Damien: Omen II on PAL Laserdisc

Damien: Omen II – Seven years have passed since Damien narrowly escaped death at the hands of his own father and the boy is now a 13-year old cadet in military academy, living with his rich and powerful American uncle, Richard Thorn. Damien does not yet understand exactly who (or what!) he is, but his awesome powers suddely begin to manifest themselves when a school bully makes the mistake of taunting him.

As Damien and his powers grow, he is watched over by shadowy disciples of evil and anyone who tries to warn Thorn about Damien’s true satanic nature meets a grisly end. But time is running short – will Damien be destroyed by the forces of light, or will he survive and flourish as the embodiment of evil on Earth?

The performances of all actors in the film, apart from the chilling face of Damien, are all outshadowed by the fates dealt out to the cast members who have a date with the Grim Reaper, most notably ‘Death by lift-shaft’ !

It’s also worth noting that the eerie goings-on in the film echo the sentiments of reality, since during pre-production on the first film, an IRA bomb rocked the hotel where the producer and director were staying. A violent storm swept through Rome during a location survey and a bolt of lightning struck Hadrian’s Gate, a landmark near producer Harvey Bernhard’s hotel.

The jinx continued with Damien: Omen II as filming schedules went awry, equipment was lost, a stunt-girl was almost killed, Bernhard’s Los Angeles apartment was destroyed by an inexplicable fire and his car shed a wheel on the freeway shortly afterwards.

“These experiences have left their mark on myself,
the cast and the company”, Bernhard reflected.
“They have made us cautious, extremely so…”

The picture quality is mostly very good. Yes, the print is twenty years old but looks better than expected so, presumably, it comes from the same digitally remastered master for which the 1996 video re-releases were struck from. It is also presented in its correct widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 – unlike the video releases which were pan-and-scan. The cover artwork remains the same. The only drawback on the quality is the presence of flecks on the original print from time to time.

The sound quality is mono, but comes across very clear.

The laserdisc could use some more chapters, given that there are just 19 spread throughout the 102 minutes of the film. The package is rounded off with the original theatrical trailer.

In the summer of 1996, Fox Video dropped a clanger when they re-released the trilogy on 6.6.96 on video, but only in pan-and-scan versions. Gladly, Encore are redressing the balance, having already released the first film in widescreen and now the sequel, just as Fox have got round to putting the first one out in widescreen format.

Overall, the Omen trilogy (forget about the TV movie Omen IV: The Awakening) is one of the best suspense trilogies of all time. With the first two discs already out and the final part on the way, you owe it to yourself to buy this one now, especially at it’s brilliant low price.

FILM : ***½ PICTURE QUALITY: **** SOUND QUALITY: *** EXTRAS: * ——————————- OVERALL: ***

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Dom Robinson

Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.

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