The Omen trilogy ranked
3. Omen II: Damien (1978)
While this isn't an awful middle chapter to the trilogy, it is certainly not a good one. This film feels like it only exists to set up one moment, which is Damien discovering who he truly is. Apart from this, the film achieves very little and does not warrant a rewatch due to its lack of memorable and scary moments. The first Omen was simple and chilling. The Final Conflict was intense at times and generally a good watch. The middle chapter was none of those things with some painful acting and an even more painfully paced story.
2. The Final Conflict (1981)
The final chapter of the trilogy was certainly a lot better than I expected. It provided some genuinely shocking moments, and Sam Neils's performance as Damien was nothing short of brilliant. We see Damien's story conclude, as he has now matured into one of the most successful people in the world, with hordes of disciples who are there to protect him from the priests who seek to destroy him. This is definitely the chapter with the most religious imagery, which provides an even more chilling atmosphere. Add to this one of the darkest scenes that I've ever seen in any film and this is one solid conclusion to the Omen series.
1. The Omen (1976)
Now, this is the only one that I would consider to be great. The original Omen is an underrated classic that is extremely chilling, with some great acting and some very creatively done scenes and plot points. The film feels dark right from the opening titles, and it keeps this right through its duration. There are many truly shocking scenes as a father comes to terms with the fact that he and his wife have just adopted the antichrist and the mental struggle that comes with trying to murder his own child for the good of the world. Every character is solid, and the scary scenes are exactly that, which is a glaring issue with the sequels. This film capitalised on the success of The Exorcist in a big way, and became a horror classic itself.