Connect with us

Editorials

Happy Anniversary to ‘The Omen’!

Published

on

Harvey Stephen's as the sinister Damien.

“Look at me, Damien! It’s all for you!”

Today marks the 41st anniversary of Richard Donner’s The Omen, one of the most chilling and wonderfully paced horror films to come out of the 1970s. It also notably produced one of the most terrifying genre villains of all time: Damien Thorn, the pint-size Antichrist portrayed with the right amount of disquieting composure and menace by then five-year-old English actor Harvey Spencer Stephens. (NOTE: For those of you who haven’t ever seen the film, I recommend you skip past this spoilers below and go have a watch!)

If you couldn’t tell from my recent post on Rosemary’s Baby‘s anniversary, I have a thing for well-paced Satanic chillers. The Omen is no exception. Penned by David Seltzer, The Omen tells the story of Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck), an American ambassador to the United Kingdom, and his wife Katherine (Lee Remick), who are at the center of a number of mysterious occurrences and deaths that ultimately seem related to their son, Damien. When Catholic priest Father Brennan (Patrick Troughton) suggests that perhaps Damien is not quite human, Robert and Keith Jennings (David Warner), a photographer who has been investigating Damien, set off on a mission to uncover the truth about the boy before more lives are lost. Unfortunately, Robert and Keith are not quite successful in their efforts, and The Omen ultimately boasts one of the bleakest endings in horror history. With Damien revealed as the Antichrist, audiences were left with the terrifying notion that evil had truly won for once.

Given that Donner’s film grossed $60.0M on a very modest $2.8M budget, it’s no surprise that Damien’s tale didn’t end there. The film’s first sequel Damien: Omen II was released in 1978 to mixed reviews, but continued box office success, grossing $26.5M, almost four times its budget. Omen III: The Final Conflict hit big screens in three years later and starred Sam Neill as an adult Damien in office, while the franchise made its final bow with the made-for-television Omen IV: The Awakening in 1991. Seltzer notably returned to the world he created as a screenwriter once again in 2006 when he penned the remake of The Omen, which starred Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles, and Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick.

What I personally love about The Omen is its very poised handle on tension, elevated both by a psychological approach to terror and masterfully executed scenes of violence that don’t rely heavily on gratuitous gore. In addition to the famous nanny-on-the-roof and decapitation scenes, I particularly love the sequence in which Damien, his tricycle, and his pregnant mother collide to make for one of the most jarring and outright unsettling moments of horror in history.

So, horror fans… what are your favorite scenes from The Omen? Do you prefer any of the sequels? Who would win in 1970s Damien Thorn vs. Regan MacNeil showdown? Sound off below!

Horror writer since 2016. LGBTQ+ advocate and occasional creative. Founder of the High Queerness. I love slashers, found footage, and high strangeness almost as much as I love my two pups.

Editorials

‘Leprechaun Returns’ – The Charm of the Franchise’s Legacy Sequel

Published

on

leprechaun returns

The erratic Leprechaun franchise is not known for sticking with a single concept for too long. The namesake (originally played by Warwick Davis) has gone to L.A., Las Vegas, space, and the ‘hood (not once but twice). And after an eleven-year holiday since the Davis era ended, the character received a drastic makeover in a now-unmentionable reboot. The critical failure of said film would have implied it was time to pack away the green top hat and shillelagh, and say goodbye to the nefarious imp. Instead, the Leprechaun series tried its luck again.

The general consensus for the Leprechaun films was never positive, and the darker yet blander Leprechaun: Origins certainly did not sway opinions. Just because the 2014 installment took itself seriously did not mean viewers would. After all, creator Mark Jones conceived a gruesome horror-comedy back in the early nineties, and that format is what was expected of any future ventures. So as horror legacy sequels (“legacyquels”) became more common in the 2010s, Leprechaun Returns followed suit while also going back to what made the ‘93 film work. This eighth entry echoed Halloween (2018) by ignoring all the previous sequels as well as being a direct continuation of the original. Even ardent fans can surely understand the decision to wipe the slate clean, so to speak.

Leprechaun Returns “continued the [franchise’s] trend of not being consistent by deciding to be consistent.” The retconning of Steven Kostanski and Suzanne Keilly’s film was met with little to no pushback from the fandom, who had already become accustomed to seeing something new and different with every chapter. Only now the “new and different” was familiar. With the severe route of Origins a mere speck in the rearview mirror, director Kotanski implemented a “back to basics” approach that garnered better reception than Zach Lipovsky’s own undertaking. The one-two punch of preposterous humor and grisly horror was in full force again.

LEPRECHAUN

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

With Warwick Davis sitting this film out — his own choice — there was the foremost challenge of finding his replacement. Returns found Davis’ successor in Linden Porco, who admirably filled those blood-stained, buckled shoes. And what would a legacy sequel be without a returning character? Jennifer Aniston obviously did not reprise her final girl role of Tory Redding. So, the film did the next best thing and fetched another of Lubdan’s past victims: Ozzie, the likable oaf played by Mark Holton. Returns also created an extension of Tory’s character by giving her a teenage daughter, Lila (Taylor Spreitler).

It has been twenty-five years since the events of the ‘93 film. The incident is unknown to all but its survivors. Interested in her late mother’s history there in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota, Lila transferred to the local university and pledged a sorority — really the only one on campus — whose few members now reside in Tory Redding’s old home. The farmhouse-turned-sorority-house is still a work in progress; Lila’s fellow Alpha Epsilon sisters were in the midst of renovating the place when a ghost of the past found its way into the present.

The Psycho Goreman and The Void director’s penchant for visceral special effects is noted early on as the Leprechaun tears not only into the modern age, but also through poor Ozzie’s abdomen. The portal from 1993 to 2018 is soaked with blood and guts as the Leprechaun forces his way into the story. Davis’ iconic depiction of the wee antagonist is missed, however, Linden Porco is not simply keeping the seat warm in case his predecessor ever resumes the part. His enthusiastic performance is accentuated by a rotten-looking mug that adds to his innate menace.

LEPRECHAUN RETURNS sequel

Pictured: Taylor Spreitler, Pepi Sonuga, and Sai Bennett as Lila, Katie and Rose in Leprechaun Returns.

The obligatory fodder is mostly young this time around. Apart from one luckless postman and Ozzie — the premature passing of the latter character removed the chance of caring about anyone in the film — the Leprechaun’s potential prey are all college aged. Lila is this story’s token trauma kid with caregiver baggage; her mother thought “monsters were always trying to get her.” Lila’s habit of mentioning Tory’s mental health problem does not make a good first impression with the resident mean girl and apparent alcoholic of the sorority, Meredith (Emily Reid). Then there are the nicer but no less cursorily written of the Alpha Epsilon gals: eco-conscious and ex-obsessive Katie (Pepi Sonuga), and uptight overachiever Rose (Sai Bennett). Rounding out the main cast are a pair of destined-to-die bros (Oliver Llewellyn Jenkins, Ben McGregor). Lila and her peers range from disposable to plain irritating, so rooting for any one of them is next to impossible. Even so, their overstated personalities make their inevitable fates more satisfying.

Where Returns excels is its death sequences. Unlike Jones’ film, this one is not afraid of killing off members of the main cast. Lila, admittedly, wears too much plot armor, yet with her mother’s spirit looming over her and the whole story — comedian Heather McDonald put her bang-on Aniston impersonation to good use as well as provided a surprisingly emotional moment in the film — her immunity can be overlooked. Still, the other characters’ brutal demises make up for Lila’s imperviousness. The Leprechaun’s killer set-pieces also happen to demonstrate the time period, seeing as he uses solar panels and a drone in several supporting characters’ executions. A premortem selfie and the antagonist’s snarky mention of global warming additionally add to this film’s particular timestamp.

Critics were quick to say Leprechaun Returns did not break new ground. Sure, there is no one jetting off to space, or the wacky notion of Lubdan becoming a record producer. This reset, however, is still quite charming and entertaining despite its lack of risk-taking. And with yet another reboot in the works, who knows where the most wicked Leprechaun ever to exist will end up next.


Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.

The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.

Leprechaun Returns movie

Pictured: Linden Porco as The Leprechaun in Leprechaun Returns.

Continue Reading