Given that the last sequel to The Omen was called The Final Conflict and wound up with the Second Coming of Christ, youd think it would be hard to come up with another instalment. However, that would underestimate severely Hollywoods power to flog a dead horse, as is demonstrated by this literally incredible attempt to get the series going again, produced for American television and given a theatrical release overseas in the hopes of ripping off people who dont realise theyre being foisted off with a lousy old TV movie when they expect some of the big name guest stars, panavision gloom and spectacular decapitations of the earlier episodes.
Essentially a remake of The Omen, but cheaper, this has a politically ambitious couple (Grant, Woods) adopting a sinister little girl (Vieira) whose background is shrouded in mystery. The brat grows up creepy, and people around her tend to die in non-18 certificate freak accidents, which prompts Mummy into hiring a private eye to discover what we guessed in reel one, that the kid is the daughter of Anti-Christ Damien Thorn and intends to take over the family business in a new series of films.
This takes some major stretching of Biblical prophecies to account for, but by the time the trendy priest is explaining that the Bible didnt mean to be sexist and it turns out that the eight-year-old has been born pregnant with her equally evil twin brother, youll be laughing too hard to care.
Among the conceits offered by the film are a New Age psychic fair that dissolves into chaos when the Anti-Christine calls round, a choir of Satanic carol-singers, a snake-worshipping revival meeting that goes wrong, and the usual throbbing black mass soundtrack. With two credited directors like Damien : Omen II, funnily enough and a notably less-than-lavish production, this mainly serves to remind you that, silly though they were, the earlier films were at least quality entertainment.