"Have no fear little one....I am here to protect thee"

The film begins at a hospital, where Robert Thorne (Gregory Peck) learns that his wife's baby had died during childbirth, and whilst so upset he is offered the chance of taking on another baby born at the same time as his own, a baby with no living relatives, which he does not refuse. This is a secret he refuses to tell his wife about..and as the priest says 'on this night god has given you a son.' We then jump to around five years later and the Thorne's move to London following Robert's securing of a new job, that of Ambassador to Great Britain. It seems that he has the perfect life.

The film then shifts to Damien's 5th birthday party, which sees his Nanny (Holly) hang herself by jumping from an upstairs window...shouting 'its all for you Damien.' By this time we can tell that there is something sinister about that little boy, and barely notice a photographer taking an  interest in the events witnessed. Following this 'tragic accident' Robert is contacted at his office by Father Brennan, who tells him that Damien is the son of the devil and that witnessed the birth of Damien at the hospital, revealing his mother to be a jackal. Meanwhile Damien acquires a new nanny (Mrs Blakelock) who seems to immediately take on the role of his guardian, and when Damien attacks his mother following a trip to church and scares the animals at a safari park,  Robert begins to think about the odd occurrences.

He again meets with Brennan, who warns him that his wife is in danger, and instructs him to go to Meggido in the old city of Jezreel and seek out a man called Bugenhagen. He adds that only Bugenhagen can describe how the child must die, and if he doesn't act Damien will kill him, his wife and their unborn child. No sooner has the Father delivered his message than he meets his maker, and when Robert's wife is pushed over the stairs and is badly injured by Damien Robert realises that he must do something.

He is contacted by a photographer, who seems to notice that when he takes photos of people there seems to be images depicting the way people of died. They go to Father Brennan's home and discover that it is covered wall to wall in bible pages, and that a constellation of stars on the 06/06 coincides with the birth of Damien. From this point we follow both Robert and his photographer friend attempting to track down a Father Spiletto, who directs them to an old cemetery. There they discover the remains of Damien's mother and Robert's biological son, who appears to have been murdered. From there they meet Bugenhagen, who hands over a set of six knives with which he must kill Damien....but with his wife in hospital, a nanny and a ferocious looking dog protecting Damien and the strange deaths of everyone around him can Robert end the life of the antichrist??

This is an excellent film, and for me is one that really instills fear when watching it. Whilst it was filmed during the 1970s one cannot escape from the fact that this could not be far from the truth!!!

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