1973, the exorcist changed the way horror movies were perceived. The film shocked the audience and immediately became known as the scariest movie of all time. Today, the film largely retains that distinction. While still known as a terrifying classic, many horror fans cite other films that they feel deserve that title better. While this is purely subjective, there is no doubt about it the exorcist is at least one of the scariest movies. But which film dares it?
For many fans, 1973’s the omen is a top candidate. The film follows a politician who secretly adopts a newborn baby after his own son dies in childbirth. As his adopted son named Damien grows older, it is revealed that he may very well be the Antichrist. While the exorcist is and remains terrifying, the omen is scary in a different way. Here are a few reasons the omen could very well beat the exorcist as the scariest movie of all time.
Damien is more threatening than Reagan
One of the things the two films have in common is that the focus is on a child. Damien is the devil’s spawn while The Exorcist’s Reagan is a girl possessed by a demon. While Reagan is arguably one of the scariest things ever put on film, let’s see if they were real. When it’s all said and done, Reagan is just a barrel. Although she looks terrifying and her actions are unspeakable, it can be argued that it is not Reagan who is doing it.
Damien looks like a normal kid. At no point does he look demonic or disfigured, and he doesn’t do anything directly malicious during the first movie. However, it is what he is and what others will do for him that is horrifying. Anyone who comes into contact with Damien who does not serve the ultimate purpose of causing the apocalypse will be dealt with in a deadly manner.
Even Damien’s own mother is not safe. Most people who encounter Damien have no idea what he is, and yet they will often die horribly for no other reason than to get in the way. The only people the possessed Reagan dealt with were those who tried to deal with her directly. Also, Reagan is clearly possessed, while Damien is as normal as any kid. While this is bad enough, beating the two kids is an entirely different beast. As the exorcist showed that once Reagan is exorcised, she will be a normal girl again. Damien will never be normal. He was literally born evil. The only way to stop him is to kill him, and who could kill a child? Even his father couldn’t do it, even though he saw firsthand what his son is. Damien is much harder to defeat, and the older he gets, the more powerful he is.
The omen is darker
While Pazuzu, the demon out the exorcist, was certainly terrifying, his end goal was not nearly as dire as the one in the omen. Pazuzu just wanted to damn the souls of those he owned and take revenge on Father Merrin. If he had been successful, only two lives would have been lost. With Damien, the end goal was the end of time. The literal apocalypse was at stake in the omen, which is a lot worse. The threat of the end of the world and the rise of Satan looming over the film arguably makes things darker in the omen. It’s almost as if, for lack of a better word, some bad omen is lurking in the film’s plot, giving the viewer a sense of dread. Once things get going, the omen is an ominous movie with little breathing room.
Even when some levity presents itself in the form of a helpful character, they are brutally broadcast. Even the exorcist has a happy ending while the final shot in the omen is the literal face of evil that grins because it has triumphed. the omen isn’t just scary, it’s depressing and ominous. It’s the kind of movie that lingers long after the credits are played. While the exorcist definitely stays with the viewers, omen will make them come second to any child, even their own. Everything will seem like a sign of the end times and they won’t feel really safe for a long time.
The omen is more disturbing spiritually
the exorcist is absolutely disturbing. Watching a real kid do and say the things the script calls for isn’t easy to watch. the omen, however, is disturbing on another level. What makes the omen so disturbing is the sense of hopelessness. Of the exorcist, there is always the fleeting feeling that things will be okay. The titular Vader Merrin has been involved with Pazuzu before and has come out on top. So even when things are at their worst, there’s a very faint sense of hope. Of the omen, there is no hope. When a priest, one of the symbols of hope and good, is violently murdered, all bets are off.
Even when things are made clear that there is a way to kill Damien, there is still talk of killing a child. Evil or not, talking about killing a child will leave a bad taste in viewers’ mouths. Not to mention the countless talk about Satan and the Antichrist will upset many viewers depending on their beliefs. As mentioned earlier, the omen is incredibly bleak for most of the film. There is no light in sight and even the destruction of the main threat seems depressing; nobody wins here. While this isn’t as obviously scary as the exorcistit could be argued that it is worse on a more subconscious level.
At the end of the day, both movies are incredibly scary and should be commended as such. It doesn’t really matter whether a fan finds one of these movies or maybe another one the scariest. Someone can watch the exorcist or the omen and don’t blink, but sleep for days after watching Halloween. It’s all subjective and what might scare one person won’t scare another. That said, many fans find the omen narrower on a technical level. Both movies are chilling and fantastic, but which movie is scarier is up to the viewer. Both movies get new additions, with The exorcist getting a new reboot series from David Gordon Green (who have just been Halloween reboot trilogy) and the omen get a prequel. This may improve or ruin the original, depending on who is asked. But when it comes to the first movies, fans can at least agree that they’re horror royalty.