Seven years later... Damien (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) is 12 years old is now living with his uncle Richard Thorn (William Holden),his wife (Lee Grant) and their son (Lucas Donat). When Damien has discover his high I.Q. and his origins. Damien is now using his evil power to get himself everything he needs to be powerful. He using his demonic powers, which he kills those people who anger him or in his way.

Directed by Don Taylor (Escape from the Planet of the Apes, The Final Countdown, The Island of Dr. Moreau "1977") made an entertaining sequel to the original but less effective. Probably the most memorable moments in the sequel is the creative death sequences. The film had problems during filming, since Mike Hodges (Croupier, Flash Gordon, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead) was the original director of the second film. Which he was fired during production for taking too much time with set-up shots and creative differences. Although some of Hodges' scenes were kept in the final cut.

DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an good-Dolby 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD has an interesting commentary track by the producer:Harvey Bernhard (The Beast Within, The Goonies, The Lost Boys) and moderated by DVD producer:J.M. Kenny. DVD also the original theatrical trailers and trailer for the first and third film. Although despite certain flaws, the second film is certainly well acted and it has another great score by the late Oscar-Winner:Jerry Goldsmith (Alien, Explorers, Total Recall). Screenplay by Stanley Mann (Conan The Destroyer, The Collector, Firestarter) and the original director:Hodges. Panavision. (****/*****).

This entertaining movie is a pretty good example of big budget mainstream horror. It is, of course, a sequel to The Omen; a film that had tapped into the 70's thirst for religious themed horror and had went on to be a big smash hit. Damien: Omen II, perhaps unsurprisingly, doesn't have the originality of that first film but it maintains the story very well in my opinion. It's the one film in the franchise where the action has moved from the UK to the USA. It focuses on the now 13 year old antichrist Damien Thorn, who is being schooled in a military academy. It's also the part where he becomes aware of who he really is.

In many ways its story arc follows quite close to the original template but with the addition of more frequent, inventive and gory death scenes involving the poor unfortunates who get too close to the truth. In effect, this movie plays out like a series of elaborate set-pieces strung together over a fairly basic plot-line. This isn't such a terrible thing though because these macabre moments are all really executed very well. In particular are three notable death sequences – on a deserted road a woman is attacked by a raven who pecks her eyes out, she is then finished off by being hit full force by a truck; a man is cut in half by a falling elevator cable; during a game of hockey on a frozen lake, the ice breaks and a man falls under resulting in the disturbing scenario where we see him helplessly floating just below the ice. These set-pieces, along with several others, constitute the highlight of the movie and they are all well-conceived and give the film its definite draw. Because the film is neither a beginning, nor an end to the story it allows this instalment to simply focus its attention on the macabre material in between and it's really not a bad thing.

There are other interesting changes though, such as the use of the raven as the creature of the devil, I thought it was a better choice than the Rottweiler from the first movie and it was very well integrated into the story. The acting too is more than decent with the likes of William Holden basically taking on the role Gregory Peck filled in the first movie, while Jonathan Scott-Taylor looks right as Damien, his thin features can look cold and ominous but he is never cartoonishly evil, which was a good thing. He has one particularly memorable and original scene too where he knows the answer to every single question his history teacher throws at him. It's one of the less gruesome more subtly sinister moments that really stands out. Some things remain the same though and once again there is a really good score from Jerry Goldsmith. It's very dramatic with that ominous choir sound that is just perfect for this subject matter.

While I will be the last one to say that this is a great film or a must-see, it certainly is very entertaining though you might be embarrassed to tell your friends you liked it! That's because it has a silly plot involving the spawn of Satan, occasionally lame and overwrought dialog and a style that just needs to be seen to be believed! But, despite its many shortcomings, this is still a fun little film and not nearly as awful as I'd first suspected. That's because the previous film (THE OMEN) was panned and placed in Harry Medved's "Fifty Worst Films of All Time" book. However, after having seen both films I can definitely say that there are hundreds or perhaps thousands of worse films. In fact, since they entertain and keep your attention, they really aren't bad films but more guilty pleasures!

The film begins with budding teen Damien seeming a lot like a normal boy--not acting at all like the result of a mating with the Devil and a Jackal (wouldn't that make him a son of a .....?). But, slowly, it is revealed that some around the boy are well aware of who he is and are there to serve him without fail. When he is finally told who he is, Damien suffers a short existential crisis before he ultimately gives in to the dark side....no wait, he IS the dark side! Along the way, there are countless exciting to watch and very silly deaths--some orchestrated directly by Damien and his followers and others created by either an unseen force or a nasty crow who seems to be the one behind all the mess. Because the deaths are so bloody and creative, the film reminds me a lot of the low-budget Vincent Price film, THE ABOMINIBLE DOCTOR PHIBES. The dumbest death was the lady who is hit by a truck and the most interesting and disturbing is the man who was sucked under the ice (a nice touch).

While you will be entertained, please do NOT stop to think or reason this out as this is NOT a well-constructed plot. The Biblical passages are wrong--being twisted and misquoted and the film was not meant to be anything other than a silly little exploitation film. While this may offend some religious fundamentalists, if they actually sit still and watch the film, they, too, will probably find the whole thing ludicrous yet oddly entertaining.