Part of Shocktober
Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck), an American diplomat living in Rome, and his wife Katherine (Lee Remick) have a baby. Years pass and the Thorn’s child, Damien (Harvey Spencer Stephens), has a happy, normal childhood. Robert is named Ambassador to the Court of Saint James, and the family relocates to a lavish estate in the English countryside. But their seemingly idyllic life begins to change when, during Damien’s fifth birthday, the boy’s nanny suddenly commits suicide.
Shortly thereafter, Robert is approached by Father Brennan (Patrick Troughton), who is convinced that the boy is the son of the Devil — and that only a man named Bugenhagen, who lives in Israel, has the power to kill him. Robert initially believes the priest to be mad, but his faith begins to waver as everyone around Damien is subjected to a series of freak, horrific incidents.
“Much scarier than fellow possessed child flick THE EXORCIST, which predated it by three years, THE OMEN contains some of the most memorable untimely deaths in cinema history.” —Anna Baddeley, The Telegraph
“One of the finest horror films of the 1970s…. Several of the shocking set-pieces have become legendary in their own right, although they never overshadow the contributions of an excellent cast.” —Matt Brunson, Film Frenzy
“It was the performance of Harvey Stephens as the young Damien that invested the film with the chill of genuine credibility.” —David Parkinson, Empire Magazine