Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) (1981)

April 4, 2024 12:59 PM

[TRAILER] Antichrist Damien Thorn (Sam Neill) is now a successful 32-year-old businessman ready to fulfill his destiny. As Damien is appointed United States ambassador to Britain, priests led by Father DeCarlo (Rossano Brazzi) try to kill him. While Damien prepares for the return of Jesus Christ, he takes advantage of his relationship with Kate Reynolds (Lisa Harrow) to recruit her son, Peter (Barnaby Holm), as his follower.

Directed by Graham Baker. Written by Andrew Birkin. Based on characters created by David Seltzer. Produced by Harvey Bernhard for 20th Century Fox. Cinematography by Phil Meheux, Robert Paynter. Edited by Alan Strachan. Music by Jerry Goldsmith. Also billed as simply The Final Conflict.

29% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Currently streaming in the US on Hulu. JustWatch listing.

posted by DirtyOldTown (5 comments total)

I am pretty sure I showed this as part of a campus film society the year after it released. I was busy with the till and reel changes and stuff, so I didn’t pay the most attention, but my major takeaway was that the plot did not make much sense….
posted by GenjiandProust at 9:53 AM on April 5 [1 favorite]

The first two were so good, this one was a hot mess. It’s been years, but I remember it seeming like they’d jammed two or three themes/plots together and totally forgot to bring the scary. I generally like Sam Neil, but he was totally unconvincing as an adult antichrist.

It’s a pity. I think there’s a great movie to be made to close out the first two Omen chapters. This wasn’t it.
posted by jzb at 8:13 PM on April 5 [1 favorite]

These movies really suffer the less clear the hero is. I actually like the anti-corporate power direction they head into, but the lack of a clear protagonist to match up against Damien makes them feel increasingly episodic and meandering.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:33 AM on April 11 [1 favorite]

This really feels like it's building to a huge finale, but... doesn't.

And part of me wants to say it might be boring at times, but the essential antichrist trying to kill the reborn Christ part is clear enough... except why does Damian seem to think he's going to get to go mano a mano against Christ. He's a baby, like three weeks old.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:28 AM on April 12

I thought this was better than Omen II, which isn’t a high bar considering how bad that was compared to the excellent original. It did meander a bit, but not in comparison to the pointless 1/3 of the second film that dealt with making agricultural products to disadvantage developing countries. Also the deaths in 2 felt like retreads and lacked emotional impact. At least in 3 I was creeped out in multiple scenes: the baby killing, the creepy rape scene, and the weird mocking of the Christ sculpture by Damien. They just did too much. The worst bit was the 1981 computers tracking the trinity of stars. Borrrring.
posted by caviar2d2 at 4:37 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]