The Final Conflict (1981)

The movie is technically really well-made, but essentially, the franchise is dangerously on the edge of catastrophe. While "The Omen" is one of the best horror thrillers of all time, "Damien" also excellent but not nearly as strong as the first one, "The Final Conflict" is determined by good acting, lots of excellent cadres and complete lack of soul. I can not say that the story is bad, but after the first two films, it leaves a stale taste in the mouth. Simply, that's not it. And it's better not to even comment on the ridiculous ending. I do not know whether to watch further sequels at all.6/10

Firstly, it has a seemingly fool-proof concept: the Antichrist, now a successful corporate CEO, is appointed U.S. Ambassador to England, AND president of the UN youth council. It practically writes itself. But, no, social commentary isn't brought into it; he doesn't kill his way into the U.S. Presidency, and the country is never thrown into a third world war. And to think I believed in him! You think this might also present a good chance for some overacting- but, once again, only missed opportunities. It was quite talky; Damien plays it cool, and Sam Neill's performance mostly involved making sinister expressions (at which he's a natural, granted,) and, frankly, the big lines he delivers come out kind of funny-sounding when modulated through his fake American accent (he has one of these in Jurassic Park, too, but at least that role didn't call for any serious acting.) I blame the director more than my man Sam, but I've seen some pretty terrible movies salvaged by one good performance.Why, this film even let down my bloodlusting side. It opens with a nice, gruesome death, but subsequent killings are either too silly to even guffaw at, or just plain uninspired- especially the climax.

The first Omen film, starring Gregory Peck, was a masterpiece. Great story, fine acting, handsome production.The second Omen film, starring William Holden, was an unmitigated disaster.This third film is somewhere in between. Not as good as Omen I, but a heckuva lot better than Omen 2. There's some emotion here; there was none in Omen 2. Omen 2 was simply a "let's keep killing people off while we search for an actual plot" film. This production is a bit more elaborate. We see some emotion on the part of actor's portrayals. There's a definite plot.Now that's not to say that this is a top notch film. It seems as if in some scenes the director wanted to go further, but was hampered by the ratings system...probably for the good.Sam Neill has never been one of my favorites, but I always found him acceptable in various films. He was good here in his first big international role. At the time the film was released I remember thinking that he would go far...and he has done rather well.I found Lisa Harrow very good as the female lead. Apparently she and Neill were married (?).It was good seeing Rossano Brazzi, here as a priest, in one of his final films. He did well; seemed believable.If we could just leave out Omen 2 from the trilogy it would be much better, but then again it would be like leaving out a third of novel. Ah well, it is what it is. Don Gordon as Harvey Pleydell Dean

By the end of the 1976 megahit "The Omen"--one of the most successful films of that year, returning $60 million in domestic box office receipts on its $3 million budget--the foster parents of 5-year-old Damien Thorn both lay dead...as well as most of the personages who had had anything to do with the kindergarten-age Antichrist. His mother, Katherine (Lee Remick), had been offed by the (literal) nanny from hell, Mrs. Baylock (a remarkable performance from Billie Whitelaw), while his ambassador father Robert (played with classy gravitas by the great Gregory Peck) had been killed by the cops while in the act of attempting to slay his adopted Satan spawn with one of the Daggers of Megiddo. By the conclusion of the film's sequel, 1978's "Damien: Omen II," the guardians of 12-year-old Damien also lay dead: Uncle Richard (William Holden) had been knifed by wife Ann (Lee Grant), while Ann herself had perished in a conflagration. Viewers would have to wait another three years to see what deviltry young Damien would be up to next, but were well repaid for their patience when part three of the trilogy, "The Final Conflict," was released in March 1981. The film performed only 1/3 as well at the box office as compared to the original "Omen" installment and does not seem to be highly regarded today, which surprises me. The picture certainly does up the ante of the previous two films, and while necessarily not as original or fresh in conception, more than makes up for that with some truly shocking developments.In the film, the viewer learns that Damien has graduated from both Yale and Oxford, is now in his early 30s and, as portrayed remarkably well by Sam Neill, is not only the supremely wealthy head of the Thorn business empire, but, in consequence of the Satanically induced suicide of the U.S. ambassador to Britain, is next in line for that august position as well. The film basically consists of two running, parallel plots. In the first, Father De Carlo (the great Italian actor Rossano Brazzi, giving the film's most likable performance), head of the San Benedetto monastery in Subiaco, Italy (which featured prominently in the original film), along with six select priests, each armed with one of the seven Daggers of Megiddo, go out into the world to slay the Antichrist. In the second, Damien searches throughout London to find the newly born Christ child, and to slay him before his own powers are greatly diminished. He is abetted by his personal assistant Harvey Dean (some nice work here by Don Gordon), whose own newly born son may or may not be the Christ child himself, while British investigative reporter Kate Reynolds (Lisa Harrow) interviews the new ambassador and learns a little too much about him. And so, a genuine conflict arises: Can Damien kill the newborn Christ before the seven priests kill him?Unlike the previous two films, here, we have a Damien in full knowledge and acceptance of his Satanic lineage. For the first time, the Antichrist doesn't just slay the pesky meddlers surrounding him, but actively goes after Jesus Christ himself! THAT'S what I call upping the ante! As in the previous films, Damien's and his Pops' slayings make for memorable set pieces, and the deaths of the Subiaco priests are brought about most impressively (by fire, knifing, lightning, dog attack and so on). Surprisingly, however, these infernal homicides are not the film's most gripping scenes. Rather--at least, for this viewer--it is the pair of speeches that Damien makes that manages to impress the most. In the first, he addresses a Jesus crucifix with the most shockingly abusive language, calling Christianity a "grubby, mundane creed," and declaring "...2,000 years have been enough...Nazarene charlatan, since the hour you vomited forth from a gaping wound of a woman you've done nothing but drown Man's soaring desires in a deluge of sanctimonious morality...I will drive deeper the thorns into your rancid carcass, you profaner of vices...." After which Damien Thorn, a genuine thorn in mankind's backside, does indeed drive the thorn crown on the Christ effigy deeper into Jesus' head, remarkably making the image cry bloody tears! It is a flabbergasting sequence, supremely well performed by Neill. And in his other great speech, Damien exhorts his heterogeneous minions to track down and slay the new Christ child with these words: "...Slay the Nazarene, and you will know the violent raptures of my father's kingdom. Fail, and you will be condemned to a numbing eternity in the flaccid bosom of Christ." For the first time, thus, the viewer is witness to a genuinely evil Damien, one who is not only fully aware of his devilish ancestry, but reveling in it. "The Final Conflict," besides showcasing some shocking violence and speechifying, is perhaps most startling in its willingness to feature infanticide as a subplot; indeed, by the film's end, no less than a dozen male infants have been exterminated throughout England in Damien's quest to eliminate the Christ child! Screenwriter Andrew Birkin's script certainly does not flinch from taking risks here, and he is ably complemented by some nice work from director Graham Barker and still another fine score from Jerry Goldsmith. Oh...and for all the gals out there who are attracted to so-called "bad boys," in this film, they will get to see what a bout of lovemaking with the ultimate bad boy might be like. And for once, we have an "Omen" film that ends on a happy note--even Damien himself smiles as one of those blessed daggers plunges into his back! Damien may finally be vanquished here, but for those viewers who are interested in seeing what kind of mischief his demon daughter Delia is capable of spreading, there is always the TV sequel "Omen IV: The Awakening"....