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Poster for the first film
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Original work | The Omen |
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The Omen is a British-American horror film franchise beginning in 1976. The story was originally written by David Seltzer, who chose not to continue the series after the first novel. The second novel was then written by Joseph Howard; the third novel was done by Gordon McGill. After the third film was produced, a fourth and fifth were made-for-television in an attempt to revive the series, but they were received poorly.
The series centers on Damien Thorn, a child born of Satan and given to Robert and Katherine Thorn, before being passed along the Thorn families as a child. It is revealed among the families that Damien is in fact meant to be the Antichrist, and as an adult is attempting to gain control of the Thorn business and reach for the presidency.
Three documentaries regarding the series have been made: 666: The Omen - Revealed (2000), The Omen: Legacy (2001), and The Curse of The Omen (2005).
The Omen is the original film in the series, directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. The story introduces Robert Thorn, an American Ambassador in Italy who adopts the newborn Damien to replace the newborn that he was told was stillborn. When Damien reaches the age of five as Robert is transferred to Britain, strange events unfold, starting with the boy's nanny committing suicide during his birthday party. Soon after, Robert encounters a Catholic priest named Father Brennan who was present at Damien's birth and attempts to warn him that the child would eventually kill him and his wife before he dies impaled by a falling church spire. It is only after his wife ends up hospitalized with a miscarriage that Robert believes, as he and a photographer named Jennings travel to Rome, where they learn the truth that Damien is in fact the Antichrist and that the death of Robert's child was arranged so the child could be raised by a politician. In the meantime, Katherine is murdered by Mrs. Baylock, Damien's second nanny, who in reality is a member of the Satanists who arranged Damien's upbringing and will kill any threat to protect him. Arriving in Megiddo to find Bugenhagen, an exorcist and archaeologist, Robert is presented with the only means to kill Damien: Seven Daggers of Megiddo. Though he initially refuses, it takes both the death of Jennings and discovering the Mark of the Beast on Damien's head to convince Robert to go through with it. But despite killing Mrs. Baylock after a struggle, Robert is killed by the authorities before he can kill Damien. Damien is then left in the care of his uncle, Richard Thorn.