Take 4: Evil Little Brats

Seems like one of the rites of passage of anybody who goes through high school is being asked to babysit. And I'm sure some of us had our share of horror stories about brats that wouldn't stay in bed. Below, however, are four films about kids that made the problem children from our babysitting days looks like little angels. =====================================================

Damien: Omen 2 (1978)

And the Evil Little Brat Is...: Damien. He's no longer the little cherub with rosy cheeks who shrieks like a demon when he's near a church. He has a disconcerting and hard to place accent, and does very well in school (he knows the date of pretty much every major disaster, war and death) and even lands two dates to his academy's ball (and steals away a third girl from an unsuspecting classmate). But, he can make you choke to death just by looking at you, so stay on his good side.

In the Beginning: When we last left our little Antichrist, he was attending the funeral of his adoptive parents at about the age of six. Now he's approaching his teenage years, and living with his uncle, aunt and cousin while attending school.

The Plot Thickens: Damien slowly figures out his ancestry, which doesn't bode well for those close to him.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore: We start out in Israel, for the uncovering of some sacred religious items, then make our way to Chicago and the Davidson Military Academy, where his adopted family lives and he attends school with his cousin. One scene even looked like it was filmed at a church in Cabrini Green, where Candyman was filmed.

The Starting Line-Up: William Holden (from prior Take 4 reviews, such as Sunset Boulevard and Network) and Lee Grant (Mulholland Dr. and, one of my favorites, Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen)

Scenes to Look Out For: At one point, we are introduced to a doctor who discovers, in analyzing a sample of Damien's blood, that it has some traces of, well, jackal blood in it. This doctor (played by Meshach Taylor...who played Anthony Bouvier on TV's Designing Women) takes a pretty unforgettable elevator ride. Kind of gruesome, but actually took me by surprise. And I like surprises in movies.

Random Trivia: William Holden was the original choice to star in the first film, The Omen (1976) but turned it down as he did not want to star in a picture about the devil. Gregory Peck was selected as his replacement. The Omen went on to become a huge hit and Holden made sure he did not turn down the part in its sequel.

Great Quotes: Ann Thorn: "Finally...a movie that has a happy ending." Damien: "It was boring."

Curt's Take: Have you seen The Omen? If so, this is "Worth Considering." You get to continue on with the saga of Damien and his path to self-discovery (and a self that is probably best left undiscovered). If you haven't seen the original, this ranks around "Not a Priority." Holden and Grant are good actors, but the plotline is a little...hazy. I understand the kid is evil, sure...but there is some underlying plot concerning artifacts being shipped to New York and the uncle's multi-national fertilizer business. One fun thing about this, though...you do get to play a little game call "Who's in Damien's pocket?" In the first movie, you had an obviously evil nanny and a big black evil dog watching over him. Here...you're not as certain who is on his side, and who is just a bad person. So that kept things interesting.

=====================================================

Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)

And the Evil Little Brat Is...: Damien, but he isn't so little anymore. He's the head of Thorn Industries, where he heads up disaster-causing efforts around the globe so his company can come in and head up disaster-relief efforts. Talk about having your cake and eating it, too.

In the Beginning: There's no dancing around the fact that he's the Antichrist this time...he knows it, his staff at Thorn Industries knows it, the monks that are fighting a secret battle against him know it. However, there's a slight problem...prophecies predict that his reign is almost over and he'll soon have to do battle with his nemesis, the Second Coming. But the evil big black dog that was his watcher in the first movie is back, so it's all good.

The Plot Thickens: Damien gets himself a post as Ambassador to Britain (where he thinks the Second Coming will be...er...coming from) as well as head of the United Nations Youth Council. Meanwhile, a ragtag team of monks decides to stalk Damien with a set of seven special knives, the sacred dinnerware that is the only means to slay the Son of Satan. They are on a mission from God, to kill Damien before he is able to put a stop to the birth of the Nazarene.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore: The movie has some opening scenes in Chicago, where the +2 Holy Knives of Anti-Christ Slaying are unearthed at a construction site. They switch hands several times, and make their way to the monastery in Subiaco, Italy where the team of monks mentioned above awaits them. Well, that's just the opening credits. We've got more scenes in Chicago and Washington, D.C, but most of the action is based in London. Was very pleasantly surprised that there was a scene at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park...one of my favorite places from my summer abroad in London.

The Starting Line-Up: Sam Neill, of Jurassic Park fame, plays Damien. Other lesser knowns leading the pack include Rossano Brazzi, who plays Father DeCarlo, leader of the less-than-stellar hit squad of dagger-armed monks, and Lisa Harrow, BBC television journalist who becomes embroiled in the plot.

Scenes to Look Out For: Did I mention the crack team of monk assassins? Seriously...thanks for the comic relief, guys. You're going up agains the Anti-Christ! Think a little!

Random Trivia: This isn't really the FINAL conflict. Found out there's an Omen IV. Apparently it isn't all about Damien, anymore, though. Will have to review this one at a later date.

Great Quotes: Kate: "I'm sorry, Father. Look, I do respect your faith, but I don't share it." Father DeCarlo: "You are not a practicing Christian?" Kate: "No, I'm a practicing journalist."

Curt's Take: Like many sequels, if you've seen the others in the series, this one is "Worth Considering." My happiest moment was finding out that the Evil Drooling Mastiff from the first movie was back as Damien's pet. Gotta love a big black dog who can drive people insane. We also find out in this movie why "Monk Hitman" isn't something you run across frequently in online job postings.

=====================================================

Village of the Damned (1995)

In the Beginning: At a school fundraiser in the village of Midwich, a strange presence descends (with much "whoosing," according to the subtitles), causing everyone there and in the surrounding area to fall unconscious. Shortly thereafter, everyone suddenly wakes up. Oh...and (SURPRISE!) many of the women folk are pregnant. So, yeah...it's basically like the entire town was slipped a roofie by some strange supernatural entity. Lovely.

The Plot Thickens: After a strange series of dreams, they all decide to keep their babies...and they all go into labor on the same day. Sure the babies all biologically test as coming from the same parent, and are abnormally smart, and have strange glowing blues eyes with which they can control people's actions...but I'm sure there's nothing wrong with them, right? RIGHT???

And the Evil Little Brat Is...: Well, we have a whole little nursery full of them, and they all have the same birthday. And as you can probably guess, they don't use their "mind control" powers to make people recycle or to be more conscientious drivers. We also get to see them as youngsters...and that's when the real trouble kicks in. Is there any hope?

We're Not in Kansas Anymore: We're in Midwich, a town pretty much only identified as being secluded...so, actually, we could very well be in Kansas.

The Starting Line-Up: Christopher Reeve, Kirstie Alley and Linda Kozlowski. Reeve is the dad (well, not the biological dad) of the leader of the pack, Alley is a federal researcher who wants to study the strange occurrences of Midwich, and Kozlowski is another parent whose child is actually a little different from the rest of the pack.

Scenes to Look Out For: The saddest looking extra-terrestrial ever. Really...it's quite pathetic.

Random Trivia: This was the final feature film completed by Christopher Reeve before his paralyzing horse riding accident May 27, 1995, and one of Kirstie Alley's last movies before her career-paralyzing sitcom Veronica's Closet.

Great Quotes: Wow...at a loss here. No memorable quotes. That'll impact the final rating.

Curt's Take: "Not a Priority" - First off, I know this was a remake. I've never seen the original, though, and don't plan to draw comparisons. Maybe I will now, though...apparently (according to the DVD) what happens to the children of the town in the original is an allegorical representation of the impact of Communism. Okay, that's nifty. But the matter at hand is this remake, and...well...it wasn't terrible. In fact, it was pretty engaging for a good deal of it, but the story behind the mass pregnancy was pretty mundane, the ending was pretty weak, and as I said above...no memorable quotes. Unless you're a Mark Hamill fan (he plays the local priest), I wouldn't really recommend seeing this. And if you ARE a Hamill fan...keep that to yourself, or see Watchers Reborn. But, like I said, this wasn't so terrible that you should go out of your way to avoid it.

=====================================================

The Changeling (1980)

In the Beginning: To deal with the loss of his wife and daughter, John Russell moves from New York to Seattle, where he takes up a job teaching music composition at a local University. He rents a local manor as his residence, and he begins to cope with his grief.

The Plot Thickens: Turns out, he's not alone. The spirit of a small child haunts the mansion, and begins to make demands of Russell...be can he make sense of the demands before it is too late?

And the Evil Little Brat Is...: The ghost of a young child. I don't want to give away too much more than that, in case you see this...let's just say, though, that the spirit has very little patience and whatever you do, DO NOT threaten to tear apart the house.

We're Not in Kansas Anymore: We open in Upstate New York, but then head to Seattle...and a kickass house.

The Starting Line-Up: George C. Scott plays the main character, John Russell and Trish Van Devere plays Claire Russell his friend who pitches in to help his solve the mystery of the strange happenings at the manor.

Scenes to Look Out For: Anything involving a rubber ball or a wheelchair. Seriously...just damn creepy. See below.

Random Trivia: The movie is based on events which supposedly took place at a house in Denver, Colorado, in the 1960s. The "Chessman Park" neighborhood in the movie is a reference to Cheesman Park in Denver, where the original haunting transpired.

Great Quotes: John Russell: "It's my understanding... that there are, uh... twenty-three students registered... for this series of lectures on advanced musical form. Now, we all know it's not raining outside, and unless there's a fire in some other part of the building that we don't know about, there's an awful lot of people here with nothing better to do."

Curt's Take: "Worth Considering," provided you watch it at night/in the dark. There are some truly eerie points in the movie that will just send shivers up your spine. Let's just say that the creepiest rubber ball ever is featured in this movie...and the self-propelled wheelchair is a little creepy. A pretty decent psychological horror movie, where what you don't see sometimes can freak you out more than what you do.