Article first published as DAMIEN Review on Seat42F.
A&E
has had decent success with its horror movie prequel, Bates Motel, so
it’s no surprise that it is doing another show spun-off from a film in
the genre, even if it’s taken awhile to do so. This week, DAMIEN
premieres on the cable network, a sequel to Richard Donner’s The Omen
(1976). Set thirty years later, young Damien has now come of age, just as the end of the world is upon us.
It’s very early in this show so I could be wrong, but I think the central conflict of DAMIEN is flawed. We are introduced to Damien
(Bradley James, iZombie, Merlin) as a compassionate war photographer,
with none of the baggage of his past or origin. Gone are the creepy
things surrounding him from the movie, seemingly having stopped just
after the events of the film. He doesn’t know who he is or what his
purpose is supposed to be.
Obviously,
that must change, so DAMIEN introduces a number of startling, creepy
things to begin popping up around Damien, bringing back his memories of
the past, and sending characters to tell him who he is. Damien is
expected to fulfill his role as the anti-Christ, even if it’s not clear
what that means yet to him or to the viewer.
I
just don’t understand. Are we supposed to root for Damien to descend
into darkness? Or do we want to see him heroically deny his heritage and
be a force of good? Would that even be possible?
With
Bates Motel, we know the lead character will go bad, but it remains
entertaining to watch his growth arc. In DAMIEN, Damien seems completely
resistant to his fate and at odds with what he’s supposed to be doing.
He’s not showing signs of changing based on events, at least not yet, so
if he does go dark, it will be against his will, making his character’s
journey meaningless. Unless Damien is supposed to save the world, but
again, that doesn’t seem likely.
All
of this adds up to nothing captivating, as near as I can tell. If the
story is destined to be a tragic one, and not in a natural, progressive
way, but because of supernatural forces so powerful they cannot be
stopped, why do we want to watch? To see some faceless power destroy a
character we’ve been made to care about? Who wants to see that?
It
also makes no sense to me the huge gap in Damien’s life. People he
loved were harmed or killed early on and now, but nothing in between?
Why not? It seems to me either nothing would occur around him until this
time, or it would occur constantly throughout his life. Am I right?
(Yes,
I realize The Bible has a similar gap in the life of Jesus Christ, but
he was the catalyst for much of what happened in that tale, not just the
non-participant center of the storm.)
This
is unfortunate because the roster behind DAMIEN is a promising one.
Glen Mazzara, a former showrunner for The Walking Dead, is the creator
leading the charge. The cast includes the terrific Scott Wilson (The
Walking Dead), the intriguing Barbara Hershey (Once Upon a Time), and
reliable players David Meunier (Justified), Omid Abtahi (Argo), and
Megalyn Echikunwoke (The 4400). Those names made me hopeful, even though
The Omen is a move I’d never watch all the way through (I find it more
disturbing than scary). But despite a decent looking production, it just
doesn’t do what it needs to do as a story, lacking cohesion and clear
direction.
As such, I sadly cannot recommend DAMIEN, as I likely won’t ever give it another chance.
DAMIEN airs Mondays at 10/9c on A&E.
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