Emily Ward56 said:Exactly—just the originals, the first films. The rest of the sequels aren't really worth mentioning (or being particularly popular), right? 🥳
If I started listing every horror franchise out there, this thread would be miles long. ☕ Just to reiterate: I only included the absolute heavy hitters!
I suppose I should mention that Omen 2 is actually an excellent film, standing out as one of those rare sequels that truly holds its own. Of course, nothing can ever quite measure up to the original masterpiece, and there is that somewhat strange subplot involving a Satanist working within the Thorn corporation who envisions a future where they profit from global famine—essentially turning hunger into a business model. It isn't entirely disconnected from the main plot, given the assumption that the Antichrist thrives on chaos and requires massive corporations to facilitate it, but I guess it just wasn't fully fleshed out. Aside from that, the film is great, even if it does borrow a few elements from the first installment. Jonathan Scott-Taylor was phenomenal as Damien, and Jerry Goldsmith's score is more than just good; the timing of the music is absolutely spot on. For instance, when they used pieces of his work in the fourth movie, they completely botched the pacing, whereas here it works perfectly. The ending of the second film is particularly brutal—it’s almost perfect.
When it comes to the third installment, I suppose it might actually possess the best musical score of the entire trilogy—though, in all fairness, that was an incredibly high bar to clear—and the acting is genuinely impressive, particularly Sam Neill’s performance as Damien. The real issue with the film, if you ask me, was the lackluster script; I honestly can't wrap my head around how they managed to mess it up quite that badly. There were certainly some brilliant sequences scattered throughout, yet there were also those frustrating narrative gaps, just several unnecessary plot points that didn't quite land. All things considered, even this third entry remains completely unreachable for most horror films from various franchises like Friday the 13th or Unreachable Halloween.
I suppose the fourth installment isn't even worth mentioning, much like that remake, which I honestly believe stands as one of the absolute worst remakes ever produced. It felt as though they literally just copied ninety percent of the original scenes, only to swap them out for inferior acting, a total lack of atmosphere, and some pretty subpar music. To make matters worse, there was that incredibly irritating kid playing little Damien, which just added insult to injury.
