It started with a bang and then ended up with one of the most pitiful whimpers there ever was. The first film in the Omen series was nominated for two Academy Awards and actually won one. It was also nominated for a host of other non-soundtrack awards, and won quite a few in 1976. The final film in the series, Omen IV: The Awakening, from 1991, was relegated to the fledgling Fox TV network and might be in the running for the worst film of all time.
The remake from 2006? Well, that’s it’s own thing. It definitely has a place in the pantheon of Damien-infused chaos, but it too, is closer to the bottom than the top. In honor of 2024’s release of The First Omen, we decided that it was high time the Scariest Things Podcast take a closer look at the comings and goings of the antichrist — Damien Thorn.
Allegedly, the latest 2024 offering concerns an American woman sent to work at a church in Rome but uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of an Antichrist. Seems on brand, but where did this all begin?
Like all good horror films, the Omen was likely a bi-product of the wild successes wrought by the Exorcist in 1974. Again, allegedly, the producer Harvey Bernhard, has been been rapping with a pal about one of the weirder elements of the bible, the Book of Revelation. Given the public’s appetite for demons he was convinced that the public was ready to take a jump into the deep end of the pool with the Antichrist. He got in touch with screenwriter David Seltzer and hired him to write a screenplay.
Interestingly, director Richard Donner and Seltzer deep disagreed with the focus of the film. Donner was looking for more of a vague 1970s aesthetic where Damien and his connection to the devil would be a pinch unclear, Seltzer wanted to fully explore the arcane elements of the antichrist by using global politics as the backdrop. Ultimately, Seltzer’s devil-driven perspective won out and one of greatest horror films was birthed.
With all signs pointing to the end of times, where does one started with all this demonic madness? Most importantly, which of the Damien dalliances are the creepiest and which of the films in the Omen franchise is among the very best?
Don’t worry horror fans, the Scariest Things Podcast has you covered! Without further ado, here’s the entire Omen franchise ranked, from the worst to the best!
All The Omen Films Ranked
#7 Omen IV: The Awakening, 1991
⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Directors Jorge Montesi and Dominique Othenin-Girard.
This might just be one of the worst horror films ever made. This is as insipid as it comes. Dumb plot, poor acting, and the weirdest of weird character choices. We’re perfectly OK with the Antichrist being a young girl, but Asia Vieira as Delia York (AKA Damien Thorn), is one of the more questionable choices that directors Jorge Montesi and Dominique Othenin-Girard would make. She’s precocious, she’s goofy, and she’s got about as much demonic charisma as my cat. Actually, my cat is a full-on demon — much more so than Delia York.
There’s not a single scare to be had in Omen IV: The Awakening. It’s a made-for-TV movie that’s witless and listless. Aside, from a weird subplot about the Antichrist’s nanny being into new age crystal and healing techniques, the film is a tepid and boring mishmash.
Producer Harvey Bernhard, who also produced the first three films, was interested in exploring many other antichrist-related themes and had originally intended to turn this into an ongoing TV series. Thank god this demonic plan never came to fruition.
#6 The Omen unsold TV pilot, 1995
⭐ ⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Directed by Jack Sholder.
Have you heard the one about the virology professor, the reporter, and the nurse who walk into the abandoned nuclear missile site? Sounds like a poor set up for joke, but that was the basis for unsold TV pilot from 1995. Instead of the Satanism being brought to earth through Damien and his legion of dolts, the Satanism is spread through the air!
Not unlike Covid19, but nearly 25 years prior, Satanism is a viral infection that takes over a hospital and the nurse, the reporter, and the virology professor must do battle with legion!
NBC gave it a look, and even though famed director Richard Donner was tied to the project, the pilot never went anywhere. Sadly we never even got to see Damien in the one-hour premier.
#5 Damien: Omen II, 1978
⭐ ⭐.5 out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Directors Don Taylor and Mike Hodges.
Not terribly unlike the bridge film, Halloween Kills, in the most recent David Gordon Green series Halloween, Damien: Omen II serves the exact same purpose. It’s narrative filler to answer a) what happened to Damien after he kills Gregory Peck in the original, and b) how he develops the social and emotional chops to take over the world.
It’s not a terrible film — which is obviously not a ringing endorsement — but it does answer these questions and features a pretty decent teen Damien, Jonathan Scott-Taylor. That said, it doesn’t contain any significant scares and Damien is decidedly less of demonic presence set to take over the world, and more of a confused teen with Antichrist vibes.
#4 The Omen (Remake), 2006
⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Directed by John Moore.
Directed by John Moore, this entry into the Omen series might be one of the more quizzical. There’s the obvious money-grubbing from Hollywood, and the fact that the franchise well may have run dry, but give the carbon-copied nature of the film, it really leaves fans asking “Why?” Much like Gus Van Sant’s 1998 remake of Psycho, the film begs many of the same unanswered questions.
Granted the obvious tie-in with June 6, 2006 (6/6/6) made it this a fairly obvious target, but beyond this fun marketing tool, it is entirely unclear why this was ever made. While it does have a top-notch cast in Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, and Mia Farrow, there’s no new twists, turns, or innovative plot devices. Not to mention, Liev and Julie carry little of the emotion weight and gravitas that Gregory Peck and Lee Remick brought to the table in 1976.
A couple of the ways in which people around Damien die are interesting, including a rather unique approach to the photographer’s head being lopped off in Megiddo. The Omen isn’t a terrible film, it’s just a pointless one. Obviously director John Moore had great source material to pull from and he did —almost literally.
#3 Omen III: The Final Conflict, 1981
⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Directed by Graham Baker.
Damien is now an adult and he’s ready to take over the world through the most despicable means possible — global hunger. Not only is Thorn industries exploiting starvation around the globe, Damien’s also shacked up with a TV talk-show personality and he’s working on distorting the media for his devilish desires. Turns out the Antichrist really is a grade-A creep.
But! There’s hope. A group of renegade Anitchrist hunting priests comes across the daggers of Megiddo. The same daggers that ol’ Gregory Peck tried to use on little Damien once upon a time. Also, in a rather serendipitous way, the second coming is actually coming. There’s a constellation of stars coming together and Damien knows full well that the ghoulish gig is up!
The music is rather tepid, and frankly rather Christian-y. And the soundtrack makes now reference to the great Avi Satani — the demonic chant that won the original film an academy award. Sam Neil turns in a pretty great performance as Damien as he smirks, grimaces, and glares his way across the screen.
Sadly, the film could have been far more dark and sinister. Granted the subplot involving Damien’s followers killing 31 potential Christ-child babies throughout the UK was pretty dark, but the tone and tenor of the film is tepid when it comes to the real scares. While the trilogy had to end, it does so in a hyper-Christian fashion filled with hope and praise for Jesus. Not exactly what most are looking for in a horror show.
#2 Damien the TV series, 2016
⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is going to sound really odd, but Damien, the failed ten-part TV series that premiered on A&E, is really good. It’s almost as if the producers wanted to make up for 30+ years Omen failures and also-rands.
In this ever-so-slight reimagining of the Omen story, Damien is a war photographer in his early 30s. He’s not the head of a country or corporation and he’s not all-powerful — yet. Damien is contending with fallen faith and the reckless nature of man that surrounds him in war-torn areas around the world.
The great Barbara Hershey comes to Damien’s help throughout the series acting as his guardian devil. She’s spooky, distant, and understands that her actions are ALL for Damien. Sadly, the show would only go on to ten episodes that ran from March to May of 2026. Shortly after, A&E decided to cancel the entire demonic affair and opt to spend their money on Duck Dynasty spin-offs.
#1 The Omen, 1976
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Omen was slotted in the top 40 of our original Greatest Horror Movies of all time, but sadly slipped a couple spots to #47 on our updated 2022 list. Needless to say, this is one of the best. Great direction, great acting, and four of the most spectacular deaths that will be forever referenced among the scariest scenes ever!
The Omen is a patient film with a wildly inventive plot that draws on one of the more obscure sections of the bible. The Book of Revelation is straight-up sci-fi. Full on madness that with extravagant imagery, spanning pans three literary genres: the epistolary, the apocalyptic, and the prophetic. It’s got a a series of prophetic visions, including figures such as the Seven-Headed Dragon, the Serpent, and the Beast — all which lead to the Second Coming of Jesus.
It should go without saying that a devil needs a god, black needs white, and good needs evil. That’s exactly the evil dichotomy that The Omen provides. There’s nothing more dark than the Antichrist and nothing more pure than Jesus. Taken together, this is a battle for the ages.
While it was largely panned when it came out, The Omen has been embraced by horror audiences for nearly 50 years. With all of its sequels and spin-offs it’s no wonder that we’ll be seeing a new Omen film in 2024. He’s to hoping, and more importantly, praying that The First Omen will be everything we want it to be. After all, it’s all for you Damien!
There you go! All the Omen films — the good, bad, and the satanically impossible.
Disagree? Just wait until 2024’s The First Omen. We may have a new contender for the best Omen film of all time, or very possibly, a rival to the Omen IV: the Awakening!
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