Omen III: The Final Conflict *** (1981, Sam Neill, Rossano Brazzi, Don Gordon, Lisa Harrow, Mason Adams, Robert Arden) – Classic Movie Review 558

In his first feature film, Graham Baker directs the final part of The Omen trilogy in 1981, with the evil Damien Thorn now aged 33 and all set to ensure Christ’s Second Coming won’t happen by killing all boys born in Britain (where he’s now US ambassador) on a certain day.

The Christ-child has been born again, on the Angel Isle, Britain, but Damien has a diabolical plan – to find all the male children born on that specified day and kill each and every one of them.

In his first international star part, New Zealand actor Sam Neill takes on the Antichrist role and plays him charismatically, with determined, calculated menace. He’s excellent, a class act. As for the film itself, although not quite as strong as The Omen or Omen II, The Final Conflict, it is still gripping and exciting, and packs some startling shocks and plenty of bloody violence.

Father DeCarlo (Rossano Brazzi), now in possession of the all-important seven ancient metal ornate daggers ‘The Seven Daggers of Meggido’ that can kill Damien, leads a cabal of himself and six other monks, the rather feeble Vatican opposition desperately plotting to stop him. So it’s up to Father DeCarlo, Brother Antonio, Brother Benito, Brother Martin, Brother Mattius, Brother Paulo and Brother Simeon to get the knife in before Damien does, if they can!

Don Gordon is fun as Damien’s henchman Harvey Dean, but Lisa Harrow’s slightly in the way with much too much to do as a TV  current affairs reporter, Kate Reynolds, host of The World in Focus. Mason Adams is the US President and Robert Arden is the American Ambassador.

Queen of Scream Hazel Court’s cameo was filmed as a favour as she was holidaying in Cornwall when the hunting scene was filmed.

It was her last film appearance, though she still continued to appear on the cult movie conventions circuit. She died of a heart attack on 15 Apri 2008, aged 82.

Advertised as The Last Chapter in the Omen Trilogy, it turned out not to be the last word on the saga when Omen IV: The Awakening was made in 1991. And Hollywood remade the 1976 original, The Omen, in 2006.

Look out for Ruby Wax as the US Ambassador’s secretary.

© Derek Winnert 2013 Classic Movie Review 558

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com