Satan's son has arrived on Earth and he's not about to let human parents get in the way. When his wife Katherine (Lee Remick)'s pregnancy ends in a stillbirth in a Rome hospital, U.S. diplomat Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck) substitutes another baby, whose mother died. Little Damien (Harvey Stephens) thrives, but, at his fifth birthday party, his nanny mysteriously dies; Father Brennan (Patrick G. Troughton) also expires after warning Thorn that he has adopted Lucifer's son. While sinister new nanny Mrs. Baylock (Billie Whitelaw) assiduously protects Damien, Thorn's fears escalate when photographer Jennings (David Warner) shows him pictures from Damien's party with marks suggesting how the nanny and Brennan would die. Thorn seeks out Bugenhagen (Leo McKern), an exorcist who confirms Damien's identity and tells Thorn that the only solution is to kill his adopted son. As the bodies pile up, Thorn tries to do his duty, but trust the Law to get in the way of saving the world from future Armageddon.

Eschewing the less-is-more approach of Rosemary's Baby (1968), director Richard Donner matched the ancient conflict between Good and Satan with spectacularly "medieval" deaths by hanging, impalement, and decapitation. As in such other '70s Satanism horror as The Exorcist (1973), The Omen locates the ultimate evil in an "innocent" minor, creating a parent's worst nightmare: a child who will inevitably annihilate the world. With its familial and global anxieties, stylish production values, and major stars, this picture became one of the most popular movies of 1976 (and the first horror film to win an Oscar for Best Score). While considered by some an exercise in Hollywood slickness, The Omen refuses to be comforting -- as may be expected from the film that spawned Damien: Omen II (1978), The Final Conflict (1981) and Omen IV: The Awakening (1991). (20th Century-Fox) (Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide)

· Music Scoring Awards (Best Original Score) 1976: Jerry Goldsmith

· Music Best Song 1976: "Ave Satani" Jerry Goldsmith - Music & Lyric