The Omen’ With Bill Simmons and Chris Ryan
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01:23starring two-time Emmy winners in date.Now streaming on HBO and HBO Max,with new episodes every Sunday.is brought to you by the Ringer podcast network where you can find the Ringer's PhillySpecial.Yeah.The saddest pot in the Ringer University these days.Yes.
01:43No, it's fine.What are the,what's talking about?The Eagles are the best team in the NFL.What's the deal with your quarterback's knee?What's the deal with your quarterback's knee?Don't worry about my team.Also, the watch.
01:56Uh-huh.You know what we say when we do the watch, Bill?What?It's all for you, Bill.My name is Bill Simmons.We're about to do the 1976,important distinction version of a classic,The Omen.
02:13It's all for you, Damien.Next.For generations, the thorns have been a family of tremendous wealth,position, and power.Robert and Kathy had a perfect marriageand a beautiful child.Then something terrible happened.And then it happened again.
02:31And they knew it was a beautiful.And Omen, Gregory Peck, B. Remick, the only rated R.All right, C.R. This is the IMD synopsis of this movie.Mysterious deaths surround an American ambassador.Could the child that he is raising actually be the Antichrist?Coming up next!The devil's own son?Yeah. What a great premise.
03:04I love it.This is a really crazy time for horror movies in the 70s where it's not just like, oh, horror movies can, we don't.don't get to Halloween until 1978,where it's like, this guy's gave for mental institutions,he's going to kill some babysitters.It's like, cool, end a movie.This is like, the Omen, the Exorcist.These movies are trying to do like big picture things
03:26about the future of mankind, religion,whether Satan exists, can you fight off Satan?And just things that really weren't in the mixuntil Rosemary's baby, I guess, was the first one, right?Yeah, Rosemary's kind of introduces it.these you know i i think that you you mentioned to me before we were doing this podcast that you findthat movies like this are indicative of like greater societal depression or unrest and i thinkit's telling that these movies and this one specifically and given it's subject matter i don't
03:58think we can ignore it's like it's coming out of watergate right like and this sort of malaise that'sprobably over the country and it's very telling that like their idea about where the antichrist will come fromis specifically from politics.The Eternal C is going to be politics.Yeah.I always find it really interestingto see, like,what horror movies come out
04:18during what times in, like, in society, you know?Right.And this becomes a franchise,which I'm not sure if they knewwhen they made this movie that it would,but it's so set up for a sequel at the end.They're not really thinking sequelsin the mid-70s
04:32the same way we would now.Yeah.But it ends in a way where you go,well, if this works,they'll have to bring this kid backand it'll be a little older.Sure.That's Oman.
04:40Two. Omen Three is with our guy, Sam Neal.He is our guy.That's the culmination of this where it's like, all right, now the Antichrist is now in a real political position.I always thought this movie was super distinct, really well acted, really well done, really unsettling.And I don't know why it's a rewatchable for me.We were trying to pick a horror movie and we wanted to do something from the 70s.We did The Exorcist a while ago.We were talking about Amyville Horror, but it's a lot of it.
05:10It's hard to do Meevohara without doing the Omen first because it kind of paves the way in some ways.There's an evil kid thing to this too that I think it creates.I don't know if it existed before this, but for some reason, that's one of my favorite genres.As you know, I love the good son.Yes.I love the orphan.I like Good Night Mommy.I like Brightburn.
05:30I like, we need to talk about Kevin.Is that a first time mention of Brightburn on the rewatchables?Great, it's good.Go watch Brightburn.I like when there's something wrong with the kid, but it takes everybody.about an hour to realize it in the movie.Yeah, because you would never want to believe that about your child, right?No.
05:46Not even just that they're the antichrist, which would be like a worst-case scenario, but that there'sanything wrong with them at all.You know, and it's one of the things I like so much about this movie.And I think the director Richard Donner, who's basically in the top, like, 97th percentile,98th percentile, if you were like, I want a guy to direct my genre movie.Yeah.You know, and you're not going to get Spielberg.Like, you would probably go with Richard Donner.
06:10And, you know, he absolutely grounds this in the anxieties of a couple.Yeah.And their fears about not being able to have children, what happens to their natural child,this terrible secret that Gregory Peck's character is keeping.And everything about it feels very real until you get into the last, like, 30 minutes in the movie, you know?And then it goes off the rails.Yes. Then Buchenhagen shows up.Yeah, when you're a parent, you have a kid, the kid pops out.
06:40And your first instinct is like, are all the arms and legs there?Yeah.Or both of the eyes there.You're just the most basic things ever.Is this, is this, you're just, you're just, you're just, you're just checking for jackals.You're just checking boxes.You're just checking boxes.Is this kid healthy?
06:56It's okay.They, kid comes out.They put a bunch of, like, tubes and all these things.And it's just the most nerve-wracking experience you're ever going to have.And then you realize the kid's fine.And then you go on this little journey with the kid over the next two, three years.And it's like, is my kid okay?Is this normal?
07:15Is this normal?Is this normal?I don't remember having the conversation with my wife of like, is my kid potentially evil?But I think it would take a while to come around.We certainly had some moments with Ben where, like, looking back, it was like, oh, there wassome omen potential.You can totally tell the Ben never listens to the podcast.Right.
07:36I was like, in retrospect, maybe we could have taken Ben to a church just.to maybe have a priest bless them or something.But I would say the two biggest fears,one would be, you know,something's wrong with my child.There's some sort of development thing.And then the other one would be,oh, my kid's the Antichrist.
07:53Well, that would be...That's number one for me.That's the 10 out of 10.It's like, oh, I'm actually raised at the spot of Satan.Well, a lot of people ask me,like, how come you and your wifehaving had kids?And, you know, sometimes I tell them,
08:03yeah, we really like to have our free timeand, you know, whatever.And we have lots of reasons.And then it's also, it's just like,and then there's the anti-Christe piece.Right.I don't know if you've seen the Good Son.
08:15It is one of my favorite themes, though.The Good Son does a really good job of it, too.We'll do that on the rewatchables at some point of...It's usually the mom has the better sense.In these movies, it's always the mom knows first.They have these intuitive powers.They're kind of looking at the kid's side-eyed.It's like, hmm, that's weird.
08:33The Good Son, you know, the kid dies in the bathtub.McCauley Cawkins' little brother.And the mom's like, you don't want...want to think about that about your son, but it's like, man, that was weird. And then some thingsadd up. And then it culminates and she finds a stuffed animal. It's like, why did you have thatstuffed animal? And Culkin flips out. It's a great gimmick. Brightburn did it, basically the goodson as an alien. Yeah. And it's really good where this kid just shows up, this couple can't have kids.But I don't know what it, I don't know what genre this is. I guess just evil kid.
09:08Yeah, but I think it. Can we come up with a better name?it's bad seed right bad seed bad seed but uh i think that it just plays on an almost universal anxietythe one that you just described that it's just like how hard it is to have a child and then howhard it is to raise a child and then and all the worst case scenarios what if there is a forcebeyond your control impacting that it's like i think all great horror movies and especiallythese in the 70s because like you're saying there are more extensions of dramas that we'rebeing made in the 70s rather than horror becomes its own genre and it becomes like horrorfor horror's sake because I don't really know if Friday the 13th and nightmare are about societal
09:51anxieties other than like sexual repression or like whatever you know but like these are verymuch rooted in I think it's interesting that exorcist omen and rosemary's are all impacting likeupper middle class to upper class people who think that they have it made who think that everythingis like they got life all figured out.And Gregory Peck in the beginning of this movie's like, what a miracle.Somebody hands me this baby.I can take away all of my wife's pain, which she's going to have.And then he's going to go off and live in these castles and be this sort of international power broker.
10:24And obviously, it doesn't work out that way.That's a good point about the middle upper class thing with these movies.Yeah.It's never somebody who's just like living an apartment in the city.Or if they do in Rosemary's baby, it's like, you know, guy is like an up-and-coming actor.Right.But when they have their child and when they become friends with people in the building,that's when he really, like, the lead actor goes blind or whatever, you know?
10:49Yeah.That movie is super creepy.Yeah.And very influential.Yes.And the one that really took Polansky to another level and all that stuff.And then The Exorcist was the next one where we talked about that one when we did that one,people throwing up in the theater and passing out and just that pushed the envelope on all these different ways.
11:10When did you first see this?I saw Omen 2 in the theater.Okay.And then I don't think I saw Omen once it was on cable.Yeah, no, I just was, you know, I was in that horror movie run.Omen's on a lot.Yeah.And I think we'll go into it when we break it down.
11:28The first, like, 35 minutes is about as good as it gets for a horror movie with how manythings they set up and how fast it moves and how they go from kind of bit to bit toestablish like, holy shit.Oh, my God.There was a critic John Kenneth Nier, who was talking about back at the time when this movie came out,what if the Bible is correct?What if all the signs of the apocalypse are hopping around about now?Would we believe them?
11:58Would we even notice?This was somehow a theme in the 70s.What would it mean if real evil lived among us and we didn't know?Right.I don't know why that wasn't a theme in like the 50s.Maybe as people were just more optimistic back thenOr you just kind of went about your day to dayOr you know, we're fighting World Wars
12:20We had bigger things to worry aboutSometimes there's like a little bit of a delayBefore culture properly reflects likeWhat people are feelingYeahBecause I don't think necessarily that like if you looked around todayLike I thinkI think people are like having a hard time grappling
12:35With like how toProperly reflect like society and horror movies nowLike you see a couple like there was thatmovie host that was really like effective about channeling some like COVID era anxieties but likeit gets it's difficult I think sometimes to turn around so fast where you're like this is anabsolute mirror to how everybody's feeling right now and I can't speak because I was I was just bornright after the omen so I don't really know all those creepfully I was just born right afterthe omen maybe you should check my scalp after the Jesus yeah let's take a look but I think that
13:07I think that there's something about this70s really was like this wake-up call, right?Like everybody came out of the late 60s and the sort of political upheaval,but also the kind of like the feeling that maybe we could make changes in the world.Yeah.And then you get into the 70s and you find out that the same old fuckers are still in chargeand manipulating everybody and got this war that's been going on and on and on.I think people really lost faith in humanity in that point.
13:36Yeah, and it's funny how much of it trickled in the movies and books.Because Stephen King is starting to hit right around here.too and he's really interested.Like Carrie comes out as a movie,same year as The Omen.That dips into some of the same themes.This girl has telekinetic powers.It's super, there's a huge religious cloud
13:54over that movie.And just in general,the relationship or religion to horrorreally feels like it peaked,I think, in the 70s.I just don't think religionhas the same impact nowbecause people are less religious.
14:07The Catholic Church fell apartin a lot of different ways.There's a really interesting,interesting thing that you really kind of, I didn't really think about until the last couple of timesI've seen Omen, but especially this one for the pod, which is that early on, Brennan's like,go take communion. He tells Gregory Pex and it's like, he doesn't. He doesn't even, it doesn't even occurto him. Like, maybe he should be, he should have like this more of like a religious life so that, like,he can guard against this kind of thing from inserting itself into his, into his family. But, and I don't,
14:39you know, I don't know whether or not taking communion necessarily would have.have been a full-proof measure against the Antichrist,but it's interesting that, like,it attacks a guy who's kind of decayed to the pointwhere he's like, I don't even really thinkabout organized religion beyond wedding weddings.Right.Well, and then Kerry had that religious piece, too.
14:55Yeah.Even in Namibov horror, the priest comes to the house,and then the voice like, get out.And then he goes blind immediately.But yeah, that religion over and over againin the 70s, early 80s was a huge part of these movies.And now it doesn't, you know, we'll have conjuring now.Conjuring, those are period pieces.
15:16Yeah, but I mean, like, those kind of movies now where it's like, we've got to fix the house,the haunted house, things like that.They're not really religious as much as there's some sort of fixer that doesn't necessarilyhave to be religious.Often what it is is there's been some kind of trauma in this house that needs to be, like,confronted if, like, you want to get past it.So, like, there's ghost, you need to, like, solve this ghost's murder for it to get it to stophaunting you or whatever.
15:39Yeah.You know.That's going to happen.happen to my house.Gregory Peck.What if you quit doing podcast?You were like, I have retired from podcasting to ghost hunt to solve the crime.I've got to solve my house and some others.
15:57Gregory Peck, 1962 Oscar winner to kill a mockingbird.One of the 20 most famous actors ever?Yeah, like one of the great leading men in Hollywood history.When he makes this movie, he's one of the top ten.I was going to ask you what actor is the 20, 23.version of him. It's probably like...Hank's.Hanks might be a slight bit bigger.
16:18I was thinking maybe like...It's like a Sean Penn kind of career level,but we crossed with Hanks.Yeah, I think...Like leading man, just stable.Like, when you're Atticus Finch,that you become defined by that.Maybe like an older Chris Evans.
16:34Like, I mean, Chris Evans played like Captain America.He's always going to be associated with a certainlike moral fiber, I think, the way that back was.That's what kind of...Robert Downey Jr.?No, because he's like a fast-talking, like shit-talker.I don't even know who there was a weightiness and a leading manness to him.Yeah.
16:54Then I think to kill a mockingbird was one of the most iconic movies in the 60s,and that was the great character in it.You know, I just think after that, if he's in a movie like The Omen,you have to take it seriously.Like Gregory Pecks in this?Yeah, and that's what they, the genius move of doing these genre moviesthe way they did with such high quality performersand craftspeople working on them
17:17is that it takes like pulpy materialthat you have to take incredibly seriously.Like you can't hear the Jerry Goldsmith's musicin this movie and not be like,whoa, like a real fucking artist worked on this.Yeah.You remember with the college Gregory Peck, Craig?San Diego State.
17:33Oh, did he?Yeah.How is that not like the first thing you hearwhen you go to San Diego State?Because we have a lot of famous actor ever.Kawhi Leonard.Crossburg, Tony Gwynn?Yeah, Gregory Peck, 1962, best actor, winner.
17:47Didn't even know.You know what, I think I knew that.I should have paid more attention to this movie.Did he mention San Diego State in the movie?He was wearing a San Diego State sweatshirt and one of the scenes.Tony Gwynn jersey had.Yeah, the racquetball scene.He was wearing one.
18:01I don't think Tony Gwyn was really popping in 76 yet.This movie's directed by Richard Donner, and he goes on a run.Yeah.I'm just going to read it for the audience.It's nothing but a run for him.This starts the run.We go right from here to Superman two years later.You might have heard of it.
18:17Superman 2.Inside moves, which you still haven't seen,just because you're trying to hurt me.I'm just going to do it for rewatchablesbecause it's going to be the only way you have to see it.No, because I'll be like,we're doing inside moves,and then you're going to have to watch it.
18:30It's like multiple scenes of vintage late 70s warriors.And you're not interested in this movie.I'm interested.I'll watch it.Jesus.I've asked you like 10 times.he does the toy which bombsRips off the Goonies and Lady Hawk in 85
18:48Lethal WeaponScrooge, Lethal Weapon 2, Radio Flyer, Lethal Weapon 3Maverick, Assassins, Conspiracy Theory, and Lethal Weapon 4I'm gonna say he earned a pretty coinYeahAt some point.Yeah, it would have been coolI think maybe after Lethle Weapon 2
19:05If he had done different moviesBecause he was so good, butI think at that point he's likeDick Donner's just,living in some massive beach house.He's good.He's like,all right,
19:16I'll do another one.Also,cinematographer Don Gilbert.I know you're a fan of his work.Gilbert Taylor.Gilbert.I had Don Gilbert.Who's Don't know?
19:27Is he the coachfor the late 70s?Do you like both of them?Gilbert shot Dr.Strangelove.He shot Star Wars and New Hope.Also,Don Gilbert did some good stuff.
19:35Don Gilbert is one of the best ever do it.Yeah.Talk about half-fested research.I copy and paste itcinematographer, Don Gilbert.This movie earned two Oscar nominations,and it won best original score for your guy,Jerry Goldsman.
19:48His only Oscar win.Long time coming.Yes.Was it like an Embed MVP type win for,or do you think it was a legit win?I think some of his best work even comes after this, right?Like, I still think, like, what year's Alien?Oh, yeah.
20:02That's four years later.Yeah.Can we, the Embeditpies, is it officially a travesty yet?Keep going.We got a tight schedule today.Official travesty yet or not?Watchable scenes.Don't forget to...
20:12Is one of the five biggest regrets of my voting career or one of the three?I can't decide.Did you vote for Russ or Kauai?I can't remember.I voted for Hard in that year.Oh.I did hard in two years and around.Thanks.
20:22I'm sure that helped.That guy, he's just, you know, some guy he just wants to be happy.Are you the antichrist?Keep going.Let's go.$2.8 million budget.It made $61 million.It was the fifth biggest movie of 1976, which was a massive movie year.
20:38This is essentially the Blumhouse model.Yeah.You know, they're still doing this, these numbers where it's like, we'll pay like, we're going to do like five to 20 budget and then it makes a hundred.Also, if you told me like $2.8 million budget, I would have thought, I would have thought it was like 15.8.Yeah, but think about it.Like, they probably, like, I mean, I know that and they, apparently they spent a lot of money on the promotion of this movie, which I went back and looked at some of like the posters and stuff and it was very effective.Yeah.Good trailers.
21:05But it's not a lot of special effects in this.Like the bullet, you know, there's some stunts.Some Rottweiler stuff.A lot of Rottweiler acting.Hanging Nanny?The hanging nanny is a great bit.That was like, that's a legitimate.There's a good zoo scene.
21:21Spawned the franchise, which we discussed.Roger Ebert, two and a half stars.He said, the omen takes all of this terribly seriously as befits the genre that gave usRosemary's baby and The Exorcist.What Jesus was to the 1950s movie epic, the devil is to the 1970s.And so all of this material's approachof the greatest solemnityI can barely say that word.
21:45Not only in the performances, but also in thephotography, the music, and the very lookson people's faces.So why did he only giveit two and a half, do you think?I think he thinks it's too serious.You know, Roger's a story guy.Apparently the Antichrist
21:59wasn't enough of a story for him.He got picky.We didn't talk about Lee Remick, but I havethoughts on her later on for you.I think will make you uncomfortable.Today's most rewatchable seatis brought to by the Home Depot.Make this holiday season
22:19something you want to replay again and againwith new festive decororfrom the Home Depot.You decorate, do any Halloween decorations?Yeah, we put up some lights.They've got Black Friday.Somebody around the corner from mewent full, is I got basically
22:31a shrine to Michael Myers.From you?No, around the corner from me in my house.Did a Michael Myers move?Like a shrine to him.He's like sitting in a giant,chair and there's just all these cobwebs. It's awesome.I feel like Halloween decoration has never been better.
22:48Like around my neighborhood, there's a couple houses where I'm like, you guys really went for it.Well, you know who else is going for the Home Depot?They've got Black Friday's things happening all month long from artificial trees in every shapeand size to big, bold, animated pieces for your front yard at amazing values.It's all right there for your holiday taking. Visit Home Depot.com to learn more.Most rewatchable scene.Damien's fifth birthday partykind of went off the rails a little bit.
23:16There's no coming back from that.There was a Rottweiler and a nanny hanging?Yeah.Get me, Damien.The Rottweiler stares at the nanny.Yes.Something happens.It seems to communicate something to her.
23:49Psychically.This is yet another reason why I don't like Rottweilers.My least favorite dog.What a decade where the nannycould throw herself off the roofand commit suicideand then fly through the window,terrifying the housemaid
24:03and anything everhappens again in like that world.Like where, how could you get back on the horseand be like, well, we got dinner reservations on Wednesdays.Yeah.Kind of put that one behind us.Should we still say happy birthday?Now, Damien, cut the cake.
24:17Cut the cake.I was thinking a top 20 worst thingthat could happen at your kid's birthday party?One.What's top two?The worst is like something happens to your kid.Number two is the nanny does that.Damien.
24:28One thing I like about it, it's a really good hanging where she actually goes through the window,but it's not like breakable glass window.It's like old school, thick glass that she goes through and you feel like somebody probably got hurt.Like they did something wrong.Yeah.It's super creepy.There's a moment before that happens, though, and she's taking photographs with Damien and the mom wants Damien.And she's like, oh, I was just taking.
24:58And the mom's like, can I have them and take some, almost feels like a scene was cut out.Like maybe the nanny was getting a little weird before that.I think it's just supposed to give us the implication.And this is, this is really cool.We'll talk a lot more about this.But so Donner's whole thing is that he wanted to maintain the air of ambiguity around, like,is this just the parents being overprotective or like oversensitive or is something actually happening with Damien?Yeah.
25:28And just like the hand.like kind of like like nannies with no sense of boundaries kind of thing going on thathappens throughout this movie it's intentional to make you feel like I can't tell is is leeremick being nervy or is this like actually like bad child care I don't know where you go inthe next 15 minutes after the hanging nanny yeah like maybe because it takes a while for the carsto get there like hey kids can you come over here so you don't have to see the lady dangling fromthe second floor of the house.It's just, but I, like, if this happened, like, I know that there is a little bit of a news
26:05story, but if this happened today, like, Biden would recall that ambassador.He wouldn't be like, why'd you just stay over in England and you just see if you can workthe IRA thing out, you know, like, it wouldn't be, it wouldn't be business as usual.He's at the office the next day.Yeah.And it feels like it would have probably been a major news story, too.Yeah.The worst thing I ever saw at either of my kids' birthday parties were there was a parent who was either
26:27drunk or on maybe a littledrug or some prescription drugs or something.I don't know what was going on, but we had a giant bouncy castle.And for some reason, she decided to go in.And she was jumping around.But there were little kids there.It's like, the adults are not supposed to go in the bouncy castle with little kids.So we're kind of like, hey, you got to get out.
26:48And when she came out, she fell out of the bouncy castle and did like a, almost like a360 fall and then landed on her back.It was just like, oh, my God.God, this is like the worst thing that's ever happened.Let me see the omen and it's like, oh, that's probably...How did that woman move on from it?Like, what was her next party appearance?We kind of brought her over.
27:07She was not invited the next year.I'll tell you that much.Brought her over, sat her down.I think we made her some coffee.Had it...This was like an intervention, essentially.Yeah, it was like, why don't you sit this one out?We're going to put in some of the bench.
27:25You know, we're just going to let Ubre play for a little bit.We're bringing Paul Reed, if that's cool.Damien's fifth birthday party, and then he looks at the Rottweiler at the end.Yeah.Like, oh, Damien.Something's going on here.Next, we'll see him the visit from the red-eyed priest in Peck's office.He's killed once.
27:45He'll kill again.What accent is he doing here?Scottish?English, Irish, I think.Yeah.I witnessed the birth.What do you know about my son?Everything.
27:59And what is that?I saw its mother.I saw it's mother.You're referring to my wife.It's mother, Mr. Thorne.This is blackmail, then come out and say it.What is it that you're trying to say?His mother was such a...
28:16Everything all right, sir?You sounded strange.I saw his mother.She's a jackal!How many jackals have you interacted with?I was going to ask you a little bit about this.I mean, this is definitely 8x Mountain for jackals.No question.
28:34Do jackals exist or do jackals exist?Oh, yeah, they exist.They exist, right?Would not like to see a jackal at any point.Except Christ each day.Drink his blood.The red-eyed priest is fucking freaks me out.Next one.
28:50Boy, is this a good stretch?The mom arguing with the new nanny about Damien's got to go to church for the wedding.Great shot.Gordo nomineeThe stairThe stairwellLike the banister going upAnd they're like connected
29:03By this like white thingIt's awesomeThe nanny's likeNow he's probably a bad ideaHe'd probably need some restThe mom's like hey manCar five minutesYeah
29:13And then we're in theWe're in the carAndWhat do you think Carrie would doIf the nanny tried to be likeYeah he's not gonna goTo the wedding todayShe'd be out
29:23YeahYou'd be like pack your bagsYeahSo we're goingToward the churchand it's a good shot.It's in the car.It's a shot of the church.
29:31We're getting there.And then it cuts to the car.And Damien pre-seatbelt's car seats.He's just kind of sitting in front of his parents in the limo.And he has a look on his...That's awesome.Damien's like riding shotguns.She's out.
29:44See, he just fly through the window of the car jibbed at its brakes.And he's just staring at the church with the best look on his face.It's so scary and creepy.It's also, I probably made a similar face when I had to go to church.But then he has to freak out.Not because you saw an angel statue on the top of the church.No, probably not. No, I just didn't let go to church.The pure evil coursing through your face.
30:05When my grandmother used to make us go to church, it was never a fan.But that two minutes is awesome.And that mom for the first time is like, all right, something's going on.Yes.Mr. Ambassador.Welcome, sir.Good morning.No!
30:31I have that scene.Good music in that scene, too.The Windsor Safari scene.Mm-hmm.where the mom's like,hmm,it's so weirdthe giraffes
30:43just ran awayfrom Damien like that.Yeah.Like,they sprinted from him.That's strange.Get in the carjust driving through the monkeys.
30:52I would honestlypay like a million dollarsif somebody had punked youwhen Ben was like fiveand you took him to a zooand the giraffes ran away.I'm like, oh my God.Still that happened.
31:03I might take him this weekend.The,Ben,stand next to the giraffe.I want to see something.Angry monkeys.Why is that scene so scary?What is so scary about frightened baboons
31:20who look like they're all about to mobilize a counterattack?Because I think it's like this idea that there's almost thisunhearable frequency happening.Like the same thing with like the dog showing up,the same thing with like just like, why is everything feel just a little bit off?I mean, honestly,once Damien's like pulling the mom's hairand like scratching her up,
31:41I'd be like, we need,we need to talk about Kevin.Maybe a child counselor.Yeah, but, yes.I don't know if there's a lot of family therapyin 1976.Probably not in England.They were just like to take your kid to the pub day.
31:54Yeah, right.Give him a little taste of whiskey.Maybe that'll settle them down.The production,they couldn't figure,this is half a center research.They couldn't figure out how to have the baboons attack.So they put,
32:08food in the car, and that didn't reallywork. They put a babybaboon in the backseatwith a zoo official thinking that would make thebaboons mad. That didn't work.And then they took the alphababoon and putthat in the backseat.
32:24And when they did that, that made the baboonscrazy, and they all attacked the car.And apparently Lee Remick,the mom in this movie was like genuinelyterrified. That's just great problem solving.Yeah. Just keepworkshopping it. What about theAlpha baboon.
32:39What a great set.That's like spolster coming out of a timeout.He's just like, I'm just going to get my guys in position play.Craig, when, what do you think of this era of the mid-70swhen we just got in a car and drove around a zooand there's just live monkeys and baboons everywhere?That's Lion Country Safari in Florida.Oh, they still, oh, of course, it's in Florida.
33:01That makes sense.You know, I think I would give it a shot.You would?Yeah, that sounds fun to me.Yeah, it's pretty cool.When you're a kid, you're like, holy shit.Yeah.I remember doing some version of a Massachusetts and just thinking it was probably not great for the animals to just have these cars just kind of driving through.
33:19There's a couple of parts of Lion Country Safari where you're just like sitting there waiting for the animals to emerge and they didn't never do because they're probably depressed about being in Florida.Yeah.Well, that first 35 minutes is just a clinic.We didn't even really, I didn't mention it as a rewatchable scene, but the nanny showing up and being like, oh, yeah.Yeah, the agency sent me.It's like, we didn't call an agency.Oh, Mrs. Baylock.Yes, Mom.
33:45I'm sorry, but we're a little bit confused.Oh, why is that?Well, we don't know how you got here.Oh, oh, the agency.The agency?Well, yes, they read in the paper about the...About your first nanny, so they sent you another.Well, that's it.
34:09I'll call to confirm that.I got tons of stuff on Baylock.If somebody shows up to work in my houseand I'm like, how'd you get here?And they go, the agency called me.And I said, we didn't call an agency.I'm probably going to ask them to leave.I think it's a pretty fair tip.
34:34Yeah.Because then just anyone could show up in their house.The agency sent me.But this is like up until, I don't know when,but for like, I remember.remember, like, my mom used to tell me about, like, my grandfather to, like, stay in hotels overseaswould just, like, write the hotel a letter and be like, we will be staying there on Wednesdaythrough Friday and, like, then show up in France or whatever to, like, and just hope the room
34:57was there.Yep, I believe you got my letter.Yeah.We'd love to stay in this room now.Simpler times.So, yeah, if a nanny showed up and was like, agency sent me, you'd probably be like, all right.Cool.There's your room.
35:11Yeah.Try not to take him to the safari.That didn't work out for us.Keep going from monkeys,giraffes, and ratwathers.Just a couple notes on Damien.Don't feed him after midnight.Kind of have him on the Gremlin diet.
35:22Watch out with the shampoo because he's got a 6666 in his head.Next rewatchable scene,the priest gets killed by bad weather.Bad weather deaths are always really good for horror movies when the weather turnsand you know something bad is going to happen.This is a fucking terrifying scene.First of all, I don't know how they had all these.special effects in 76.
35:42This is Dick Donner and Gilbert Taylor and Don Gilbert.Did Don Gilbert give any feedback?Absolutely cooking.Absolutely in their bag.Well, we have the foreshadowing of the pole going through shoulders of the picture.I love the picture foreshadowing is fun.But yeah, I don't know how they did this in 76, how they made it so dark, how they madeit so like crazy and tumultuous.
36:03It's just really good.It's scary as shit.Yeah.And then, of course, he can't get in the church.Also, like, it's great use of London, like these parks that they have, these.old churches that are very much like youwalk and by something and it's like, oh, that's been theresince the 1700s. That's pretty amazing.
36:18Next scene, Damien Knox momover the railing. You know,it's coming. You still don't think he's going to do it.And then it's like, oh yeah, he's the Antichrist. He'll probably dothis. I havecreepy cemetery nighttime field trip.Which includesa jackal skeleton and Rottweilers.
36:39No way they're escaping those Rottweilers, bythe way. No, it feels like they die.This is from one of the synopses of the movie.In Damien's mother's grave,Robert and Keith find a jackal carcass in the next plot,a child skeleton with a shattered skull.Robert realizes that the child is his own son,murdered so Damien can take his place.
36:59A pack of Rottweilers drives Robert and Keith from the cemetery.Talk about an understatement.I know.Drive them from the cemetery,I would say, like at one point he gets impaled.Yeah.That scene is shy.I know you probably like to have some of the stuff was shot.
37:12The use of framing stuff from behind a banister,from behind a tree,like the idea that something is watching these charactersfor the first three quarters of the movieso that when the evil is actually out front,you're like, oh, like, these people have been spied on.These people have been observed for a long time.The nanny kills the mom.
37:37I have that one.Nice little touch with the white veil.There's a decapitation in this moviethat I think I always forgetevery time I watch it.They really go for it.You know what?It's about as good as it gets
37:46in the 70s.I was going to say,like,has there been a betterdecapitation?I think that usuallywhat happens with decapitationsis you get the swing
37:55and you get the head rolling.That's sort of the...You don't get the actualjust head coming off the body like this.Yeah.Really good stuff.Somehow not the most disturbing thingin this movie.
38:05Although it is to David Warner.He says he couldn't watch it.Really?Yeah.Couldn't watch himself get decapitated.I would be pretty weirdto see on the screen.And then I have Peck versus the new, he has to go back and get her.
38:15He's got to take on the nanny and the dog.Yeah.He's got to check out the 666 and the forehead.Not sure how the Antichrist didn't wake up theirs is getting.Deep sleeping.Yeah, deep sleeping.Really having good dreams.And great job by the howling dog trapped in the basement.
38:32Peck escapes.And then we get the final shot where it's like, oh my God, he's going to murder this child in a church.Nope.He's not.what do you have for most rewatchable scene?I think the most rewatchable scene for me isit's really tight between the nanny's death and Brennan's death.The nanny's death, the fifth birthday party,
38:53is really one of the fucking creepiest things I've ever seen.All the shots, too, of, like, the kids on the carouseland the way that they use the sound designwith the kids' voices kind of, like, screaming.Yeah.It just feels so on edge.You realize that point, like, there's something really nefarious.and malevolent present.
39:10Yeah.The Rottweiler.So I'm going to go with the nanny death,the fifth birthday party.I wish it had been longer.Me too.One of the things about this moviethat makes it so good
39:21is that the scenes are not very long.It's not,you know, people say like,oh, I love a two-hour movie.I love like two hours or less.It's not necessarily even the runtime.It's the pace.Yeah.
39:31The scenes are not that long.No.What's yours?Birthday party.Okay.I really like the scenewhen he doesn't want to go tochurch, so. Really solid 90 seconds. Once again, today's most rewatchable scene brought to by the Home Depot.
39:46The best parts of a great movie tend to fly by just like holiday season, so don't wait until the last minute to cash in on the Home Depot's Black Friday savings.All month long, you can save an amazing items from artificial trees, too bold animated pieces for your yard.Make this holiday season when you want to replay forever. Visit homedepo.com to learn more.What's age the best? What do you have?Can I go first?Yeah, you know what?I should throw it to you first because I make a list and I'm Jonesing all the best points.C.R.
40:16I'm going to throw, I'm going to set you up.I'm going to throw it to you down low.Is there anything better than a horror movie starting on June 6th at 6 a.m?I'm like that college basketball coach who's like, let's go!It's so awesome.I have that as well.As soon as you realize it's 666, you're like, fucking the devil is here.I remember, I wrote a column for page two about Nomar when he was on the Dodgers.
40:47How are you going to play in this plane?Playing the Red Sox on 666.Oh, man.At Dodgers Stadium.And that was the whole premise of my column.What was like June 6 at 6 p.m.?Yes.Okay.
40:58No, no, but it was June 6, 2006.Oh, God.It was literally 666.I think that was the premise.Anyway, I wrote about how I never would have guessed four years orearlier.Nomarwas going to be in the
41:09Dodgers on 666.What else do you have?Animals can alwayssend something wrong.Just love that as likeit's just a great wayto detect people.Yeah,
41:20the giraffes are underrated.You just think they're sittingup there chewing trees.We actually hit a bunch of minelike Kathy looking like a bridewhen,when Baylock arrives at the hospitalwith the veil kind of going down.
41:32And justthe pound for pound filmmaking.And the music.Mm-hmm.Super creepy.I have the little kid actor, I think, is great.And they use them like Jaws.He never talks, really.
41:44They don't overexpose him so that the acting is bad.He doesn't really say anything except for, no, mommy, no.And he says, like, Daddy, lift me up.Yeah.So apparently they had, they looked at, like, 500 kids.They really liked this kid because part of how they were casting was they were telling him,telling the kids to, like, flip out, get angry and see.And this one kid, like, attacked Richard Donner.
42:07And they were like, this is the one.But he had blonde hair and I think blue eyes.So they had to like darken his hair.Gave him like the creepier eye contact lenses.Yeah.And his face is just super antichristy.But can you imagine him having, imagine him having him as a kid in real life?I heard your son's doing some acting.
42:30Yeah.Yeah.He's in this movement.They picked him out of a group of 500 to be.Yeah.He's going to play the Antichrist.It's coming out in June.And then you're just.
42:38just like, all right, see you, buddy.See tomorrow.Yeah.I have no idea if he's going to be standing over your bed.1970s London?Great times.Yeah.Who was the best soccer player in the world in 1976 in London?
42:52Who was the Beckham?I mean, was that Georgie Best's era?I'm not even sure.Yeah, I think he might have been.Just stay with me on this one.What's age the best?Being attracted to women from the 1960s and 1970swho are now, they're old or dead.
43:08Go ahead. Go ahead.Lee Remick, just the smoke show.Yeah.She's great. She sadly passed away when she was 55 in the late 80s.She just looks great.She, I think she was a really accomplished actress.She got her best Oscar nomination.She won a Tony.
43:32If you ever do a Patreon, Bill Simmons' 1950s and 60s smoke shows would be, honestly,I don't know.I'll start maybe a side business.It was like a charity thing.It's so funny to be like,you guys see Patricia Neal and HUD?Jesus Christ!Like Angie Dickinson,
43:49some of her 70s stuff,and like, man, Angie Dickinson,fucking bringing it.But I always thought that was funny.The casting of the two Damians is great.I love the,I mentioned the foreshadowing from photosthat something bad's going to happen
44:03to a character always works for me.The nanny, when she meets Damien,and she says, have no fear of one.I'm here to protect the super creepy.Oh, I had a similar thingwhen you're the spawn of Satanit feels like the animals know.Good thing, good reason to have a dog.
44:19Sure.I'll know if somebody's in that.Which one of your dogs do you thinkwould be most sensitiveto Ben being the Antichrist?Jesse.She seems to know.She's the one that won't go up
44:29on the third floor.Do you think Olivia would just be like whatever?She's at her.Olivia's going to die soon.Jesse, like, won't go on the third floor.Livy's like almost 15.She doesn't know what's going on.I wrote down for what stage the best,
44:39wacky religious freakout shrines and diaries.Oh, yeah.Kind of a cousin of what we talked about last week with the JFK.His sort of archival.Yeah.Especially when it's religious, it's just creepier.I like when priests and movies get traumatized and lose one of their senseswhen they can no longer speak or in Amidiv O'Huror, they can't see.
45:06They see something so bad, it literally shuts off one.one of their five senses.Yeah, that's Spiletto at the end.He's the guy who swapped the babies,and then at the end,he's in the monastery with the,they're like, he can't see.So 666,
45:21it wasn't pop culture-y until this movie,the whole concept of the triple six.Yeah.Okay.Wasn't really a thing.I mean, it was a thing,but not a thing.Pop culture made it a thing.
45:31It's interesting when horror moviesmainstream some of these ideas.I think that people,people take a lot of liberties.I don't know this for a factbecause I'm not like a huge,I've not a big,I have not read the New Testament a while.
45:47Is the book of revelations,they take a lot of liberties with that, right?I think they do, yeah.Where they'll just like,if you write it in a certainlike biblical poetic cadence,you can just basically say,that's in the book of revelations.
45:57You got to check that out.Page, uh,is in the 500 somewhere.And when the Rangers play the Diamondbacksin the World Series.Yeah.The oceans will rise.if it could happen this weekend.
46:10Friday the 13th did this too.I feel like Friday the 13th was a thing,but then the movie came outand it became an even bigger thing.So sometimes that happens.I specifically got married on Friday the 13thbecause of that.I've never been afraid of Friday the 13th
46:22or ghosts in my house.There's a dweeded scene at the end.Yeah.When Peck leaves with Damienright at the tail end, he escapes.They filmed another scene where the dogattacked the car.and you can find it on YouTube.
46:39Didn't they do another scene where the nanny is coming?That's all part of the same scene.Both of them get out.The dog attacks the car.The dog head butts through the windshield.And then Peck stabs it with a screwdriver in the head and kills the dogand then runs over the nanny.And they were like...
46:55I think Gregory Peck is like, I was fucking Atticus Finch.Yeah, he's like, dude, how about he just escapes?So they cut that.So there you go.The Kid Cutty Pursuit Happiness Award for Best Needle Drop.The music kicks in for that shirt when they're driving a church for that wedding.Yeah.You hear like the little hum of it and then it like starts kicking in.
47:12It's obviously, Satani is the, I think the music.Yeah.You would know it because that's what Bob Kraft used to pump into the Patriots locker room.Right.Still does us.The Big Kahuna Burger Award for Best Use of Food and Drink.I just have question marks for this.I couldn't think of anything.
47:26Not a lot of eating.No.It feels like there could have been an eating scene though where Damien's just all he wants to do islike raw ground beef.That's weird.That's Mia Farrow and Rosemary.Yeah.She's hungry for raw meat.
47:38Denny Theves Benihano Award for scene stealing location.I get the cemetery.I got the Bougan Hagen ruins, like where he's digging stuff up.Great shot Gordor Award.Most cinematic shot.What do you got?I love the different tracking shots when Brennan is like in the park before he gets to the church.And like all the leaves are blowing.
47:58Yeah, yeah.It goes that crane shot up into the trees looking down on him.And it's like, oh, shit.there's a shot right after they get away from the dogs in the cemeterywhere they have one last shot of the dogs behind the gateand there's like the moon behind it.It's super creepy.This is actually just like an amazingly well-made movie
48:17and the cinematography is fantastic.There's a lot of cool deep focus stuff toowhere it's like, you know, one figure up the front and the foregroundand then the clarity of the figure in the background.It's really great.The Vincent Chase Award for Are We Sure This Characterwas actually good at his job?The fucking ambassador.
48:34Yeah.guy can't even fire his nannythis guy's our conduit to another countryhis wingmen are likehey yeah you know we need you go to Saudi Arabiaand settle that thing and he's likenope I just can'tright I have personal stuff
48:48and it's just like well I don't knowwe make it as easy as possible hereprivate planes got a nicecouple houses you knowhe's terribleButch's girlfriend award wink leak in the filmthis has always bothered me with thewith the omen where the nanny's like
49:03no no the dog's gonnaand they're like, get rid of the dog tomorrow.And then it's like a day later.It's like, oh, the dog's still here.Yes.Like, just fireable offenses day after day that that rot while they're still in the house.Like, where is everybody in this?And why doesn't he have like some sort of chief of staff who's like, hey, I got this
49:19fucking nanny that went to go to my dog.Right?Like, that's a weird, that's a whole weird sequence that I think is so wonderfully ambiguousis like when he comes home.And she's like, don't worry.Like, Mrs. Horton should take care of Damien.Yeah.He goes back.
49:31He's like, where are the Hortons?And she's like, they left.And he's just like, sounds good.All right, I'm going to go to roam.Bye.It sounds good.The Yankees are on.The dog part is strange.
49:45We'll take a break and then we'll do what's age the worst.This episode is brought to you by Apple and AT&T.Scroll long enough and you'll hear it all.Miracle diets, fitness trends, you name it.But with iPhone and Apple Watch, you get meaningful insights from a very trusted source.Your body.You can track sleep quality, cardio fitness, and more than unpack all the information in the health app on iPhone to get a picture of your overall health.These health insights are developed with clinical experts from start to finish.
50:25Find out more at apple.com slash health.Apple Watch is not a medical device and should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.This episode is brought to you by McDonald's.Right now at McDonald's, you can get great deals all day with McValue.Jumpstart your day with the under $3 menu featuring a sausage McMuffin for just $1.50.Or grab the perfect lunch with the McDouble for just $250.Honestly, nothing pairs with a movie marathon like a McDouble in hand.Get even more value with McValue, only McDonald's.
51:02Bada, blah, blah, but limited time only.Prices and participation may vary.prices may be higher for delivery.What's age the worst?I mentioned it earlier, but the impact casting of Gregory Peck was a big deal back then.This would be like, I think Hank's is a decent analogy for like if this is a horror movie and Tom Hanks was the ambassador.Yeah.That's what it would feel like.
51:22What else did you have?Gregory Peck singing Happy birthday.Happy birthday.I was like, you know what?Maybe not the most natural dad.Yeah.He's like, I'm Atticus Finch.I'm not singing this.
51:34And what's also age of the worst is,people bringing physical letters of reference.Somebody's like, well, do you have any references?And it's like, right here, I didn't write these myself at all.That's how we hired Craig.Craig showed up on your doorstep with a little leather valise.I have a letter from Tony Gwynn.Gregory Peck and Kauai Leonard.
51:58Woods age the worst, the no seatbelts for little kids is hilarious.I love that in every movie.So the mom.Tom's fall out of the hospital is very 1970s bad special effects.They just didn't have the effects.Lee Remick may be taking advantage of load management.Yeah.She didn't want to do the stunt because Ellen Burst and had gotten really hurt.
52:18Yeah.Exorcist.And Lee Remick was like, I'm not going over this railing.Yeah.She's like, I'm too smoking to go over this rail.Which is actually one of the only like kind of funky parts of the movie among, I guess thereare a couple like the Antichrist.But she like basically is on this stool, goes.
52:36over the railing, you don't see hertopple much, and then she'shanging on somehow she's like fallenbut like gripped the banisters.So, yeah.So themark of the beastin 1976, apparently
52:52people didn't really understand that partbecause it was so notkind of not known orthought about, and they learned about thatduring the thing, but apparently the audiences wereconfused initially. Wasn't there also a thingwith like when they came out of likescreen?
53:06I read something where it was likethere was some like when you when they walked outthere was a sign outside that said it's June 6that 6th at 6th or something. Yeah. So like kind ofjust to remind them when everything it sort of startedand there was there a better title for this movie I don't think soit was originally or kicked around that they were going to call it birthmark.Yeah, I like the omen. I have one more what's age the worst. Yeah.
53:30And this kind of I don't even know if it's age of the worst but let's just talk it out.they David Salzer the guy wrote the bookwrote the screenplay wrote a novelization of ofof the screenplay like right before the movie came out so they had it ready to goand it has a lot more in there aboutBrennan and Spiletto the two priestsand basically how like Brennan is likea really like a fallen priest who gets hooked up with this satanic covenant
53:59of you know of priests in RomeWe're trying to bring about the antichrist.They've tried multiple times over history and been stopped.But there's a lot of really good stuff in it about what these guys are all about.And it's a little unclear when you get deeper into the movie.Because you think Brennan is trying to help Gregory Peck,but then he also has this 666 sign on his thigh.So, like, what was his evil act before this?
54:26And the book goes into more detail.And I think it's pretty interesting when you read out.I didn't understand the 666s on the thigh.It's something that emerges once you've, like,dedicated yourself to the devil, I guess.Would have like better explanation.Okay, that's what I'm saying.Best quote, it's all for you, Damien.
54:44Definitely.How does take a word?Do you have one?Let's say you find out Ben's the Antichrist.Yeah.You're supposed to kill him with the seven daggers of,yeah, of Megadot or whatever it is?But do you just, do you take the phone call to find out if there's any way to play it to your advantage?
55:06It's a great call.Is there any use for Damien where you're just like, well, this sucks.You know, world's probably going to end.But what if, what have we just played it this way?Like if I.Or negotiate with Damien.Yeah, exactly.Hey, Damien, I know who you are.
55:21It's out in the open now.Can I get profit participation?Yeah.What about some, what about gambling can we do?There's a World Series coming up.Yeah.Would you ask if you had in the 80s, if you had gotten this,if you found out that your child was the Antichrist,
55:39would you take a Red Sox World Series at that point?How can you say I didn't?Can't be ruled out.Here's my hottest take.I don't mind giving ideas out to the public every once in a while,non-profiting them.I think this is the greatest horror IP that nobody is properly leveraged.because
56:01and basically they've done itbut they did it incorrectlywith the movieswith the Omen 1, 2, and 3then they remadethe original omento me this is like the crownthere should be like a five season
56:14arc of Damienand season 1 is age 5season 2 is 13the boarding schoolseason 3 is him as likean up and coming politicianseason 4 is likehis full
56:29Bloom as like running for president,maybe even controlling the country.And then season five is like his godfatherthree reckoning of being the Antichristand people trying to stop him.I can't believe nobody's done this yet.I would rather watch them as moviesbecause I think if you were like,
56:49I have to watch 50 hours before we get to the inevitableconclusion.But I think you could go so many sideways with it.You could basically have a seasonthat was like House of Carts.Yeah. I mean, basically that's what House of Cards was. The guy was evil. But I just feel like there's more potential with the IP. And they like did this. They made all these movies in the 2000s. Like they did The Omen. They did Aminuiova horror. They did basically every movie that we liked. They just longest yard. They re did all these classics. Some of them made money. Some of them didn't. And then they just kind of gave up on the IP after that. This case, I think there's real IP.Yeah, you really have to have stones to do these movies, though.The thing about these 70s movies...
57:29Because you might go to hell?Well, no, it's just that, like, they weren't necessarily thinking in terms of franchises,and they were also willing to say pretty dark things about humanity.Yeah.And I think that ultimately, like, movies nowadays try to be more affirmative and try to, like,kind of pull out of it a little bit.But, like, Damien being...Damien's standing next to the president in the last shot is, like, truly chilling shit.
57:52Would you do that?You know, like, I can't remember how the 2000.6-1 ends, but I don't think it had the same impact.That was a little unclear how he ended up next to the president from this ambassador.Because Gregory Peck is friends with the president.They talk about that when they're walking.He's like, your good friend, the president.Like, I think they're supposed to be buddies.
58:09I don't think the president's showing up for the ambassador.And I think the implication is that Gregory Peck's character, Thorne, is on a kind of path to the presidency.Yeah.This hot first lady wave.Casting what ifs, there were a ton.Oliver Reed was in it at one point.William Holden, who ended up being in number two.They made an actual offer to Charlton Heston,
58:38which I think is pretty interesting.Yeah.Probably a very similar movie.Maybe a little more campy.It's really cool.When you go back and look through these people's filmographies,how often there will be somebody like Charlton Hestonor Gregory Peck that you associate with,
58:53biblical epics or like these really like moral,upright lawyers or cowboys.But they still do these fucking.up movies.Like,yeah.They still do Planet of the Apesor like a Sam Peck and Paul
59:03movie or the Omen.And it was just,it's great when they,they show that kind of rangeand that kind of taste.Yeah,do you feel like,Hank's version of that
59:11would have been like doingDa Vinci's code.And it's like,that's not really a stretch.Yeah, I mean,he hasn't really played,I mean,I think he makes adventurous choices,
59:19like Cloud Atlas,but like,I don't think he ever makes like,I'm going to play somebodylike, this part is going to seesomething really fucked upabout society.Yeah.
59:28Well, Heston turned it down.He didn't want to spend an entire winter alone in Europeand he was worried that the film might be exploitativeif not handled correctly.The same guy made Planet of the Apes.Man, that's it.Everything else we mentioned.Yeah, Roy Shider, I think, would have been a good one.
59:44Yeah.This was during the runner Roy Shider.Yeah.The Ruffalo Hannah Rubinac Partridgeoveracting award goes to the red-eyed priest.Yeah.Father Brennan.I thought for sure you would imitate him,
59:57but I guess Fridays, we're taping this on a Friday.I thought you'd really go for.Your mother was a tackle!Deanne Waiters Award, the first nanny?Really bringing it for three minutes.I got... Do you think Baylach's in it too much?Yeah, I did.Okay, so I'm going to go with Leo McCurran as Boogan Hogan.
01:00:15Okay.We haven't talked about David Warner yet.I guess he's in it too much in the second half of the movie to really count as a Dion,but he's pretty awesome.We're going to talk about him right now because he wins the best that guy award.because everyone in this movie is that guy or that girlbecause it's from almost 50 years ago.But David Warner was that guy
01:00:36who then graduated and became David Warnerand then eventually became that guy from Titanic.But I don't think anyone under 40 knows his name's David Warner.So he's like belatedly now and that guy again.I had Don Fellows who is in the office with Gregory Peckwhen Brendan first comes to visit him.Yeah, that's like a deep cut.And Don Fellows is one of the guys from the government who hires Indiana Jones and Raiders.
01:01:03Oh.Yeah.Does he know cinematographer Don Gilbert or no?Don Gilbert used to hang out a lot, yeah.Recasting couch was thinking the 2023 version.Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey.But do you gender swap it and make Taylor Swift's the ambassador?Yeah, and Travis Kelsey's Lee Remick.
01:01:26Yeah.The Omen Taylor's version?Yeah.The prophecy say...That would probably be a blockbuster.If a famous football player and a pop star, Mary.Yeah.And then have a kid.
01:01:38Who knows?Have faster and research.Damien. Taylor's version.Taylor's cut.This movie was inspired by this advertising executive name Robert Mungin,who'd read a book called The Late Great Planet Earthand speculated to a film producer named Harvey Bernardabout the possibility that the Antichrist
01:02:01would be walking around the earth right nowin the form of a child.And they ended up getting David Seltzerto write the scriptand the rest was history.So Billy Whitelaw played the nanny.Famous English actresswho was Samuel Beckett's
01:02:19like muse for a quarter of a century?You a big Beckett guy?Not really, but respect.Respect the work.Writer, writer.Irish playwrightsI think.Yeah.
01:02:30I had him ranked fourth.Yeah.No, I just know the name.I don't...Rushmore of Irish playwrights.He's on there.But that was like her partner and she was this really, really, really well-respected English-Irish.Yeah.
01:02:43Like in that whole world.And she apparently like imbued this character with a lot more like obvious menace than Donner.And Donner at one point was even thinking about cutting the character.Yeah.Because he basically wanted it to be like much more.up to the vieweras you went through the film as to whether or notDamien was just a disturbed child or actually evil.
01:03:05She's really creepy.She sure is. I can't believe we've donetwo pieces of half-ass internet researchand we haven't touched on one of your pet passionsof the rewatchables, which is cursed productions.Go for it.So this is one of the all-time, like,I don't know how I would deal with this
01:03:24in the moment kind of things where it's likethere's so much bad.shit happened to this production and people who worked on it and it starts out with the IRAbombed Donner's Hotel. There was a crashing of the plane that the crew wanted to board but had tocancel because of the scheduling conference. So they were on they were supposed to be on a plane.They canceled that flight and that plane crashed. Um, Pek and the screenwriter's plane got hitby lightning. And the Oman's special effects director, John Richardand had an eerie car accident
01:03:59where he died on the setof a bridge too far.So like all these peoplewho were involved in,I got this all from Cinephilia and Beyond,but it was just like,it was doomed.Like,
01:04:09it was really dark.And Lee Remick died pretty early.She was 55 had kidney cancer.I'm not sure if that's related.But yeah,that's creepy.I mean,Poltergeist was pole position
01:04:19for that conversation,but that's up there.Horror movies that havecursed productions,it's weird.And they usually havesome sort of theme like this.right? Yeah, I'm with you.
01:04:30If you, because, and the fact that, like,the priest in this movie essentiallygets chased by lightninginto the, into the courtyard of the churchanyway, like, have lightning hit the plane.Apex Mountain, Gregory Pecknow.Lee Remick, maybe. Should he getnominated for an Oscar, but I think this is the most
01:04:48successful movie. Hers, right?Yeah, but this is, like,the biggest movie, so I don't know what the answer isfor her. The Antichrist?I don't know if this was aApex Mountain.I still feel like it'srosberries.
01:05:01Yeah.How about would you gopossess kids ridingtricycles or big wheels?I hadcreepy kids.The exact same thing.I had creepy tricycle
01:05:11riding.I go shining.Me too.Rottweilers?I can't think ofanother Rottweiler movie.Jackals?Well,
01:05:20Day of the Jackal,but you don't get an actualjackal.It's just a nicknamefor the assassin.Evil nannies.I'm still going to handthat rocks the crater.
01:05:28It's a good one.Yeah.Best racehorse name.I just, Damien Thorne is solid.Damien's a great racehorse name.Yeah.Yeah.I had a Damian question for you, actually.
01:05:41Did this movie remove any possibilityof naming your kid Damian for like 20 years?And now Dame lowered brought it back.But we really call him Dame and not Damian.This is a great question.Craig, were you to have a son?Would Damian just be completely crossed off the list because of this?Yeah.
01:05:58Okay.fully.Right?That's how I felt, but Damian Lillard brought it back, and nobody seems to care.There's been a couple other Damians, too, over the years.I don't feel like it's like Adolf was like a non-starter.There's a shelf life.Would Damien Lillard, like, would you have been as scared of Damian Thorn if they called him Dame Thorne?
01:06:22Omen 2, maybe.Dame Thorne.Omen 2, Dame time.Great stuff.This episode is brought to by LinkedIn ads.Ever invest in something that seemed incredible at first but didn't live up to the hype?Well, marketers know the feeling.They optimize for the numbers that look great, impressions, reach, reacts.
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01:07:18Spend $250 in your first campaign on LinkedIn ads.Get a $250 credit for the next one.Just go to LinkedIn.com slash rewatchables.Terms and conditions apply.The playoffs are here and you can predict the action all the way to the finalswith Fandul Predicts.Follow all the playoff dishes, swishes, wishes, wishes,and misses.
01:07:42Predict the spread, the total points, and even the game winner.Sign up for Fandual Predicts and predict it from the couch.Offered by Fandual Prediction Markets LLC, a registered futures commission merchant.18 plus.Trading derivatives involve significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors.Manage your activity with our consumer protection tools.Picking Nets.So we don't really get into any, any Christ's shit with Damien until his fifth birthday party.
01:08:09What was going on from ages like two, three, and four?Like, he never hit somebody with a tonking truck.I think it's the idea that, like, evil starts to mature.Yeah, but that's, I would love to get a little bit of an insight of, like, what toddler Damien was doing.Didn't push anyone down the stairs at one point?Yeah.How many nannas did they run through?Yeah.
01:08:30We mentioned the interview process with Mrs. Baylock.Wasn't too enthused on that one.Oh, you do have references.Okay.How didHow didPeck recoverfrom impaling his left shoulder
01:08:46on a rusty cemetery gateand then just the righthe's fine like in the next scenecarrying daming aroundDo you know how much that would hurtto have a stake of a cemeterygo literally through your shoulderand your arm and stick up
01:09:02and then you have to pull it out?Yeah.Like first of all your baseball season's overlike you're not pitching for another 18 months, I don't think.There's ligament damage.They haven't invented the Tommy John for that one yet.It's a clear and immediate staff infection.Last picking nits is just the name Damien.
01:09:26Was that a common name back then in the 70s?What's so creepy about the name Damien?I think it's the single creepiest name you could have given a potential antichrist.Like if the nanny is standing on the balcony and she goes,it's all for you, Bobby.It doesn't have the same.It's up for you, Craig.It doesn't have like the same vibe, right?
01:09:47Like Damien has a kind of ancient feel to it.It feels like an old.It just feels sinister.Evil name.Any other picking bits for you?There's a lot of information that's unnecessarily conveyed in like riddles, poems.Yeah.And biblical scripture.
01:10:03Like if I'm Brennan and it's really important.for me that like this guy does what I tell him to do.I'm not doing it in the most bleary-eyed, psychedelic.Like I'm just quoting, I'm quoting revelations and reading poems to you and givingyou riddles.Like, I would just be like, here's exactly what you have.Here's the 10-point plan to stop Damien.Yeah.
01:10:24What was, was Baylock possessed?Is that weird?No, they just all worked for it.Like, they have all decided to give their apostates of hell.Like, what was she doing?It's like how we formed the ringer.What was Baylock doing the first, like, four?40 years of her life.
01:10:38Waiting for David.That's a great question.And I have that,where it's like,I was going to say that this would bea great for sequel, prequel,prestige TV is,she's part of this like coven
01:10:49of rebel priests who are working.She was a nun.She was like Sister Mary Teresa in the book,I guess,or something like that.And they're all like sewing religiousand political discord in the worldbecause to create like the right
01:11:04atmosphere for Satan.So in the Coven chat room, somebody was like, hey, good news.The Jackal gave birth.Yeah.They got ambassador.Anybody here who want to be a nanny for a couple of years?Go to nanny school.Five years from now, you're going to step in here.
01:11:21I had Prestige TV for the sequel prequel Prestige TV, All Bycaster, Untouchable.Is this movie better with Wayne Jenkins, Danny Trao, Catherine Hines, Steve Bouchemy, Sam Jackson, J.T. Walsh, or Philip Baker Hall.I did think Sam Jacksonand the David Warner rolewould be great.It did need somebodyto be like,man, what the fuck
01:11:42is going on hereand do Sam Jackson things?I don't know.I was imaginingwhat would happen,though,if Wayne Jenkinstook Damien to the zoo.
01:11:50God damn, Damien!I didn't know I was watchingDr. Doolittle.You got these giraffesrunning cross the routeslike you're Todd Munkinand a motherfuckingRottweiler!
01:12:01We didn't even check outthat 666 first markon the back of your headBecause we're going to hell a long fucking time, big boy.Great stuff.Just one Oscar, who gets it?Jerry Goldsmith.Yeah, I'm with you.
01:12:25Well, he did get it.Probably an answerable questions.Would a mother instinctively know that their baby had diedand then been replaced by a different baby?Because I feel like my wife would have been on this.immediately. I think there's some sort of instinctualDNA thing where you just kind of know.All the people do with their babies is like, oh, she has your nose, but she has her eyes.
01:12:48Yeah. And like both like it's, there's just a constant evaluation of what,who the baby looks like more. I feel like they would just be.The mom knows. There's weird mom superpowers. I just feel like Lee Remick would have figuredit out sooner. She's probably getting hit on so much. She just couldn't think straight.Was Spiletto the guy, you know, the priest who does the swap in the beginning?Yeah.The original Picasso of the trade machine.So that guy, he's like borderline the most evil person in this movie.
01:13:17Yeah, he kills a newborn child.Takes a jackal, gives birth to the Antichrist, and gives it to an ambassador from the United States.He's pretty bad.He'd get canceled.I had that in unanswerable questions, and it's literally unanswerable, but how does a jackal become pregnant with the Antichrist?Don't know.Does somebody have to have sex with the jackal?Does it just happen spiritually?
01:13:40where do you find jackalsI don't knowI mean are jackals prevalentin Italyare they just walking aroundlike do you have any friendswho would say likehey
01:13:48you gotta come overwe just adopted a jackalcan you just real quickare jackals likewhere do they liveit feels likethis feels like an AustraliaNew Zealand
01:13:57type of situationI don't likeopen savannas desertsgrasslandsArizona thendon't like jackalsI hadwhere did Mrs. Baylock come from
01:14:09hell, but maybe you're right. She was the Covenchat room. Yeah.She's on the boards.I had one more an answerable,but I'm not going to ask it. It's too controversial.Why? Do it. We can cut it.Is this really a movie aboutabortion? Yeah. I mean, I think that's
01:14:26the whole, it's awesome. That's a,it's a good question to ask.It's like three years after Roe v. Wadeand is that kind of what this islike, how farwould your childbirth have to go before?And on the flip side,there's like a kind of more conservative attitude about it where Gregory Peck's character doesn't
01:14:45want her to get the abortion.Yeah.And then there's that feeling that like they didn't have their child.Like there was something in sin about like their child.Like she was never supposed to have a child.Best double feature choice with this movie is clearly Oman 2, which has a coupleunbelievable scenes and it's not nearly as good as Oman 1, but there's some some really good ones.The kid in Oman 2 is equally creepy.
01:15:12Teenage Dame isDame time is fucking scary a couple times in the movie.It's got a great twist at the end.I love the Damien Omen 2 twist.But it's worth noting that Damien 2 or Omen 2 basicallyredos the first one where like Damien is living withGregory Peck's character's brother.William Holden.
01:15:37And it's William Holden.And it's essentially the same, it's like kind of like the same premise.Whereas David Salter who wrote the screenplay was like, had I done a sequel,I would have had Damien be adopted by the president.Right.Damien's living in the White House.Big mistake.Well, our guy William Holden, who died, I think two or three years after that movie came out,
01:16:01you can feel the cigarettes and the alcohol in him by the late 70s.So it's not, can't say that was one of his greatest performances.The Andy at Red Award, we pretty much have.What happened the next day?Yeah, we had, because we have Omen 2.But I would love to see the job posting for British ambassador.Get to live in the same house.We've cleaned up the nanny.
01:16:26Yeah.There might be a dog in the basement.So this is a rare one for me.The what piece of memorabilia would you want from this movie?I'm good.Oh, I have.I have a no thank you.I have the seven daggers of Muggedo.
01:16:40I don't want anything from this movie,especially with the curse production.I'm out.No, because if you get the daggers,you're always ready.I'm good.The Coach Finstock Award for Best Life Lesson.This is pretty clear.
01:16:53If your wife gives birth to a baby who dies,don't replace the baby with a different babyand don't tell her.Yeah.Just don't do that.If you want to just boil it down,check your kid's scalp.Scalp check always great.
01:17:05Who won the movie for you?Satan himself?Yeah, I was kind of wondering.whether evil could win a movie.Like this, like the overwhelmingsense of evil in this movie.But Greg Peck.You're given this one to Greg Peck?
01:17:21Well, we've never given it. San Diego State Graduate?We've never given it toa, like, a force,you know?Can I make a case forthe kid who playsDamien?Harvey Stevens? Yeah.
01:17:39As the single scariestchild actor we've ever had.Can you think of anyone's scarier?Is it scarier than Danny and The Shining?Yeah.I think it's probably evil.You're probably right.It's the first time we've given the movie.
01:17:54You know, the thing about the rewatches...How about people who believe in evil?If you believe in evil, this is the movie for you.Yeah.Yeah.Well, you know who doesn't believe in evil.Craig Horacek, our producer.Getting second screen with Josh...
01:18:05Not a horror fan.I do actually appreciate old horror moviesmuch more than modern ones.I won't see any modern movie unless.I'm like forced too for rewatchables.I just don't, I'm not a fan of shock horror.I like that the older horror movies are made,like it feels like the message of the movie
01:18:20and the filmmaking of the movieis like more at the forefront.And they're not just trying to scare youfor scaring's sake.So I do appreciate Exorcist, Halloween, Omen.Also, man, we were cookingwith horror music back in the day.Yeah, it's terrifying shit.
01:18:36It is so good.The second it started, I was like, wow,I was like blasted it for Liz.I was like, listen to this.Yeah.Was she like, cool, put this on loop?Yeah.Would you think it was the single scariest scene?
01:18:49It's easily the girl committing the nanny hanging herself.Yeah.Really well done and really fucked up.Just like, they actually film it quite well.It looks good.The way that they're like, they're like, Damien, Damien.And then they all sort of start slowly looking up.And she's just like, it's all for you.
01:19:05It's one of the best horror movie scenes ever.Yeah.It really is.I like Damien's clothes.He's kind of dressed like Angus Young from ACDC at all times.Little British prep school.A little hat.Yeah.
01:19:15A little tie.It's really creepy.So that was Craig Horaceck who produced this.Thanks, Craig.We might be back with a theme month next month.There's been rumors.This is one of your all-time out-of-the-box ideas.I got to say that.
01:19:29And I love it.Positive or negative?Positive.But I want you to allow my one suggestion into this grouping.We're not going to talk about it now.You want to talk about it now?I don't want to tip off the theme week.theme week or month.
01:19:44Theme month.Yeah.Yeah.No one will guess this one.Do you know what it is?I think you've mentioned it, but I forgot.Much like that I'm going to S-Discu.That was the element.
01:19:55We'll see you next week in the rewatches.
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