Sightlines · reception

How The Omen was received

1976 · Richard Donner · The Omen on Sightlines

The arc

Dismissed by plenty of 1976 critics as a classy Exorcist cash-in, it was a monster box-office hit anyway — and time has been kind: it's now firmly canon as the third pillar of '70s satanic horror, with Jerry Goldsmith's score treated as one of the genre's greatest.

What’s debated

The perennial fight is whether it's genuinely great or just elegant trash elevated by Gregory Peck's gravitas and Goldsmith's choir — gloriously silly death set-pieces dressed in prestige clothing.

Its footprint

'Damien' became permanent cultural shorthand for a sinister child, the 'Ave Satani' chant is instantly recognizable, and the film did more than any other to make '666' a pop-culture signifier of evil.

Where it stands

A 'you must have seen this' Halloween staple, routinely named alongside Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist as the unholy trinity of satanic-panic cinema.

Did you know? Jerry Goldsmith won his only Academy Award — out of 18 career nominations — for The Omen's score, and its satanic hymn 'Ave Satani' was also nominated for Best Original Song.