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'Omen' sequel series 'Damien' on A&E lacks focus

By Sean Stangland

sstangland@dailyherald.com

The ratings success of "Bates Motel," the series about Norman Bates and his mom before they went "Psycho," has apparently convinced A&E to stay in the horror business.

"Damien," from showrunner Glen Mazzara ("The Walking Dead"), premieres at 9 p.m. Monday, March 7, after the fourth-season bow of "Bates Motel." It's a sequel series to "The Omen," the 1976 horror classic about a child destined to become the Antichrist. Bradley James, perhaps best known to American audiences for a recurring stint on "iZombie," takes the title role.

When we meet Damien, he's a war zone photographer in Syria about to celebrate his 30th birthday when, during a violent relocation of villagers by soldiers, an old woman grabs him and speaks to him in Latin before repeating the memorable line from "The Omen's" most famous scene: "It's all for you."

That triggers memories Damien has long shut out, and a parade of exposition. Damien learns more about himself along with the audience, which is at turns clever and frustrating.

Back home in New York, Damien meets lawyer Ann Rutledge (Barbara Hershey), a red-clad woman with a devilish grin who seems to know everything about him. "The past hangs around our necks like a noose," she says, in the pilot's most clever nod to the film. Soon Damien is restoring that past, looking over old news clips of his father that trigger flashbacks using footage from the 1976 film.

The flashbacks and exposition dumps continue into the second episode, which does little to bring "Damien" into focus: Is he the villain or the hero in this story? What are the "rules" in a reality where Rottweilers pop out of nowhere to kill priests and ghostly children appear in windows? Are Damien and Rutledge going to be the most dangerous May-December couple in history?

While it may spin its wheels narratively, "Damien" wastes no time in spilling blood in the proto-"Final Destination" fashion of the original film. Unfortunately, the horror unfolds in drab, unimaginative fashion, a surprise given the presence of respected directors like Shekhar Kapur ("Elizabeth") and Ernest Dickerson ("The Wire").

"Damien" may have seemed edgy and different a decade ago, but in this era of "American Horror Story" and the recently departed "Hannibal" it plays like an artless pretender. It's not far enough over the top to be camp, but too silly to be taken seriously. Luckily, it's based on enduring material, has quality people behind the camera, and has already attracted some of TV's best character actors as guest stars (Sam Anderson of "Lost," Robin Weigert of "Deadwood," Scott Wilson of "The Walking Dead").

"Bates Motel" didn't begin promisingly, but it all worked out, didn't it? Maybe that's a good omen for "Damien."

Catch up with the movies

"The Omen" spawned sequels and a high-profile remake. The original, with its satanic score by Jerry Goldsmith and memorable performances by Gregory Peck, Billie Whitelaw and David Warner, is still the best. It's available on Blu-ray in a collection that includes the first two sequels, "Damien: Omen II" and "Omen III: The Final Conflict," as well as the 2006 remake with Julia Stiles and Liev Schreiber. (Search for "The Omen Collection" on Amazon.) The remake is well-made and finely acted, but so similar to the original that it's unnecessary.

Unbeknown to me, there was a third sequel. "Omen IV: The Awakening" was made for TV in 1991 and is apparently so bad that it killed the franchise for years - Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave it a D-plus rating and said it "gets boring real fast." Still, if you're a completist (and I know the feeling), it's available on DVD and Amazon Instant Video.

Aside from that, only the remake and "Omen III: The Final Conflict," in which Sam Neill ("Jurassic Park") plays a grown-up Damien, are available for digital rental. Look for them on iTunes, vudu and Google Play.

• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor. You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.

Ann Rutledge (Barbara Hershey) wears a devilish grin in "Damien." A&E Networks
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