"The First Omen": A Cursed Horror Flick

The Omen1976

Nearly 50 years after the classic horror film series "The Omen" debuted in 1976, fans are finally treated to an authentic prequel with "The First Omen." With its eerie and mysterious plot, this film ramps up the scare factor, leaving horror enthusiasts eagerly anticipating to challenge their courage!

"The First Omen" follows the life of a young American woman dispatched to Rome to serve the church, only to encounter dark forces that challenge her faith and unveil a terrifying conspiracy involving the reincarnation of a demon. As sinister forces surround her and calamity strikes, will her faith endure? Is her resolve strong enough to sustain her? Can her beliefs save her from the darkness? And ultimately, what fate awaits her?

With the release of "The First Omen," let's look back at the inaugural installment of this film series - "The Omen."

It's said that the script for "The Omen" was adapted by screenwriter David Seltzer from the biblical prophecies of the Christian end times. According to these prophecies, the world will soon witness the arrival of the "Antichrist," who will speak boastful, blasphemous words and be a formidable "politician." This will herald the onset of a seven-year global war, divided into the first and latter half. The first half will see the rise of a peace envoy who will sign treaties to quell the wars, earning adoration from the masses. However, the latter half will witness escalating conflicts aimed at global domination, plunging the world into chaos and suffering. Ultimately, Christ will be reborn to save the world in its final hour.

Moreover, the enduring legacy of "The Omen" series in cinematic history is not only due to its integration of themes such as the end times, faith, and family but also its eerie soundtrack and atmospheric cinematography that immerse audiences in a chilling ambiance. Furthermore, the portrayal of the demonic child as an innocent and adorable figure is juxtaposed against his role as the perpetrator of heinous acts, culminating in a sinister smirk directed at the camera that sends shivers down viewers' spines.

However, what elevates this film to the status of the "most cursed film in history" are the bizarre occurrences that plagued its production, creating an aura of doom around the entire cast and crew. It's as if the misfortunes depicted in the film extended beyond the screen, with incidents on set seemingly orchestrated by an invisible evil force. These unfortunate events, which seemed like mere coincidences, appeared to thwart the production of the film:

The leading actor's son commits suicide by gunshot.

Shortly before filming commenced, Gregory Peck, who portrays the adoptive father in the film, tragically lost his son to suicide by gunshot. Peck's real-life loss mirrored the film's storyline of losing a son.

Multiple lightning strikes on airplanes

After attending his son's funeral in the film, Gregory Peck was struck by lightning while aboard a plane en route to the filming location in England. Coincidentally, the film's producer also experienced a similar lightning strike while flying. Additionally, a week later, lightning struck the executive producer similarly while flying to England. Actors and crew members were also struck by lightning, leading to speculation that some unseen force was attempting to halt the film's production.

Chaos at the zoo

A scene in the film depicts the protagonist driving into a wildlife park with the demonic child, Damien Thorn, surrounded by agitated baboons sensing Damien's sinister nature. The baboons initially fear him but then become so terrified that they jump onto the protagonist's camper van, seemingly intent on attacking Damien. The panicked protagonist is forced to drive away, leaving a horde of enraged baboons.

To achieve the scene's realism, animal trainers deliberately withheld food from the baboons the night before shooting to agitate them due to hunger. Additionally, they prepared two contingencies: placing baby baboon dolls inside the van to provoke the baboons' protective instincts and scattering snacks around the truck to attract the hungry baboons.

The baboons appeared genuinely enraged during the shoot, relentlessly pounding and pummeling the van's windows. Reportedly, the actors were terrified by the scene, and the rampaging animals injured some crew members.

Hotel explosion

Due to the ongoing terrorist attacks by the Irish Republican Army in the UK, director Richard Donner's hotel, where he was scheduled to stay overnight, was bombed, narrowly avoiding a tragic fate. Furthermore, en route to a prearranged restaurant, the cast and crew discovered the restaurant had also been attacked. These incidents seemed too coincidental to be mere accidents!

Tragic deaths at the zoo

On the same day as the director's hotel explosion, the wildlife park also experienced a tragic accident. A young staff member mistakenly entered the tiger enclosure, believing he was between two enclosures. Tragically, the tiger seized him by the head, resulting in instant death.

Interestingly, this incident closely paralleled a scene in the film where Damien Thorn uses telekinetic powers to incite animal attacks. Consequently, the crew was unnerved by the uncanny similarity between reality and the film's storyline.

Sudden aggression of a Rottweiler

A fierce-looking Rottweiler featured in the film as Damien Thorn's protector, trained to attack those whom Damien dislikes. However, on set, the aggressive Rottweiler behaved more like a friendly, affectionate pet, lacking the menacing demeanor expected of a demonic guard dog. Therefore, while filming the scene where the Rottweiler attacks Gregory Peck, trainers were concerned that the dog might behave unexpectedly. To everyone's surprise, during filming, the Rottweiler viciously bit the stunt double, its sharp teeth penetrating the double's armor and drawing blood, showing no signs of relenting. The trainers were baffled by the sudden aggression of the ordinarily docile and affectionate Rottweiler.

Plane crash

The production had rented a small aircraft to capture aerial shots, with Gregory Peck scheduled to board the plane. However, due to scheduling conflicts at the last minute, Peck decided against joining the flight. Nevertheless, the plane, which took off as planned, tragically crashed.

The aircraft collided with a flock of birds during its descent, ultimately crashing directly into a camper van parked at the end of the runway. Tragically, the occupants of the truck, including the pilot's family of four, were killed in the crash.

Gruesome decapitation accident

Although "The Omen" does not feature extensive gore or graphic scenes, one particularly chilling scene involves a truck loaded with large panes of glass unexpectedly sliding backward, causing the glass to fly out and fatally strike a character's neck.

What's chilling is that the special effects artist responsible for designing this sequence was involved in a horrific car accident two months after wrapping production. He and his colleagues were traveling to the Netherlands to work on their next film, "A Bridge Too Far." Unfortunately, during the journey, they were involved in a dreadful accident. While the effects artist miraculously survived, his colleague sitting next to him was not as fortunate and experienced injuries mirroring those depicted in the film.

Reportedly, upon crawling out of the wreckage, the effects artist saw a sign by the roadside indicating that Ommen was 66.6 kilometers away. The coincidence of the accident occurring near a location phonetically similar to the film's title, "Omen," and the distance of 66.6 kilometers resembling the number associated with the devil, 666, led to speculation about whether this tragedy indeed occurred at a location 66.6 kilometers from Ommen. Incidentally, this tragedy occurred on August 13, 1976 (Friday the 13th).