Kill all the babies! One of ‘em is the second coming! Then all the priests, cos one of the babies got away.
Satan is now the dapper looking president of Thorn Industries, and has just been offered the position of ambassador in England. Yes, that should sound familiar. But Damien is way better than his “father” since he has harnessed the power of mind control and amassed an army of followers to do his bidding. He’s even used this power to get on the good side of his hot reporter girlfriend’s son.
But this movie is subtitled The Final Conflict, so obviously some final epic battle between good and evil will occur. Will our all powerful fallen angel win? Almost, until his girlfriend comes and screws everything up. It’s not like he killed her son on purpose. It’s just those damn pesky daggers showed up again. And then she literally backstabbed him with one. Satan defeated, peace on earth, yadda yadda yadda.
Moral of the story, if you want to rule the world with your supreme evil power, don’t date a single mother.
Corey says:
First off, Sam Neill stars in one of the better horror movies that I’ve ever seen.
No, it’s not this one.
I think one of the most interesting things about Omen III is the emergence of the Anti-Antichrist. I mean, you know. Jesus. Or whatever. This is kind of an interesting idea when it comes to the Satanic film. I could be wrong (and Salty is the authority when it comes to this specific genre, so I could consult with him, but referring to my memory is hilarious for everyone else involved), but usually we just have a bumbling priest or private dick trying to thwart Satan, an unholy supernatural force. That doesn’t seem fair, does it? Every Moriarity needs his Holmes.
Regardless, poor ol’ Damien Thorn has to refer to what those old bad guys did back in the day to get rid of this Jesus guy: Kill some fuckin’ BABIES, man. YES. Every dude who was born on the night this wacky astronomical phenomenon (which had some AWESOME special effects in that observatory) occurs is getting the axe, baby. Surely, surely it will work this time.
It didn’t work.
There are some fun nods to the original in III, mainly Damien’s rise to power as an ambassador. And those pesky Megiddo daggers are still around. And the Antichrist is in the movie. And some Bible stuff, I guess.
Salty says:
If I were the son of Satan - the true antichrist - I too would invest in a room with a sad wooden Jesus crucified backwards (to assure the proper amount of sacrilege - thanks for ruining the upside-down cross for the rest of St. Peter) and I too would stand behind it in a vaguely homosexual position while I whispered all of my evil plans into the deaf ears of my nemesis’ mannequin. I too would hang out with guys who have nothing better to do with their time than rig up elaborate suicides to assure that their gory demises are witnessed by their unsuspecting secretaries and whichever poor schleps have decided to pay them a visit. I too would order any potential threat killed in the sleaziest possible way, especially if that meant demanding innocent babies be murdered in their sleep just on the slim chance that they may be the Second Coming according to some astrological mumbo-jumbo. Why? Because that’s the kind of stuff that the antichrist does, that’s why.
The Omen series does a great job of showing the ascent of the antichrist from dark beginnings to reluctant youth to the groomed adult embracing his destiny as the bringer of the apocalypse. The films take care to establish a meticulously crafted antihero, simultaneously making Damien cold and evil, yet likable with the confidence of his actions and his generally badass disposition. This being Damien’s final appearance, The Omen III does almost everything it should as a film about the antichrist finally gearing up for the final one-on-one battle between good and evil. I say almost, because of I could have used a little more evil (Killing babies is not enough? No, it’s not. This is the antichrist we’re talking about.), and while I appreciate that as a politician the antichrist has to make sure his hands are somewhat clean, it is the notion that the filmmakers held back on the depths of evil that the bringer of the apocalypse would delve to that leave me as the viewer wanting.
Without the Satan’s son’s blackest heart on display, the film’s only potential salvation lies in it’s foreboding subtitle: The Final Conflict. By this point in the series, I am rooting for Damien and anticipating a titanic battle between omnipotent forces that will kick off the end of the world with bated breath. Instead, what do I get for my 3-film investment? A lackluster scene in an abandoned church with some crappy music, some strobe lights and a lame quote that is supposed to leave me feeling like I didn’t get ripped off. No battle, no real struggle at all, just the forces of good taking a few seconds out of their otherwise slow day to destroy The Harbinger of Hell On Earth the same way a person might remember that a stove burner is on and then flick it off without drama or tension. They might as well have had Damien collapse dead of a stroke or get into a car accident or something. The ending is almost an insult and does nothing but assures the viewer that watching these three films was a waste of his/her time.
Then they made another sequel for you to watch.
| Maire | Corey | Salty |
|---|---|---|
| ☆☆ | ☆ | ☆☆ |
