The Omen was released in 1976
The Omen is a classic film for those who like movies that make them fearful but don’t really go for extreme gore and enjoy a much more realistic story line. It’s the story about an Antichrist, from his birth and through his preschool years. One usually doesn’t find children threatening, but this “son of Satan” has supernatural abilities which manifest as coincidental circumstances. The subtle deniability of cause to violent accidental or suicidal deaths, is juxtaposed with the deep seeded belief that children are born innocent to create a spine chilling film.
Vintage Records
Starring Gregory Peck as Robert Thorn, a high-ranking diplomat who works overseas. The movie begins with Thorn rushing to the hospital in Italy, only to be told that it was a stillbirth. A priest pulls him aside and offers a orphaned newborn to take the place of his dead child. He adopts the infant, unbeknownst to his wife, to raise as their own. As the story progresses, Thorn is appointed the US Ambassador to England, and shortly he begins to notice that there are multiple un-timely deaths around him. A persistent photojournalist and another priest arrive on the scene talking about the Omen. Thorn begins to think that his son might be evil.
Gregory Peck shot the Omen just months after his eldest son committed suicide at age 30, some say he was feeling guilty for not being able to save his real son. Peck known for always portraying the honorable man, was very believable as a conflicted father, being asked to murder his adopted devil child. His agreement to do the film was the green light for others to sign on and greatly influenced its success. In fact, it was Peck’s most profitable film because he took a percentage of box-office revenues instead of his usual high pay structure.
