Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you want to hear accelerated and enthusiastically robust variations on the famous "Ave Satani" theme from The Omen, the consistent basis for almost all of the cues in this sequel score. Avoid it... if you expect to hear anything more than explosive regurgitations of that thematic identity and its performance aspects, including anything remarkably unique introduced to represent this second chapter's characters and settings. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Damien: Omen II: (Jerry Goldsmith) Immediately upon the unexpected fiscal success of Richard Donner's The Omen two years prior, producer Harvey Bernhard began work on assembling a crew for Fox's 1978 sequel, Damien: Omen II. While Donner was unavailable (and the director's chair would be inhabited by two men after the start of filming due to artistic disagreements), Bernhard made sure to retain Jerry Goldsmith as the musical voice of the franchise to compensate for the lack of returning principle characters, all of whom were killed off in the previous film. For the composer, now an Academy Award winner because of The Omen, the process of scoring Damien: Omen II was far less daunting than the first, for the film's plot was so similar to that of its predecessor that Goldsmith was presented with the opportunity to twist and manipulate his existing idea into an arguably more ambitious form. The fact that Damien: Omen II turned out to be nothing more than simple regurgitation of The Omen didn't deter success (or another sequel). The Antichrist, now 12 years old and living in America, slaughters his family along with representatives of the Church that are aware of his existence and are seeking to kill him with sacred daggers (once again). The sudden scenes of violent death are different, as is the boy's realization of his true identity, but the film's basic formula is exactly the same. As such, there really wasn't much reason for Goldsmith to vary his output for the picture either, relying heavily upon the material he wrote for the character of Damien in the previous score. The recording of the music would be different, however; due to scheduling conflicts, Goldsmith recorded the film version of Damien: Omen II in Los Angeles before later heading off to London to record an altered album version with his familiar National Philharmonic Orchestra, the sole performers of the other two scores in the series. Also unique to Damien: Omen II is the incorporation of electronics into both recordings of the score. The integration of synthesizers directly into Goldsmith's orchestral ensembles was becoming a regular occurrence by 1978, and the tone of the keyboarded electronics here is similar to what Goldsmith collectors will have heard elsewhere. Returning at the forefront, of course, is a mixed chorus that for a second time is taxed heavily and in creative ways. On the whole, the music for Damien: Omen II is really not much more than a simplified version of what audiences heard (and rewarded) in The Omen. The "Ave Satani" theme returns for more straight forward and frequent employment, defining the whole of this score's identity without any hindrance from the family theme from the previous score or any equivalent for the newer context. In fact, there aren't any significantly new secondary ideas developed in Damien: Omen II, making it a rare Goldsmith score that does nothing to define itself outside of the shadow of another work. Some of the techniques in conveying "Ave Satani" and its related rhythmic churning are extended in different directions, but none of this expansion ever yields a new melodic concept. The domination of this score by "Ave Satani" is so thorough that only one cue in the entire work exists without some form of it, and only three proceed without a full choral rendition. In this regard, Damien: Omen II is largely a one-dimensional score, devoid of all the intelligently intriguing foreshadowing and aural combat between good and evil that made The Omen so accomplished. Some of this problem is inherent in the script and the music's spotting; by this point, everyone knew what was going to happen in the story and, by Goldsmith's choice, only 35 minutes of music was recorded for the film, causing most of the conversational and bridge scenes (along with some of the terror itself) without any music. That decision translates into a score that, when heard on album, is exposed as not much more than a series of explosive "Ave Satani" variants. Luckily, those variations are quite satisfying, extended into increasingly fluid and harmonically propulsive performances that are arguably more resounding in their impact. Where the shock and horror factor of this theme is somewhat marginalized, the satisfaction gained from its expression of evil is enhanced. With a faster tempo in some performances, Goldsmith conveys a sense of enthusiasm and devious joy in this score, likely to acknowledge the self-awareness that Damien now enjoys. This heightened pace is especially evident in the opening and closing title sequences, for which Goldsmith strips the brooding aspect of "Ave Satani" and gives it an even more obvious, victorious edge. Some listeners will appreciate the more consistently relentless result of this forceful application, though it does lead to some redundancy as well, despite the short running time. Only "Snowmobiles" is a break from the consistent oppression, a surprisingly positive string-led piece that unfortunately totally avoids the previous family theme. While the majority of Goldsmith's work for Damien: Omen II owes to its predecessor, there are a handful of unique elements that do merit some attention. First are the vocal techniques. To accompany the merciless minions of the Antichrist in the animal kingdom, the composer pushes the male singers to produce awkward throat sounds that jab at the listener in the deepest ranges. In a comical sense, these sounds, as heard at the start of "Aunt Marion's Visitor," are the lowest and most sinister possible versions of Goldsmith's cute female "doo-op" choral sounds from the ridiculous 1994 comedy I.Q. Another alteration comes in the half of "Ave Satani" that dwelled on the bass strings and tuba in The Omen. This aspect of the theme, which was what resembled John Barry's The Lion in Winter the most, has been replaced with an almost entirely new emphasis that does shift the tone of the theme to one of easier rhythmic motion. The other and most obvious change in Damien: Omen II is the incorporation of the electronics, which are a distinct negative. Their most bizarre use comes in the opening and closing performances of "Ave Satani," in which Goldsmith chose a low, bouncing "splat" noise that makes it seem as though Damien is enjoying himself in the process of squishing insects. Since the tone of that sound is pushed to its lowest regions, it isn't completely distracting in this sense. But with the voices effectively producing the tonal distortion that the synthesizers might otherwise handle in the middle of the score, there really was no reason to add them here. They do seem to help the bass region when an organ performs, however, which is a small plus. These effects differ quite a bit between the two recordings of the score, but both are somewhat awkward in their all-too-cute effect. On the whole, despite these minor efforts by Goldsmith to push his music from The Omen into new territory, it's ultimately redundant material after just ten minutes of the accelerated "Ave Satani" interpretations. The LP record contents were pressed onto an identical CD in 1988 by Silva Screen, though availability of the score was not widespread until Varèse Sarabande offered expanded and remastered editions of all three scores in 2001. This "Deluxe Edition" presents both the film and album recordings of Damien: Omen II, as well as the short but pretty "Snowmobiles." A 2005 repackaging of all three "Deluxe Editions" together for a retail price of less than $30 made them very affordable, not to mention a compensation for more difficult retail availability of the 2001 albums by then. In the end, Damien: Omen II is the weakest of the three, but it ironically translates into the most consistent album. **** Track Listings (1988 Silva Screen Album):
Total Time: 33:41
Track Listings (2001 and 2005 Varèse Albums):
Total Time: 67:08
All artwork and sound clips from Damien: Omen II are Copyright © 1988, 2001, 2005, Silva Screen Records, Varèse Sarabande, Varèse Sarabande (Trilogy Set). The reviews and notes contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Filmtracks Publications. Audio clips can be heard using RealPlayer but cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 7/29/09, updated 7/29/09. Review Version 4.1 - PHP (Filmtracks Publications). Copyright © 2009-2013, Christian Clemmensen. All rights reserved. |
1988 Silva
