The Omen / YMMV - TV Tropes

Alternative Character Interpretation:
- When exactly does Damien truly become evil and aware of what he is? In the sequel he is shocked to discover his true destiny but many of his actions prior to then hinted he was aware of it at some level or at least knew he was different. There are viewers that believe he was actively evil from the outset, and simply unaware of why, believing he knowingly attempted to kill his own mother as a child for instance. Some viewers feel he is actually not directly evil but rather unwittingly channels it. And is in fact an otherwise normal child until he embraces his destiny. This would mean they see Mark being his first direct kill, and his true Moral Event Horizon.
- Father Brennan's death in both the original and the remake; unlike the other deaths in the franchise that are clearly because those characters get too close to the truth about Damien's identity, Brennan's is a bit ambiguous. Is he being discarded by Satan for trying to warn Robert, or is God smiting him for his deeds? The remake even shows the doors to the cathedral being barricaded just as Brennan is about to enter for shelter, adding to the ambiguity.
Anti-Climax Boss: Damien never actually does much of anything that the Antichrist is prophesied to do. He never takes over the world, or even a significant portion of it. His political manipulations consist of calling in a favor or two from the President to become the ambassador to Great Britain (rather than, you know, actually becoming President or someone as powerful as the President). He never "creates armies on either shore," let alone leads the world's armies at Armageddon to battle Jesus Christ. He doesn't even start a major international incident, let alone a third World War. Even his control (his "seven year reign") of Thorn industries doesn't lead to anything really significant as far as world affairs go. If Damien Thorn was a real person, he'd be less Adolf Hitler and more Steve Jobs. Even if you take into account the 33 children he ordered killed, Jim Jones killed almost 30 times that.
Awesome Music: Jerry Goldsmith at his creepiest and finest (to the point that the remake got bashed heavily for not using any of it). The movie's main theme, "Ave Satani", is a very creepy use of Ominous Latin Chanting (and has becomed a Bootstrapped Theme for "Creepy Child" characters).
Complete Monster:
- Damien Thorn is The Antichrist foretold in scripture. Initially horrified by this revelation, Damien eventually accepts his destiny, and sets out to Take Over the World. Making his lineage known in Damien, he incites an aneurysm in his cousin's brain when he refused his offer of world conquest. Becoming Ambassador to Great Britain in The Final Conflict, he decrees that every baby boy born on March 24, 1982, be executed when he realized that the Second Coming of Christ was imminent. Among other atrocities, Damien coldly brainwashes Barbara into killing her husband and son with a clothes iron. Any redeeming traits that he may have had in the other films quickly dissipate once he gets romantically involved—and later rapes—a female journalist. Always the charismatic figure, Damien manipulates the journalist's young son into discipleship, only to remorselessly use him as a Human Shield when De Carlo attempts to kill him. Demonic, malicious, and blasphemous, Damien craved to fling the Earth into eternal damnation.
- The First Omen prequel: Cardinal Lawrence is the leader of a conspiracy within the Catholic Church. His outwardly friendly demeanor masks a depraved and calculating mind that is responsible for some unspeakable crimes. On Lawrence's orders, over a dozen women are raped by a demonic jackal with the goal of creating an Antichrist who will prove so terrifying that people will have no choice but to turn away from secularism and back to the Church. Given that the conspiracy is ultimately successful with the birth of Damien, Lawrence can be blamed for the many innocent lives lost throughout the series.
Narm:
- Some of the death scenes in the original and the two sequels come across as very over-the-top these days. Decapitation by sheets of glass, being cut in twain by a lift cable, etc.
- The nightmares/visions the Thorns have. From the smiling Nosferatu guy, who goes on to drop what is obviously a blood covered doll, to Damien wearing what looks like a grey version of the mask Jim Carrey wore during a certain film back in the 90's.
Technology Marches On: The novel Omen IV: Armageddon 2000 is set in the year 2000, and at one point a character needs to look up a piece of information. He does so by requesting the use of a hotel's sole computer, which is a giant monstrosity that is wheeled into his room by the hotel staff. He asks the staff if the book he is looking for in the computer's database, to which the staff member assures him that the computer holds every book. Later, while using the computer, the character makes queries to the computer which then draws logical conclusions based on the questions he asks it, something which no computer in any era is able to do. Perhaps the author didn't realize that even in the future computers can only organize information, it's still up to people to draw conclusions from that data.
The Woobie: Robert and Katherine Thorn in the first film, Richard in the second (can qualify as a Jerkass Woobie due to his temperamental stubbornness courtesy of his actor William Holden from The Wild Bunch) and Lisa Harrow in the third film. They all went through hell, no pun intended as it was all caused by the Antichrist.

YMMV / The Omen

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