The Omen: A cursed movie with real-life tragedies
The 1976 classic horror film The Omen is a terrifying story of a family adopting a child who is, unbeknownst of them, the Antichrist. For decades viewers have been enthralled with the film's eerie images and disturbing ideas. But behind the scenes, a series of strange and sad incidents happened that led many to think the movie was cursed.
The Omen Curse: Eerie Tragic Events and Coincidences
The idea of a cursed horror movie is not novel; films like Poltergeist and Rosemary's Baby feature their fair number of disturbing events. But The Omen distinguishes itself because of the sheer frequency and spooky nature of the events that happened during production.
Omen's Movie Events Reflecting Reality
The movie itself is full of disturbing images and incidents that hint at Damien's actual nature. These events would reflect themselves in real-life, so attesting to the power of storytelling and the subconscious human connection to fear. In one scene, the priest trying to find Damien's secret seeks cover in a closed church during a storm and gets impaled by the church's lightning rod. A rare event, particularly in the city where filming took place, lightning struck a 400-year-old cross atop a 16th-century church during The Omen's theatrical premiere in Rome.
The scene where Robert Thorn and a photographer called David (Keith Jennings) search Damien and result in David's beheading in a freak accident also bears another eerie parallel. Later on, the SFX supervisor in charge of designing the beheading effect was in an automobile accident that claimed another person's life 66.6 kilometers from the town of Ommen.
The Omen's Cast and Crew: Curse Victims?
Events around The Omen transcended scenes from the movie. The actors and crew also went through some quite horrific events.
Common motif in the movie, lightning strikes seemed to plague the filming. The writer of the movie, David Seltzer, and Gregory Peck, who portrayed Robert Thorn, both had separate flights struck by lightning. Given an average of one lightning strike per plane yearly, this event is quite rare. Many of two important characters in The Omen who come across this phenomenon on different times have connected to the dark forces theme of the movie.
Peck's relationship to the curse transcended lightning strikes. Tragically killing everyone on board, he canceled a flight that subsequently collided with a car. The pilot's wife and kids were riding in the car that crashed. Along with the other tragedies, this one solidified The Omen's reputation as a cursed production.
Animal Attacks: Otherworldly Omen's Presence
The Omen's curse also covered the animal kingdom. Scenes at Windsor Wild Safari Park saw a string of horrific animal incidents during filming. Filmed right following an incident whereby two lions killed a guard in his booth, was a scene including baboons. A rottweiler on set likewise fiercely attacked a stuntperson. These incidents were considered as more proof of a malevolent power existing on the stage.
Although not especially violent, the scene involving the baboons was characterized by disturbing conditions. Sensing Damien's presence, the baboons attacked the car with their shrieks and pounding, so generating real fear for the audience as well as the performers. Further evidence of a paranormal influence came from the car's gearshift malfunctioning during the scene and then working again following filming.
The Omen's Lasting Legacy: Influence of a Haunted Movie
The Omen's disturbing content is what defines it, but equally so is its horrific events during production. The movie's reputation as cursed has helped to explain its ongoing appeal and even given the franchise fresh levels of mystery. It is impossible to discount the sheer volume of unusual coincidences, terrible mishaps, and disturbing animal interactions as mere chance occurrence. With its examination of demonic entities and beings, the movie unintentionally becomes a real-life case study of the power of fear and the possibility of a dark force impacting our planet.
Though a fiction, the Omen has had a long-lasting influence on directors and viewers. Apart from adding to its mystery, the disturbing incidents that happened during its production remind us of the power of belief and the strange character of reality itself.
