Movies
Omen III: The Final Conflict
Having survived a murder attempt by his adopted father in The Omen, getting through boarding school and finishing off his uncle in Damien: Omen II, Damien is now 32 years old. After taking over his uncle’s company, Damien has in seven years built Thorn Industries into the worlds largest multinational corporation, manufacturing everything from nuclear armaments to soybean food products. Like John F. Kennedy, Damien is swimming in a sea of power at an early age, rubbing elbows with the upper echelon of those who control the planet.
In these times, at his brink of power, Damien is well aware of who he is and what the prophecies foretell. Quoting the Book of Heberon from his office, he tells how:
“It shall come to pass that in the end of days the beast shall reign 100 score and 30 days and nights… and the faithful shall cry unto the Lord, ‘Wherefore art thou in the days of evil?’ And the Lord shall hear their prayers. And out of the angel isle he shall bring forth a deliverer. A holy lamb of God who will do battle with the beast – and shall destroy him.”
Damien believes that this time it will be different, and the Nazarene will be the one defeated.
The daggers that were to be used to destroy the son of the devil emerge here once again, unearthed from a drilling excavation somewhere in the earth of Chicago. Seven daggers are retrieved from the rubble and sold through all sorts of avenues until it reaches a band of monk priests who are tracking the antichrist and plan to destroy him, Damien Thorn, before the world is destroyed.
Much as Gregory Peck/Liev Schrieber is warned by a priest of Damien’s ultimate plans, we see in this sequel how the story would have and does evolve. The priest said that Damien would kill the unborn child, destroy the family, and take everything around him, rising to power until everything was his. In The Final Conflict, Damien runs a very powerful Thorn Industries, which once belonged to his uncle in Omen II. He attains the position of Ambassador of Great Britain – the position once held by his adoptive father in the first film. With his political and financial power, there is only one thing standing in his way from total domination – the birth of the Nazarene – the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The seven monk priests privy to Damien’s plans know of a tri-star convergence also then taking place in the constellation of Cassiopia. Their alignment marks, to the meter, where the newborn Christ can be found. Damien Thorn only knows that the baby Nazarene is born on March 24th, somewhere in England – so his sets his minions out to murder every male child born in England on that date. The result leaves an unusually high infantile murder body count (35) – only four of which are shown with adequate inference to what is occurring. Infants are strangled, drowned, poisoned, suffocated and burned. Its probably the most gruesome facet of this movie.
The rest of it, unfortunately, plays out like a West Wing drama with only one or two violent deaths to break the monotony. Sam Neill does the “devil” thing better than Al Pacino, or most of the actors that put their “mean face” on the screen and try to tell you they’re the son of the devil. For the most part, as in most films, its not scary, seeing someone you know go, “Grrrrrrrr, I’M the antichrist!” Its the moment when the story hits a brick wall and becomes a bit farcical. Enacted murders are few and far between – including one of the worst assassination attempts you’ve ever seen (the one in the TV studio) – but along the way you do manage to get a good burning, with plastic wrapped bodies, some faces impailed by hot irons, and brains splattered all over the wall from a rifle. Its not a total loss.
Omen III – The Final Conflict was a bit over the top for what you’d expect in a horror sequel from the 80’s – with a high production value, good actors, and faithful continuance of the storyline – but even the great Sam Neill cant put enough horror value into this well played yet spookless sequel that does nothing more than bring the story to its inevitable conclusion. Some gore and darkness, but nothing compared to the first two – even Jerry Goldsmith’s soundtrack is awkward – a little too “noisy” and overdone. Omen III is where the screenplay gets stretched as far as it can go to the point where it becomes nearly completely transparent and predictable. If you’re into it for the story, check it out for its trilogy conclusion value. If you’re into it for demonics and gorus spectactularis, it may not contain the sustenance and nutritional value a hungrier horror appetite desires.
Ghostface is back on the big screen this weekend… well, sort of… with the release of Scary Movie, which marks the Wayans brothers’ return to the horror spoof franchise for the first time since Scary Movie 2 back in the day. It’s likely to be the talk of the horror community for the weekend, but don’t overlook the other six genre movies that were freshly unleashed today.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Friday, June 5, 2026.
The horror spoof franchise is back with Scary Movie now playing in theaters!
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite for the new Scary Movie, with the cast also including Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer (“Ghostface”), the Core Four are back in the killer’s crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe…
Scary Movie will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t. A whole lot has changed in the horror genre since the Wayans Brothers were in charge of the franchise; their involvement ended with Scary Movie 2 back in 2001!
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs Scary Movie 6 from a script written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
From IFC, shark attack movie Chum is now available on Digital.
Alice Eve (Haunting of Queen Mary) stars in shark attack movie alongside Eric Michael Cole, Jim Klock, Elle Haymond, Lisa Yaro, Johnny Gaffney, and Sarah Siadat.
This one sounds very similar to last year’s Dangerous Animals…
Here’s the plot: “A newlywed couple joins friends on a Mediterranean yacht excursion, only to find themselves caught between a predatory shark and a psychopathic killer in their midst-transforming a sun-drenched escape into a fight for survival.”
Jonathan Zuck directs Chum, from a script by Jonathan Zuck and Joe Leone.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) and Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling) come together in Carolina Caroline, a sexy crime thriller now playing in theaters.
It’s not a horror movie, mind you, but it’s worth a mention here all the same.
Kyra Sedgwick (Family Movie) and Jon Gries also star in the romantic crime thriller.
Director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s film stars Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast.
Adam Rehmeier previously directed the films Dinner in America and Snack Shack.
Tom Dean wrote the screenplay for Carolina Caroline.
Similar to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming big screen blockbuster Disclosure Day, Signal One explores humankind’s enduring question: what if we aren’t alone in the universe?
The sci-fi thriller is now available on Digital.
Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Josh Hutcherson (Five Nights at Freddy’s), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Raoul Bhaneja (Possessor), Emma Ho (“The Expanse”), and Dennis Quaid (The Substance) star in Signal One from director Jonathan Sobol (The Art of the Steal).
When tech billionaire Sam Houston (Quaid) hires the brilliant computer scientist Annika (Fuhrman), she ventures to an isolated facility run by the brilliant, nihilistic creator of LITTLEMOUTH, a machine which can communicate with alien intelligence.
Annika soon learns some humanity-altering facts: that we are not alone in the universe, that alien intelligences are communicating around us at every moment, and that we are likely too primitive to even remotely understand what they are trying to tell us.
When the goal of the endeavor shifts from listening to talking back, the project rapidly devolves into chaos. With contact comes consequences, and soon Annika and the team must work to ensure the very survival of our species.
A schoolyard dare becomes an urban legend in the creepypasta-inspired horror anthology The Summoning. The indie film is now available on Digital from Brainstorm Media.
“A babysitting gig becomes a nightmare of urban legend when three teens summon Baby Blue. Survival depends on uncovering the past to escape a mother’s wrath from beyond the grave.”
Felipe Vargas (Rosario, Hive), Sergio Gonzalez, Brandon Piskorik, Corey Benson Powers, and Brian Sepanzyk direct the segments. Valeria San Martín, Justina Ceballos, Daniela Flombaum, Nannu Spannauss, Agustín Olcese, and Giovanni Onetti star.
The Summoning is written by Camilo Zaffora.
Happy Death Day actress Jessica Rothe stars as a mom struggling to keep her grip on her sanity and memory in the mind-bending Affection, now available on Digital at home.
In Affection, “Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.“
Joseph Cross (“Big Little Lies”) and Julianna Layne (“Chicago P.D.”) also star in the sci-fi horror thriller. Affection marks the feature debut by writer/director BT Meza.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review out of the film’s premiere, “Affection is steeped in existential questions and fears that plague modern society, while it embraces the ethos of the ’80s through bold body horror. Add to that Rothe’s revelatory performance, and Affection is a hidden gem that will connect with your mind, body, and soul.”
Lucile Hadžihalilović’s latest dark fairy tale, The Ice Tower, loosely reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,” and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
In the ’70s set film, “Jeanne, a 15-year-old orphan, witnesses the shoot of a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and she becomes fascinated by its star Cristina (Marion Cotillard), an actress who is just as mysterious and alluring as the Queen she is playing.“
Clara Pacini stars as Jeanne. August Diehl and Marine Gesbert also star in The Ice Tower, and look for a cameo from director Gaspar Noé (Climax, Irréversible).
“For me, The Ice Tower solidified Lucile Hadžihalilović’s place amongst the most fascinating creators of fairy tales today,” said distributor Yellow Veil Pictures co-founder Joe Yanick.
You must be logged in to post a comment.