Damien: Omen II (1978)

Director:

Don Taylor
(more)

Writers:

Harvey Bernhard (story)
David Seltzer (characters)
(more)

Release Date:

9 June 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

The first time was only a warning.

Plot:

Damien the Antichrist, now age 13, finally learns of his destiny under the guidance of an unholy disciple of Satan. Meanwhile dark mystical forces begin to eliminate all those who suspect the child's true identity.

Plot Keywords:

13 Year Old | Uncle | Antichrist | Aunt | Devil Child

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

William Holden	...	Richard Thorn
Lee Grant	...	Ann Thorn
Jonathan Scott-Taylor	...	Damien Thorn
Robert Foxworth	...	Paul Buher
Nicholas Pryor	...	Charles Warren
Lew Ayres	...	Bill Atherton
Sylvia Sidney	...	Aunt Marion
Lance Henriksen	...	Sergeant Neff
Elizabeth Shepherd	...	Joan Hart
Lucas Donat	...	Mark Thorn
Allan Arbus	...	Pasarian (as Alan Arbus)
Fritz Ford	...	Murray
Meshach Taylor	...	Dr. Kane
John J. Newcombe	...	Teddy
John Charles Burns	...	Butler
Paul Cook	...	Colonel
Diane Daniels	...	Jane
Robert E. Ingham	...	Teacher
William B. Fosser	...	Minister
Corney Morgan	...	Greenhouse Technician
Russell P. Delia	...	Truck Driver
Judith Dowd	...	Maid
Thomas O. Erhart Jr.	...	Sergeant #1
Sorin Serene Pricopie	...	Pasarian's Assistant (as Sorin Pricopie)
Robert J. Jones Jr.	...	Tour Guide
Rusdi Lane	...	Jim Gardner
Charles Mountain	...	Burial Priest
Cornelia Sanders	...	Young Girl
Felix Shuman	...	Dr. Fiedler
James Spinks	...	Technician #1
Owen Sullivan	...	Byron
William J. Whelehan	...	Security Guard
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ian Hendry	...	Michael (uncredited)
Gus Kaprales	...	Limo Driver (uncredited)
Leo McKern	...	Carl Bugenhagen (uncredited)

Directed by
Don Taylor
Mike Hodges		(uncredited)

Writing credits
Harvey Bernhard		(story)
David Seltzer		(characters)
Stanley Mann		(screenplay) and
Mike Hodges		(screenplay) (as Michael Hodges)

Produced by
Harvey Bernhard	....	producer
Joseph Lenzi	....	associate producer (as Joseph 'Pepi' Lenzi)
Charles Orme	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Jerry Goldsmith

Cinematography by
Bill Butler		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Robert Brown		(as Robert Brown Jr.)

Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster

Production Design by
Fred Harpman
Philip M. Jefferies

Makeup Department
Robert Dawn	....	makeup artist: Los Angeles
Lillian Toth	....	hairdresser: Chicago
Lillian Toth	....	makeup artist: Chicago

Production Management
Joseph Lenzi	....	production manager: Los Angeles (as Joseph 'Pepi' Lenzi)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jerry Ballew	....	first assistant director: Los Angeles
Bob Dahlin	....	second assistant director: Chicago
Al Nicholson	....	first assistant director: Los Angeles
Richard Luke Rothschild	....	second assistant director: Los Angeles

Art Department
Robert De Vestel	....	set decorator: Los Angeles (as Robert de Vestel)
William B. Fosser	....	associate set decorator: Chicago (as William Fosser)
Bill MacSems	....	property master: Los Angeles
Hendrik Wynands	....	construction coordinator: Los Angeles

Sound Department
William Hartman	....	sound editor: Los Angeles
Godfrey Marks	....	dialogue editor: Los Angeles
Al Overton	....	production sound mixer: Los Angeles
Edward Rossi	....	sound editor: Los Angeles
Theodore Soderberg	....	sound re-recording mixer: Los Angeles
Richard Sperber	....	sound editor: Los Angeles (as Richard A. Sperber)
Paul Wells	....	sound re-recording mixer: Los Angeles
Douglas O. Williams	....	sound re-recording mixer: Los Angeles

Special Effects by
Ira Anderson Jr.	....	special effects: Los Angeles

Visual Effects by
Stanley Cortez	....	miniatures photographer
Bill Hansard	....	process coordinator: Los Angeles
Chuck Taylor	....	miniatures maker

Stunts
Max Kleven	....	stunt coordinator: Los Angeles
Jerry Brutsche	....	stunts (uncredited)
Kitty O'Neil	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Derek V. Browne	....	assistant camera: Israel (as Derek Browne)
Colin J. Campbell	....	gaffer: Los Angeles (as Colin Campbell)
James R. Connell	....	camera operator: Los Angeles (as James Connell)
John D. Crededio	....	gaffer: Chicago (as John Crededio)
Al Giddings	....	underwater photographer: Los Angeles
George Hill	....	key grip: Los Angeles
Robert McLain	....	key grip: Chicago (as Robert McLaine Jr.)
Ed Nielsen	....	assistant camera: Chicago
Jack L. Richards	....	camera operator: Chicago (as Jack Richards)
Don Smetzer	....	still photographer: Chicago
Ron Taberer	....	assistant camera: Israel
Gilbert Taylor	....	cinematographer: Israel (as Gil Taylor)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Burton Miller	....	wardrobe: Miss Grant
Ray Summers	....	wardrobe: Los Angeles

Editorial Department
David Garfield	....	assistant editor: Los Angeles
Willie Navarro	....	assistant editor: Los Angeles

Music Department
Leonard A. Engel	....	music editor: Los Angeles (as Len Engel)

Transportation Department
James Hogan	....	transportation captain: Chicago

Other crew
Ray Berwick	....	raven trainer: Los Angeles
Rusty Lemorande	....	production assistant: Chicago
Audrey Levy	....	production assistant: Chicago
W.S. McBirnie	....	technical advisor (as Dr. W.S. McBirnie Ph.D.)
H. Bud Otto	....	script supervisor: Los Angeles
Zach Staenberg	....	production assistant: Chicago

Thanks
Cornelius Morgan	....	special thanks: Chicago Police Department (as Sergeant Cornelius Morgan)
Lucie Salenger	....	special thanks: State of Illinois Film Office (as Lucy Salenger)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
• Mace Neufeld Productions

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1978) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Films (1978) (Finland) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• CBS / Fox Video (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• CBS/Fox Video (1984) (Belgium) (VHS)
• Encore Entertainment (19??) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• FS Film (2001) (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• FS Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD) (6-disc Omen: Ultimate Collector's Edition)
• Fox Video (199?) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1980) (USA) (TV)
• R-Video (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• Showtime (1980s) (Finland) (VHS)
• TV3 (1990) (Finland) (TV)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Israfilm Motion Picture Services  Israel sequences serviced by
• Kawasaki Motors  snowmobiles
• Kawasaki Motors  winter clothing
• City Hall, Chicago  special thanks
• Northwestern Military and Naval Academy  special thanks
• Chicago Motion Picture Services  special thanks
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• DeLuxe Laboratories  color by (as DeLuxe)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:18A | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1978) | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Italy:VM14 | South Korea:15 | Canada:18A (video rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2006) | New Zealand:R16 | Portugal:M/18 | Germany:16 (cut) (1992) | Germany:16 (uncut) (2001) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1992) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1988)

Filming Locations:

Acre, Israel

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Don Taylor replaced director Mike Hodges as a result of creative differences. However, the few scenes Hodges directed were kept, like the scenes at the factory and at the military school, and also the dinner where Aunt Marion shows her concern about Damien.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Dr Kane's name is spelled "Kane" on his name tag but "Kayne" in the caption to a newspaper photo reporting his death.

Quotes:

Dr. Charles Warren:Richard, you know me to be a rational man, but what I'm about to tell you is not rational...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Martian Child (2007)

A Strong Sequel, No Doubt

Damien Thorn (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) is now a teenager, but does not know he is evil. What will he do when he finds out who he is? Can he accept it, can he reject it? William Holden brings the star power that Gregory Peck brought to the first one, just as the crow has now replaced the rottweiler. The film is full of analogues. Oh, and even Lance Henriksen shows up! And we cannot overlook the glorious music of Jerry Goldsmith.

This was supposed to be developed with producer Harvey Bernhard's best friend Richard Donner, but he ended up getting "Superman" around this time Some of the beauty of the film is that the beginning was shot in an actual castle from the Crusades with an actual escape tunnel. Other scenes were filmed in Wisconsin (Eagle River, Lake Geneva, Delafield) and Illinois (Lake Forest, Chicago). When filming in Eagle River, they stayed at the home of a teamster who was murdered about three months later for his involvement with Jimmy Hoffa.

The scene under the ice was completely real: the man was really under the ice and had to swim for thirty or forty feet. Incredible, but true.

producer and story writer Harvey Bernhard's commentary tells about the film's creation, and chronicles his dislike of the film's original director, Mike Hodges, and his preference for Don Taylor, the man who took over. Bernhard also believes it is not possible to believe in God but not the devil... his reasoning is questionable.