Although the “slasher” genre spawned a slew of successful franchises, films about evil kids found it tougher to enjoy long-term popularity. Sure, 1973’s mega-hit The Exorcist managed to stretch to a few sequels, but none of them found much of an audience.

1976’s The Omen fared even worse. It generated two little-regarded sequels as well as a much-disliked 2006 remake.

Though I saw the 1976 original and the 2006 edition, I never took in the sequels. It looks like time to rectify that with a screening of 1978’s Damien: Omen II.

In the first film, we learned that young Damien appeared to be the literal spawn of Satan. Now 13 years old, Damien (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) lives with relatives outside Chicago.

Damien resides with uncle Richard (William Holden) and aunt Ann (Lee Grant) because his parents died years earlier due to Damien’s evil nature. Older and wiser, Damien starts to grow into his powers and become a threat that Richard needs to stop.

As I indicated in that review, I felt the original Omen seemed fairly mediocre. I thought the film occasionally sparked to life but it lacked the real horror I anticipated.

I won’t claim that the original Omen looks like genius compared to Damien, but the 1976 film definitely holds up better. Largely silly and pointless, the sequel lacks much reason to exist.

Beyond money, of course, as it seems clear that Damien found a way to cinemas solely as a potential cash cow. That said, I think a sequel made sense in this case, as the 1976 movie ended on a cliffhanger of sorts, so it seems logical to see how Damien’s evil progresses.

Couldn’t the producers come up with a more compelling film than this, though? While the tale of an adolescent anti-Christ opens up to all sorts of possibilities, the producers seemed determined to follow as banal a path as possible.

This means a dull story about Richard’s business and Damien’s potential ascension that lacks even the most rudimentary dramatic value. Though a subplot traces how advocates tutor Damien, the end result seems more like a series of boardroom discussions than a taut thriller.

On the sporadic occasions when the movie attempts horror, its execution falters. Should we feel frightened by a scene in which a crow lands outside a bedroom and an old lady keels over?

I guess so, but we don’t, and other “scare scenes” feel even sillier. Overacting and goofy cinematic touches defuse any potential horror and bring us a dopey affair.

Even a scene in which we see Damien’s preternatural abilities in a duel with a teacher feel more like demonic Rain Man than something truly frightening. The film also wastes a reasonably good cast.

Actually, as Damien himself, Scott-Taylor acquits himself fairly well, as he avoids the urge to overplay his part. The adults show no such restraint and tend to chow on scenery.

Stuck in a dull affair, I guess the actors felt desperate to enliven the proceedings. They can’t, so Damien winds up as a sluggish, scare-free tale.

Damien: Omen II appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.35:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. While much of the image looked very good, some inconsistencies occurred.

The issues mainly impacted sharpness. Much of the film came with appropriate delineation, but more than a few oddly soft spots popped up, and those became a sporadic distraction.

Neither jagged edges nor shimmering marred the proceedings, and I saw no signs of edge haloes. Print flaws also remained minor, as I witnessed only an occasional speck or mark.

In terms of colors, Damien veered toward an earthy feel, with a lot of browns and reds. Though the hues didn’t dazzle, they seemed appropriate and well-rendered.

Blacks were reasonably deep and dense, while shadows became fairly clear and smooth. Other than the mild bouts of softness, the image worked well.

As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 remix, it often hewed close to the source. This meant a track that often remained largely one-channel.

Music broadened to the side speakers well, and occasional effects opened to the five channels, too. These focused on a few “scare” scenes, which meant most of the elements stayed monaural.

This created an odd balance. Because so much of the movie kept the effects located in the front center, the instances where it used the other channels stood out as a distraction.

Audio quality felt dated but acceptable. Music showed pretty good range, while effects came across with decent clarity and accuracy.

Though speech could seem somewhat reedy, the lines remained intelligible and clean. Because the soundscape felt awkward, I’d recommend that viewers stick with the included original monaural instead.

How did the 2019 Shout Blu-ray compare to the Fox BD from 2008? Picture and audio appeared to be identical, as unlike the 1976 movie, this Shout release for the sequel didn’t opt for a new scan.

The Shout disc did offer a minor upgrade in terms of its original mono audio, however. Whereas the Fox presentation delivered that mix via a lossy format, the Shout version brought lossless DTS-HD MA monaural.

When we shift to extras, we get two audio commentaries, the first of which comes from producer Harvey Bernhard. Along with moderator JM Kenny, he offers a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, sets and locations, effects, music, and other domains.

Though somewhat erratic, this usually becomes a fairly informative chat. Bernhard loses steam at times but he usually offers a pretty good overview of the film, and Kenny adds prompts that help develop the discussion in a mostly pleasing manner.

New to the Shout release, we find a second commentary from Special Project Consultant Scott Michael Bosco. He delivers a running, screen-specific discussion of story/characters/screenplay, cast and crew, religious elements, connections to the other movies, production notes and his thoughts about the film.

Bosco’s chat for Omen turned into an occasionally offensive mess and the same follows for the sequel. Bosco roams all over the place and goes onto a mix of superfluous tangents.

In addition, Bosco makes a bizarre and completely erroneous defense of Donald Trump’s use of the term “fake news” and he also offers a weird misunderstanding of why the Confederate flag offends people. Bosco never needs to inject his far right political views into the track and these elements make it tough to take.

Even without those lapses in judgment, Bosco simply tells us little of use here. He rambles without purpose and delivers a poor commentary.

From there we go to video programs, and we find an Interview with Actor Lee Grant. This chat runs 15 minutes, 56 seconds.

Grant discusses her thoughts about the first Omen along with her experiences during Damien. She gives us a fine collection of memories and insights.

In the same vein, we find an Interview with Actor Robert Foxworth. His discussion lasts 16 minutes, 21 seconds.

Foxworth talks about his career circa 1978, his memories of cast and crew, and other thoughts about the film and its shoot. Foxworth brings an honest and enjoyable look back at Damien.

To follow this path, we discover an Interview with Actor Elizabeth Shepherd. She talks for 26 minutes, 34 seconds.

Shepherd tells us about her career as well as her experiences during the Damien shoot. Like Foxworthy, Shepherd provides blunt insights and makes this a solid overview.

For more from the actor, Shepherd’s Scrapbook lasts three minutes, 36 seconds and features her narration over photos from the production. This turns into a fun collection.

An archival featurette from 1978, Power and the Devil lasts seven minutes, 21 seconds. It brings info from producer Harvey Bernhard and actors William Holden and Jonathan Scott-Taylor.

While we get a few decent insights and some shots from the set, most of "Power" shows movie clips. That makes it less than enthralling promo material too much of the time.

In addition to the film’s trailer, three TV spots and three radio spots, we conclude with an Image Gallery that contains 88 screens. These mix photos from the shoot and publicity elements to become a nice compilation.

As far as horror sequels go, you can do worse than Damien: Omen II, but don’t view that as praise. While the movie doesn’t become outright junk, it seems dull and flat too much of the time. The Blu-ray brings generally good picture with mediocre audio and a mix of bonus materials. Maybe I’ll like the third film in the series better, but Damien: Omen II fails to do much for me.

Note that as of February 2025, this 2019 Shout Blu-ray of Damien: Omen II can be purchased solely as part of a five-film “Omen Collection: Deluxe Edition” box. It also includes 1976 movie and the series’ third and fourth entries along with its 2006 remake.

To rate this film, visit the original review of DAMIEN: OMEN II