Dundead Halloween: The Omen (50th Anniversary, 4K Restoration)

Part of Dundead Halloween 2026, a selection of films and events celebrating horror, cult and weird cinema at the spookiest time of year.

This screening will begin with short film Season's Greetings, Michael Dougherty's animation that introduced the character of Sam later seen in 2007'sTrick 'r Treat.

Director Richard Donner may well be one of American popular cinema’s most influential  yet under-sung, creative guiding forces. Films like 1978’s Superman, and later The Goonies and Lethal Weapon continue to be genre-defining, but his name has never carried the instant recognition of Steven Spielberg or James Cameron. 

1976’s The Omen was Donner’s first feature that was not made for television, and is perhaps the most influential of the Satanic horror sub-genre. Presumably inspired by earlier films like Rosemary’s Baby, the film is of course famous for introducing the character of Damien into the public consciousness, a horror icon who has been endlessly parodied and referenced. 

The film follows Robert Thorn, an American ambassador played by Gregory Peck, and his wife Katherine (Lee Remick). The couple live an affluent life in the UK where they are raising their son Damien, but strange and disturbing things begin happening around them. Veteran character actor Patrick Troughton (best known as the second actor to play Doctor Who) plays a catholic priest who is suspicious of these sinister occurrences, and the great David Warner (Tron, Twin Peaks, Time Bandits) plays a photographer who becomes caught up in the grisly goings-on. 

The plot is terrifically simple and compelling, and there are some fabulous moments of cinematic invention; the death scenes in The Omen would go on to inspire the Final Destination series, and the scenes involving Warner and his camera are perfectly creepy moments of horror-movie magic. The score, by Jerry Goldmsith, is a perennial horror classic (and in fact made an appearance on the soundtrack of Dundead 2026 festival hit Silencio), and won the composer his only Oscar.

Come mark the 50th anniversary of a genuine horror classic with Dundead on Halloween night - costumes are very much encouraged and we'll have some Dundead treats for the best dressed!