it was released in the States on 9 June 1978.
Plot Summary
Seven years on, the thirteen year old Antichrist Damien Thorn is attending military academy and is beginning to realise just what his heritage really is and what his destiny will be. As more outlandish deaths take place, Damien’s uncle, who adopted the boy after his father’s death, decides that he must be stopped at all costs…
Credits
Crew
Directed by: Don Taylor
© 1978 Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Produced by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. Released by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation. A Harvey Bernhard production in association with Mace Neufeld
Produced by: Harvey Bernhard
Co-Producer: Charles Orme
Associate Producer: Joseph “Pepi” Lenzi
Screenplay by: Stanley Mann and Michael Hodges
Story by: Harvey Bernhard
Based on Characters Created by: David Seltzer
Director of Photography: Bill Butler
Edited by: Robert Brown Jr
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Production Mixer (Los Angeles Crew): Al Overton
Wardrobe (Los Angeles Crew): Ray Summers
Make-up (Los Angeles Crew): Robert Dawn
Make-up/Hairdressing (Chicago Crew): Lillian Toth
Special Effects (Los Angeles Crew): Ira Anderson Jr
Miniatures Photographed by: Stanley Cortez
Miniatures by: Chuck Taylor
Production Designed by: Philip M. Jeffries and Fred Harpman
Cast
William Holden (Richard Thorn)
Lee Grant (Ann Thorn)
Robert Foxworth (Paul Buher)
Nicholas Pryor (Charles Warren)
Lew Ayres (Bill Atherton)
Sylvia Sidney (Aunt Marion)
Lucas Donat (Mark Thorn)
Jonathan Scott-Taylor as Damien Thorn
Lance Henriksen (Sergeant Neff)
Elizabeth Shepherd (Joan Hart)
Alan Arbus (Pasarian)
Fritz Ford (Murray)
Meshach Taylor (Dr Kane)
John J. Newcombe (Teddy)
John Charles Burns (Butler)
Paul Cook (Colonel)
Diane Daniels (Jane)
Robert E. Ingham (teacher)
William B. Fosser (minister)
Corney Morgan (greenhouse technician)
Alternative Titles
Damien – Het Tweede Omen – Netherlands
Damien, la malédiction II – France
Kirous – Finland
La maldición de Damien – Spain
La maledizione di Damien – Italy
Omen II
Das Omen II – Germani
Omen II: Damien – USA (re-release)
La profecía II – Venezuela
Links
Sequel to
The Omen (1976)
Sequels
The Final Conflict (1981)
Omen IV: The Awakening (1991)
See also
Wacko (1981)
Extracts included in
The Omen Legacy (2001)
The Witching Hour (1996)
Production Notes
Release
Producer Harvey Bernhard had originally planned to open the film in the States at 6:00 pm on Tuesday 6 June – 6/6/6. Unfortunately, Twentieth Century Fox couldn’t clear enough cinemas in time and the release had to be delayed until Friday the 9th instead. 1Screen International no.140 (27 May-2 June 1978) p.8
References
Periodicals
- Screen International no.140 (27 May-2 June 1978) p.8 – note (Inside Hollywood by John Austin)
- Shivers no.58 p.46 – review
- TV Times 6-12 October 1990 pp.30 – review
- Variety 26 October 1977 p.34 – credits (Film production)
- Video Viewer no.8 (21 May 1982) – review
Books
- Armchair Cinema: A History of Feature Films on British Television, 1929-1981 by Sheldon Hall pp.351-352
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror by Phil Hardy (ed.) p.327
- Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again by John Stanley p.91 – credits, review
- A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series by Ken Hanke pp.275-276; 278
- Educational Institutions in Horror Film: A History of Mad Professors, Student Bodies, and Final Exams by Andrew L. Grunzke p.91
- Euro Gothic: Classics of Continental Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby pp.354, 400
- Film Review 1979-80 by F. Maurice Speed p.138
- Hoffman’s Guide to SF, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991-1992 p.88 – credits, review
- Horror! 333 Films to Scare You to Death by James Marriott & Kim Newman pp.199-200
- Horror and Science Fiction Films II by Donald C. Willis p.78 – credits
- Horror Films of the 1970s by John Kenneth Muir pp.523-526 – credits, synopsis, review
- Horrorshows: The A-Z of Horror in Film, TV, Radio and Theatre by Gene Wright p.156 – note – illustrated credits, review
- Satan in the Celluloid: 100 Satanic and Occult Horror Movies of the 1970s by P.J. Thorndyke pp.143-145
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Film Sequels, Series, and Remakes by Kim R. Holston and Tom Winchester pp.369-370
- Screen World 1979 volume 30 by John Willis pp.54-55 – illustrated credits
- Unsung Horrors by Eric McNaughton & Darrell Buxton (eds) pp.424-425 – illustrated review (by Kevin Nickelson)
- The World of Fantasy Films by Richard Myers p.18
