{"id":22135,"date":"2019-10-13T15:31:25","date_gmt":"2019-10-13T22:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=22135"},"modified":"2021-09-13T15:26:46","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T22:26:46","slug":"review-omen2-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2019\/10\/review-omen2-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Damien: Omen II Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I actually enjoyed Damien: Omen II<\/em><\/strong> ever so slightly more than the first film, but it\u2019s not without its problems, that being some of the editing and pacing, though Jonathan Scott-Taylor actually wasn\u2019t bad as Damien.<\/p>\n

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The Omen<\/span>
\n(1978)<\/span>
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Genre(s): <\/strong>Horror, Thriller, Supernatural<\/span>
\nShout Factory | R \u2013 107 min. \u2013 $0.00 | October 15, 2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 10\/13\/2019 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Directed by: <\/strong>Don Taylor
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>David Seltzer (characters); Harvey Bernhard (story), Stanley Mann and Michael Hodges (screenplay)
\nCast: <\/strong>William Holden, Lee Grant, Jonathan Scott-Taylor, Robert Foxworth, Nicholas Pryor, Lance Henrikson, Lucas Donat<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DISC INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Features: <\/strong>Audio Commentaries, Interviews, Promotional Material, Still Gallery
\nSlip Cover: <\/strong>No
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (DTS-HD MA 1.0)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.35
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>39.58 GB
\nTotal Bitrate: <\/strong>32.87 Mbps
\nCodecs: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Shout Factory provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
\nThe opinions I share are my own.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 3.25\/5<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Plot Synopsis: <\/strong>Since the sudden and suspicious deaths of his parents, young Damien (JONATHAN SCOTT-TAYLOR) has been in the charge of his wealthy uncle (WILLIAM HOLDEN) and aunt (LEE GRANT) and enrolled in a military school. Widely feared to be the Antichrist, Damien relentlessly plots to seize control of his uncle\u2019s business empire \u2013 and the world. Anyone attempting to unravel the secrets of Damien\u2019s sinister past or fiendish future meets with a swift and cruel demise.<\/p>\n

Quick Hit Review: Damien: Omen II<\/em><\/strong> is a movie I actually enjoyed every-so-slightly better than its predecessor which in certain respects I found to be a little overrated. I think part of the reason I liked this a tad better is that in the first film, Damien is a 5-year-old boy who, and not to criticize too much, had limited acting abilities (not his fault, probably cast for how devious he could emote). Here, we get Jonathan Scott-Taylor who has more to work with, especially in regards to any emotions, particularly when he discovers he is the Antichrist ranging from confusion to acceptance and what it cost him.<\/p>\n

As with the first film, they tapped a couple veteran and respected actors in William Holden and Lee Grant, both of whom do well with not a whole lot to work with, though Holden has a few nice moments and for her part, Grant is quite good with a fun little twist at the end, which was actually pretty good.<\/p>\n

Don Taylor takes over directing duties, but not before Mike Hodges exited (fired) due to the old \u201ccreative differences\u201d excuse, with Richard Donner declining to return being busy working on Superman<\/em>. Nothing especially imaginative but at least keeps the tension even if the editing at times felt off, perhaps with the change of directors mid-production (apparently a few of Hodges\u2019 scenes remained).<\/p>\n

Although I did like the movie, it still couldn\u2019t elevate beyond being a passably entertaining movie, not much more than that.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 4.0\/5<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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\n

Audio Commentaries:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Special Project Consultant Scott Michael Bosco<\/li>\n
  • Producer Harvey Bernhard<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Both of the tracks are decent with Bosco\u2019s commentary delving into the historical elements of the project while Bernhard provides a more behind-the-scenes aspects. As solo tracks go, not bad but kind of prefer multiple participants.<\/p>\n

    Interviews:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Damien\u2019s Guardian (15:56) <\/strong>\u2014 Actress Lee Grant<\/li>\n
    • The Devil\u2019s CEO (16:21)<\/strong> \u2014 Actor Robert Foxworth<\/li>\n
    • The Harbinger (26:34)<\/strong> \u2014 Actress Elizabeth Shepherd<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      All three of these interviews weren\u2019t fantastic but still interesting to hear their thoughts on the film all these years later and telling stories of working with their co-stars.<\/p>\n

      Shepherd\u2019s Scrapbook (3:36)<\/u><\/strong> is a featurette on the actress\u2019s photos from the production.<\/p>\n

      Power and the Devil: The Making of Damien: Omen II<\/em> (7:21)<\/u><\/strong> is an archival production featurette with on-location interviews with the cast and crew at the time.<\/p>\n

      Promotional material includes the Theatrical Trailer (3:03)<\/u><\/strong>, TV Spots (1:33)<\/u><\/strong>, Radio Spots (1:31)<\/u><\/strong> and an Image Gallery (6:34)<\/u><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

       <\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
      \n

      VIDEO \u2013 4.25\/5<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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      Shout Factory releases Damien: Omen II<\/em><\/strong> onto Blu-ray presented with a 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. There\u2019s no mention on the back cover or Shout\u2019s site, so it doesn\u2019t seem this got a restored transfer and Shout probably got it from Fox. Even so, this is still a fine looking transfer, detail is relatively sharp especially on close-ups before it gets a little fuzzy on the distant shots. I noticed maybe some minor ailments with some specs but nothing apparent or distracting from an otherwise great looking transfer.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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      AUDIO \u2013 4.0\/5<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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      As with the first movie, you get the choice of either 5.1 or Mono DTS-HD Master Audio tracks, the latter being the default option. I tested the mono track before watching the majority of the film with the 5.1 option, but either way, these lossless tracks still sound very good, dialogue is crisp and clear and there\u2019s some okay depth on the 5.1 track, especially when it comes to Jerry Goldsmith\u2019s haunting\/creepy song and Damien theme.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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      OVERALL \u2013 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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      \n

      I actually enjoyed Damien: Omen II<\/em><\/strong> ever so slightly more than the first film, but it\u2019s not without its problems, that being some of the editing and pacing, though Jonathan Scott-Taylor actually wasn\u2019t bad as Damien. This Shout Factory release offers up great video and audio transfers and a good selection of special features.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      I actually enjoyed Damien: Omen II ever so slightly more than the first film, but it\u2019s not without its problems, that being some of the editing and pacing, though Jonathan Scott-Taylor actually wasn\u2019t bad as Damien.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,970],"tags":[755,6195,6553,3038],"class_list":["post-22135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","category-quick-hit-reviews","tag-lance-henriksen","tag-lee-grant","tag-omen","tag-william-holden"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22135"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27113,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22135\/revisions\/27113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}