Tag Line : The Power of Evil is No Longer in the Hands of a Child.

Well Omen 2 might not have been the runaway success the producers and studios hoped for, but it had proved profitable enough for them to go ahead with a third and (supposed) final instalment.

Originally released plainly as "The Final Conflict", without the Omen 3 tag, this third film sees a fully grown Damien, as played by a youthful Sam Neill, now in his 30's (which means this must be set sometime in the late 90's, even though its obviously the early 80's) stepping up his plans for world domination.

Not content with being the head of his late Uncle's Thorn corporation, which apparently produces everything from weapons to Soya beans, he makes the move into politics and quickly takes up his father's former post as the US Ambassador to England. But Damien's ascent to the top isn't going to be easy, as it's the second coming of Christ and now that Jesus is somewhere out there his powers are starting to drain. Not only this, but a group of monks lead by a Father DeCarlo (Rosano Brazzi) are trying to assassinate him with some sacred daggers.

Notwithstanding, Damien's followers proceed to do a modern day "slaughter of the innocents", covertly killing all children born on the same day as the newborn Christ in the hopes of nailing the right one, whilst DeCarlo's monks end up failing miserably in stopping Damien and getting killed in a variety of nasty ways, including being set on fire whilst swinging from a lighting gantry and torn to death by a pack of hunting dogs.

When TV journalist Kate Reynolds (Lisa Harrow) gets involved with Damien, they think they may have found his Achilles heal. But will she believe their tales of his demonic origins?

Though not quite as good as its predecessors, this is a good third entry but you really need to have seen the previous 2 films to really understand this. Overall I'd say worth a watch, if you're a fan of the original you should check it out. Look out for a then unknown Ruby Wax and TV actor Eric Richard who both have minor roles in the film.

Overall Marks : 5/10.

Other Information.

• Alternate tag lines "The Last Chapter in the Omen Trilogy", "The ultimate confrontation between good and evil".

• The German release of the film was called "Barbara's Baby".

• Comedienne Ruby Wax has a small role near the beginning of the film as the US Ambassador's secretary.

• Parts of the speech Damien says whilst praying to Satan in his private chapel were taken directly from the 1891 book "Down There" (AKA La-Bas) by JK Huysmans.

• Original director Richard Donner returned to produce on this, he was offered the director's job again but had to turn it down as he was going through some lengthy legal proceedings with another studio owing to him being sacked from Superman 2. The job was subsequently given to TV director Graham Baker.

• TV actor Eric Richard has a small role as one the technicians in the observatory. He's probably best known for his former role of Sgt Cryer in the long running UK TV show "The Bill".

• Composer Jerry Goldsmith once again returned to score the film.

• Barnaby Holm, who plays Kate's son Peter, is the son of British actor Ian Holm.

• Graham Baker also directed the 1988 sci-fi film "Alien Nation".

• Sam Neill apparently got the role of Damien after noted British actor James Mason wrote to the producers recommending him for the part. Some sources claim he even offered to pay for Sam Neill's flight from New Zealand in order to audition for the role.

Cast & Crew.

Buy the UK DVD.

Buy the UK DVD box set (6 discs).

Buy the UK DVD

Buy the UK DVD box set (6 discs).

Buy the US DVD

Buy the US DVD box-set (6 discs).

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Other films in the series.

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