Damien: Omen II Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Damien: Omen II Blu-ray Movie Review

Damien: Omen II (1978) is being released as part of Scream Factory's five-disc box set, The Omen Collection: Deluxe Edition.

Directors Don Taylor and Mike Hodges's sequel was first reviewed by my colleague Marty Liebman as part of Fox's four-disc The Omen Collection. To read Marty's critique of the film, A/V, and supplements, please click here.

Damien is popular with the ladies.

Damien: Omen II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Omen II appears in its original theatrical exhibition ratio of 2.35:1 on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50. This appears to be the same transfer that Fox used eleven years ago for its box set. I've included some frame enlargements from both transfers for comparison. I echo Marty's comments from his review: "Film grain is left intact and adds a nice film-like look to the presentation. Colors are a bit dull and washed out in the film's opening sequence, but spring to life later in the picture. Flesh tones generally look normal if not featuring just a hint of red to them. Despite some softness about the image, both in background and select foreground shots, detail is moderately high and colors are excellent." I'd add that grain is a little scattered in some scenes over others. There are very occasional speckles. They don't occur with high frequency. I didn't notice any aliasing artifacts that hampered the 2000 DVD. Scream Factory encodes the feature with an average video bitrate of 25994 kbps.

Screenshot #s 1-12, 14, 16, 18, & 20 = Scream Factory 2019 Blu-ray
Screenshot #s 13, 15, 17, & 19 = 20th Century Fox 2008 Blu-ray

The 107-minute feature contains twelve chapters.

Damien: Omen II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Scream supplies the movie's original monaural mix for the first time. It's encoded as a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono (1759 kbps, 24-bit). The label has also repurposed Fox's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround remix (2709 kbps, 24-bit). Dialogue is a bit flat but always audible. Sound effects are clear and don't sound distorted. There is no hiss, tape dropouts, pops, or crackles.

I was pleasantly surprised that Jerry Goldsmith didn't simply rehash his score from The Omen. In fact, he employed the theme-and-variation method with his famous "Ave Satani." Composer Christopher Young points out in an interview on disc one of this box set that he relishes Goldsmith's use of the ostinato in this sequel score. In other words, he reuses or replays the same series of notes over and over. A prominent example is over the main titles. Pulsating rhythms from the orchestra are accented by a rising chorus. Goldsmith's score sounds pretty robust on the lossless audio tracks. Varèse Sarabande album producer Robert Townson said back in 2001 that one of Goldsmith's cues as heard on the 35mm magnetic master sounded damaged but that's apparently been been cleaned up on this Blu-ray.

Optional English SDH accompany the main feature.

Damien: Omen II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• NEW Audio Commentary with Special Project Consultant Scott Michael Bosco - Bosco delves into many production anecdotes and trivia about Damien: Omen II and discusses the thematic links between the other films in the series. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with Producer Harvey Bernhard - this archival commentary was originally recorded in 2000 and features producer Bernhard along with a Fox DVD producer serving as moderator. Bernhard talks about how the sequel came together, production challenges, and working with various cast/crew members. It takes a while for the track to get going. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Damien's Guardian – An Interview with Actress Lee Grant (15:56) - Grant speaks of her admiration for The Omen and talks in glowing terms of Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. She notes how different it was at the two for two "A" list stars to participate in "supernatural art." Grant goes into what she brought to the role of Ann Thorn, sharing the screen with William Holden, Sylvia Sidney smoking on the set, Lew Ayres's big dive under water, and the differences between Mike Hodges's direction versus that of Don Taylor's. The is the best interview of the three. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW The Devil's CEO – An Interview with Actor Robert Foxworth (16:21) - Foxworth tells of the various characters he's played in sci-fi films and how portraying Paul Buher in Omen II was a new experience in that he hadn't done horror before. He also addresses the directorial changes that occurred during the production. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW The Harbinger – An Interview with Actress Elizabeth Shepard (26:34) - Shepard delivers the longest talk of the three new interviewees. She recalls the experience of working with Vincent Price on Roger Corman's The Tomb of Ligeia (1964) and compares it to collaborating with William Holden on Omen II. She shares personal anecdotes about Holden and Lee Grant. She also gives a pretty detailed profile of her character, the investigative journalist Joan Hart. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW Elizabeth Shepherd's Scrapbook – A Look at Her Behind-the-Scenes Photos with Commentary by Elizabeth Shepherd (3:36) - Shepherd gives a brief intro and then narrates a short slide show of her personal photographs that were shot on location. She describes how makeup was applied to her character as well as the stunt work done by her stand-in. In English, not subtitled.

• Vintage Featurette – Power and the Devil: The Making of DAMIEN: OMEN II (7:22, upscaled to 1080i) - this is a pretty typical EPK (even for 1978) produced by Kaleidoscopic Films that shows several clips from the film and brief interview snippets with William Holden and Jonathan Scott-Taylor. It also shows director Don Taylor at work. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:59, 480i) - an interlaced original trailer presented in 1.33:1. Don't watch it if haven't seen the film before. It gives away several spoilers.

• TV Spots (1:34, upscaled to 1080i) - three spots that aired on network TV to promote Omen II. They are film-sourced with artifacts and at least one rounded corner.

• Radio Spots (1:31) - three radio spots that aired during Omen II's theatrical run.

• Still Gallery (6:34) - a total of eighty-nine stills make up this gallery. The first forty images in this slide show consist of high-res color photographs of the actors and crew behind the scenes. The next sixteen are black-and-white glossy photos from Fox's official press kit. The last thirty-three images comprise posters, newspapers ads, lobby cards, and ad slicks from international marketing campaigns.

Damien: Omen II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Damien: Omen II is possibly my favorite sequel in the series and I'm glad that Scream Factory has added a brand new audio commentary by über-fan Scott Michael Bosco. Lee Grant is absolutely delightful in a recently recorded interview as is Elizabeth Shepard. Robert Foxworth's interview with Edwin Samuelson on this disc is solid. Scream has released the uncompressed mono mix for the first time. It would have been ideal for the older print to receive a 4K remaster. Sill, a SOLID RECOMMENDATION for Omen II.