The 1976 Horror flick ‘The Omen’ is often considered one of the classics of the genre. It’s had it all: sequels, reboots, novelizations, and Italian knock-offs. And now it’s about to get another sequel. ‘Damien’ is an upcoming A&E series meant to act as a new sequel to the original 1976 movie. (Not the reboot.) If that sounds like something you’re interested in, then the following trailer is for you.
‘Damien’ was originally going to be a six-episode series on Lifetime (an odd choice for a horror show like this), but eventually moved over to A&E Apparently they liked it enough over there that they increased the series to ten episodes instead of just six.
‘The Omen’ is the story of Damien, a young child who is also the Antichrist. A secret cult of satanists try to keep his true nature secret from Damien’s adopted parents while also killing anyone who becomes suspicious of the child. Eventually almost everyone who may be able to stop him is killed, as well as all of the cultists we know of. Breaking away from the 1978 film sequel, which picked up right where the first movie left off, ‘Damien’ picks up the story decades later and is ignoring the two sequels. Damien has grown into adulthood and apparently remembers little-to-nothing about the events of his childhood. From the trailer, it looks like the events of the Biblical Apocalypse have started up and now there are multiple groups vying to either control Damien or destroy him, all for their own reasons. It’s unclear who all of these groups may be, but it’s a safe bet that at least one group will be the same satanist cult from the first movie who want him to destroy the world. Damien, for his part, appears to not want to end the world as we know it and is struggling with his apparent destiny in an effort to save the world while also trying to protect himself from the people who want him dead.
In a market that seems at times oversaturated with good horror series and still has some more great ones coming up, one may wonder if now is the right time for yet another horror show. However, the show’s creator and former showrunner for ‘The Walking Dead’, Glen Mazzara, has said in an interview that ‘Damien’ is trying to set itself apart by adding a healthy dose of conspiracy-thriller into the mix as well, which could be very interesting. There hasn’t been a really good conspiracy show since ‘Nowhere Man’ or ‘The X-Files,’ so if done right, ‘Damien’ could revitalize a genre that’s long been ignored.
So what do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
‘Damien’ stars Bradley James in the title role and currently has no date set for its premiere.