The Final Conflict (1981)

Director:

Graham Baker

Writers:

David Seltzer (characters)
Andrew Birkin (written by)

Release Date:

20 March 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The power of evil is no longer in the hands of a child.

Plot:

The now adult Antichrist plots to eliminate his future divine opponent while a cabal of monks plot to stop him.

Plot Keywords:

Monk | Dagger | Angel | Antichrist | Second Coming

Cast

Sam Neill	...	Damien Thorn
Rossano Brazzi	...	DeCarlo
Don Gordon	...	Dean
Lisa Harrow	...	Kate Reynolds
Barnaby Holm	...	Peter
Mason Adams	...	President
Robert Arden	...	American Ambassador
Leueen Willoughby	...	Barbara
Marc Boyle	...	Brother Benito
Milos Kirek	...	Brother Martin
Tommy Duggan	...	Brother Mattius
Louis Mahoney	...	Brother Paulo
Richard Oldfield	...	Brother Simeon
Tony Vogel	...	Brother Antonio
Arwen Holm	...	Carol

Also Known As:

Omen III: The Final Conflict
The Ill Omen (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | South Korea:18 | Australia:R | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Eagle River, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Last movie for Hazel Court.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Damien states, while talking to The President, that in two years from that time it will be 1984, making it 1982. If that is the case, than The Omen (1976) should be set in the 1950s, not 1976, as it obviously is. This could be due to the fact that at the time the Producers and the studio hadn't anticipated the sequels and the associated time-line.

Quotes:

Dean: She has her own weekly news show. It's called "The World in Vision."
Kate Reynolds: [correcting Dean] "In Focus."
Dean: Excuse me, "The World In Focus."
Kate Reynolds: Or out of focus, as the case may be.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Mitchell (#6.12)" (1993)

Banana Peel Humor and Grown Up Romance

The horror in this movie is so bad it's funny! Every time a monk gets anywhere near Damien the poor guy falls over a bridge or drops down a hole or just slips on a banana peel or something.

On the other hand, the smart and pretty lady reporter gets her hands on Damien right away, without any trouble. It's said that Sam Neill who plays Damien and Lisa Harrow who plays Kate Reynolds were actually falling in love for real as this movie was being made. It really shows! Aside from being just gorgeous, Lisa Harrow was a good actress. You can see that her character has at least three sides to her. As a reporter, she's intrigued by Damien's vast wealth and growing political power. As a mother, she's frightened of his influence on her troubled teenage son. And as a woman, she can't help responding to the sheer excitement of his darkly sexual charisma. But what makes this interesting is that the story line always treats her character with respect. Her sexual feelings don't cancel out her heart or her intelligence, they just make her more mature and sympathetic.

Why is it that major stars like Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan never play anyone half as interesting as this?