By Malice Intended

Our children are sacred to us, and for a long time American movies treated them with kid gloves (no pun intended).  In the late 1960’s and early 70’s a new subgenre in horror emerged that would challenge that convention.  Two films in particular proved that even the cutest and most precocious children could be among the most ghastly villains to ever grace the silver screen.  Children can be the source of our greatest joy, but they can also be the catalyst for some of our greatest nightmares and most subconscious fears.

The Exorcist was directed by William Friedkin and released on December 26^th, 1973.  It was easily one of the most frightening and shocking films of its day.  It combined the suspense building techniques of traditional horror films with the more blatant shock tactics that were becoming the norm for the genre at the time.  It was a mainstream horror film that tested the boundaries of good taste and the limits of audience acceptance.

The Omen was directed by Richard Donner and released on June 25^th, 1976.  It is a thriller that deals with similar themes as The Exorcist, but takes them one step further in certain regards.  It’s slick and more conventional, but effective nonetheless.  Both The Exorcist and The Omen are considered among the scariest films ever made, but which one has truly become a permanent fixture in our collective nightmares?

The Exorcist tells the story of single mom Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn) and her 12 year old daughter Regan (Linda Blair).  When Regan begins to exhibit strange and frightening behavior, Chris immediately takes her to a series of doctors who subject her to every medical exam imaginable.  Over time Regan’s behavior becomes more violent and her physical appearance more grotesque.  It becomes apparent that Regan is possessed by a demon. 

Chris enlists the help of Priests Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) and Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) who enter the MacNeil household and engage the demon in an epic battle for the little girl’s soul.  This battle encapsulates the major themes of the film in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.  The conflict between faith and science, the price of driving out evil, and the lengths we will go to save our children. It shows demonic possession to be the ultimate act of terrorism, creating feelings of hopelessness and repulsion in Regan’s loved ones.

The Omen gives us a child who is not merely possessed by a demon, but is evil incarnate.  It tells the story of Robert (Gregory Peck) and Katherine (Lee Remick) Thorne.  After Katherine gives birth to a stillborn child, the dead child is switched with another.  Only Robert is aware of the switch, but he is unaware that Damien (Harvey Stephens), the child under his care, is actually the offspring of Satan and is destined to become the prophesized Anti-Christ.  Robert slowly becomes aware of this, and races to stop Damien from fulfilling his destiny.

Unlike young Regan, Damien does not undergo ghastly physical changes throughout the film.  His inherent evil nature is manifested by the aura of death that surrounds him.  Everyone connected to him seems to have a horrible fate befall them.  Jerry Goldsmiths Oscar winning musical score underlines this aura of dread with its use of haunting choral Latin Chant.

The Exorcist went on to become one of the most financially successful Horror films of all time.  It garnered ten Academy Award nominations and won two.  It is still considered one of, if not the scariest film of all time.  The Omen was a box office smash, though not a major award winner.  It spawned several sequels and a remake.

We think of our children as innocent and impressionable beings. We seek to shield them from the horrors the outside world would inflict upon them.  That pure Evil could manifest itself in a child is something that assaults not only our sense of decency, but our faith in human nature.  Both The Exorcist and The Omen force us to confront that fear in the most blatant and forceful manner imaginable, but which film truly embodies this fear?

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