It begins with the discovery of some knives in the wreckage of an old building in Chicago; soon after the knives are being sold in a pawn shop; but a keen passerby might see that these knives are very different. It's only a matter of time before world acclaimed auction house Sotherby's is selling these knives, and from here the knives end up in a small Italian monastery.
In the US businessman and politician Damien Thorn (Sam Neil) is setting about his plans moving him closer to becoming the US Ambassador in London. Charismatic and brilliant Thorn is the envy of the world, or at least so it seems. Strangely preacher like Thorn seems to have the gift of second sight, prophesising his future.
The situation that Damien Thorn wants to fill however is taken, that is until the current ambassador encounters a Doberman while walking in London's Hyde Park, and seemingly unhinges him. Shortly later the ambassador commits suicide in a most elaborate way.
What connects these three events?
The power evil is no longer in the hands of a child!
The Final Conflict is the third and technically final instalment of the Omen series of movies, I say technically because 9 years after this movie was released a fourth instalment turned up as a dismal TV movie, personally I don't think this qualifies as part of the series and am therefore dismissing it here.
The Omen movies follow
the rise to power of Damien Thorn, the two previous movies show Damien as a child miraculously getting everything he wanted. Damien is a very special young man however, not an ordinary man; Damien is the Anti-Christ or more effectively the Devil's son.
I was at first sight over twenty years ago disappointed with the Omen final instalment, but I have to confess that as time has progressed the movie has grown on me, and now I think upon it as quite an endearing movie, as endearing as a horror movie can get that is.
Of the three movies the third instalment being the final needed to be impressive, and while in previous movies Damien had a scattering of followers here he forms a literal army, tasked with doing his bidding at whatever cost. Combined with the fact that the movie has a big global feel about it, and a mammoth task logistically speaking it is the most accomplished of all the movies. The deaths that Damien commits are more elaborate and drastic than ever before, while the storyline is more sinister and tragic than ever before.
Like all movies that have sequels it does have its failures, the trouble here I think is that by this instalment not only were the audiences familiar with Damien's dastardly ways, but perhaps also uncomfortable by the jump from teenager to thirty four year old man, and of course the fact that the movie was clearly sold as being the end of the story; bought about a certain level of expectation. While now I feel happy with the movies end, at the time I must confess I felt a little robbed.
Historically the movie is quite interesting because it contains one of the few fox hunting sequences shown in a movie. It's hard to think of the movie in the harsh way it is considered nowadays (outlawed in the UK in fact) the movie almost handles it like a charming family day out in which of course a poor defenceless animal is killed. While being visually quite innocent, this same scene delivers one of the more vicious moments of the movie, as two monks recruited as assassins try to trap Damien; only to of course find that the tables are turned on them. The whole sequence is marvellously filmed, standing out head above any other sequence of the movie; this is a prime example of when art and the movie industry meet, with every image perfectly framed.
The movie also contains a slightly disturbing love story between Damien and newswoman Kate Reynolds, played by Lisa Harrow. This relationship is quite pointed, although there is a physical attraction between the two you can see in her eyes that she cannot quite understand why she is involved in any way with Damien. The flip side of this dark coin is also trying to understand what Damien's motives are for this relationship, is he really interested in Kate, or more interested in her son Peter (Barnaby Holm).
The driving force behind the movie is the monks who having travelled from Italy need to put an end to Damien's control. Seven monks armed each with one of the daggers known as the Magedo daggers; these are the only things that can put an end to Damien. But there is more to their mission; a strange ascension in the stars spells a birth, and for every positive there is a negative; and Damien must rush against the clock to track down a child, more specifically the new Christ child.
The sound is magnificent, with a remastered soundtrack met by an epic feature packed score by Oscar winning composer Jerry Goldsmith. Goldmith's score being the best of all the Omen movies capturing the fear and adventure of the onscreen events; and if I may a touch Christmassy at numerous intervals.
I have always seen The Final Conflict on a TV screen; however on this most recent viewing I had the pleasure to see it as a projected image. I'm never one to draw comparisons as to when and how a movie should be seen, often arguing that movies can be easily as enjoyed on the small screen as the big screen. I have to admit though on this occasion I was wrong, the movie is marvellous and atmospheric as a large image, and for some reason image projection really suits the movie. I felt to some degree that I was seeing the movie for the first time, despite the true number of times I have actually seen it probably exceeding the number of digits on my hands and feet.
While it disappointed in the past I can say I was not at all disappointed by my viewing today, the movie is crisp and clean to look at and offers a feature packed journey that is every bit as horrific at the start as it is in the movies final moments.
Special Features:
The DVD contains trailers to the three original Omen movies, two of which are the UK trailers with the second movie being the US trailer. The titles of the three movies are The Omen, Damien Omen 2, and The Final Conflict.
The DVD also contains an audio commentary from the movies director Graham Baker. The commentary is varied with at times valuable insight, while at others big expanses of silence where he is obviously trying to either think of what to say, or remembering things he may have forgotten. He draws attention the fox hunting scene admitting that he filmed the most politically incorrect sequence in 30 years of British movie making. Baker nods his head to the musical talents of Jerry Goldsmith, quoting that the music is by far the best offering of the composer's career. At Baker's most animated is when he talks about filming in Cornwall, while at his least during action sequences you have to ask whether he has nodded off to sleep.
The Final Conflict: Remastered is available from play.com priced £9.99
Spencer Hawken 03/08
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Satan's son is all grown up. And he's not playing around anymore.Damien Thorn (Sam Neill) ... more
appears to be a benign corporate benefactor, but as the U.S Ambassador to England he fulfils a terrifying biblical prophecy and faces his own potential demise. Th...
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