Omen III: The Final Conflict
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| Omen III: The Final Conflict | |
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| Directed by | Graham Baker |
| Produced by | Harvey Bernhard |
| Written by | Andrew Birkin |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Phil Meheux Robert Paynter |
| Editing by | Alan Strachan |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Running time | 108 min. |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | Damien: Omen II |
| IMDb profile | |
Omen III: The Final Conflict is the third installment in a cycle of horror movies documenting the rise and eventual fall of the Antichrist. It follows The Omen and Damien: Omen II as the third film in the Omen series.
Released in 1981, the film charts the progress of the now-adult Damien Thorn to a position of earthly power (becoming United States ambassador to the United Kingdom with an eye on the U.S. Presidency) as a springboard for triggering the Apocalypse.
The movie was directed by Graham Baker. It stars Sam Neill as Thorn, with Lisa Harrow as journalist Kate Reynolds, and Rossano Brazzi as the priest Father DeCarlo, charged with the divine task of killing the Antichrist.
The movie tells two simultaneous stories: the rise of Thorn and his hold over his increasing flock of worshippers and the work of DeCarlo to kill him, set against the countdown to the Second Coming and the showdown between good and evil.
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[edit] Story
Damien Thorn (Sam Neill) is appointed Ambassador to the Court of St. James's, the same position his adoptive father held in The Omen, the first film in the Omen cycle. Unlike the two incarnations of Damien portrayed in previous Omen films, the adult Damien is entirely aware of his unholy lineage, and his destiny.
An alignment of the stars in the Cassiopeia region of the night sky (the traditional location of the stellar signal of the Second Coming) causes the creation of a super "star", described in the film as a second Star of Bethlehem.
Thorn realizes it is a sign of the Second Coming of Christ and he orders all male children in England born on the morning of March 24, 1981 (the morning when, in the story, the Cassiopeia alignment occurred) to be killed in order to prevent the Christ-child's return to power, as predicted in the Book of Revelation.
Thorn has also become involved with journalist Kate Reynolds (Lisa Harrow), a complex relationship which undermines his plans to dominate the world. Damien also focuses his attention on her pre-teenaged son Peter (Barnaby Holm), whom he takes as a disciple.
Ultimately, the relationship is his undoing.
Meanwhile, Father DeCarlo (Rossano Brazzi) and six other priests armed with the Seven Daggers of Meggido - ancient holy weapons; the only earthly weapons which can harm the Antichrist - hunt Thorn in the hope of killing him before he can destroy the "Christ child." However, one by one all the priests die until only DeCarlo survives.
Finally, in spite of Thorn's efforts, DeCarlo informs Reynolds that the Christ-child is "out of his reach" (a title card at the end quotes a passage from the Bible, saying that Christ's second coming will not be as a child, but as an adult) but that nonetheless, the task still remains to destroy Damien. In a final act of evil, Damien uses Reynolds son--now slavishly devoted to Damien--as a human shield against DeCarlo's dagger. As Peter lies dying, Damien tries to strangle Father DeCarlo to death. In a desperate bid to salvage his waning power, Damien calls out for Christ to appear before him. As he does this, Kate Reynolds steals behind Damien, stabbing him in the back with the dagger. Christ appears in a flash before a dying Damien and peace reigns over the Earth.
[edit] Cast
- Sam Neill ... Damien Thorn
- Rossano Brazzi ... DeCarlo
- Don Gordon ... Dean
- Lisa Harrow ... Kate Reynolds
- Barnaby Holm ... Peter
- Mason Adams ... President
- Robert Arden ... American Ambassador
- Leueen Willoughby ... Barbara
- Marc Boyle ... Brother Benito
- Milos Kirek ... Brother Martin
- Tommy Duggan ... Brother Mattius
- Louis Mahoney ... Brother Paulo
- Richard Oldfield ... Brother Simeon
- Tony Vogel ... Brother Antonio
- Arwen Holm ... Carol
- Hugh Moxey ... Manservant
- William Fox ... Diplomat
- John Baskcomb ... Diplomat
- Norman Bird ... Dr. Philmore
- Marc Smith ... Press Officer
- Arnold Diamond ... Astronomer
- Eric Richard ... Astronomer's Technician
- Dick Anthony Williams ... Vicar
- Stephen Turner ... Stigwell
- Al Matthews ... Workman
- Larry Martyn ... Orator
- Frank Coda ... Orator
- Harry Littlewood ... Orator
- Hazel Court ... Champagne Woman at Hunt (uncredited)
- Ruby Wax ... US Ambassador's Secretary (uncredited)
[edit] Retconning
In order for the story to be enacted in the then-contemporary 1981, the series timeline required substantial editing, moving events from the first two movies back in time. This allowed Thorn, a child in 1976 and a teen in 1978, to be an adult by 1981.
Though not commonly used, this is an example of retconning, where the "retrospective continuity" of an earlier story is changed in order to make a subsequent story consistent with the overall storyline.
[edit] Alternative Title
When first released in 1981, the film's original official title was simply The Final Conflict. Later, as often happens with video and DVD releases, the title was adjusted to Omen III: The Final Conflict in order to accentuate its link to the other two films in the cycle.
Today it is better known by its second title.
[edit] The Omen cycle
There were three original Omen films, of which The Final Conflict is the third and last. The Omen (1976), Damien: Omen II (1978) and Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981).
A fourth film, Omen IV: The Awakening (1991), was made for television and was part of a failed attempt by the 20th Century Fox studio to revive the films as a horror franchise in the style of Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street, or Friday the 13th
A remake of the original, The Omen, was released on June 6, 2006.
[edit] Trivia
- Jack Nicholson, Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman were all considered for the role of Damien Thorn. In the end, it was decided that an unknown actor would fit the role best, hence the choice of Sam Neill, at that point early in his career.
- Stuntman Vic Armstrong performed the backwards one-hundred foot fall from the bridge. In Guinness World Records 2005, he described it as the most frightening stunt of his career. Most of his falls were less than 70 feet.
- Richard Donner, who helmed the original, was going to direct this film, but he was tied up with legal troubles with the Salkinds after Donner got fired from directing Superman II.
[edit] External link
| The Omen Series |
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Original Films |
