What actually happens
A swap at the hospital in Rome
Robert Thorn, an American diplomat, and his wife Katherine live in Rome, where Katherine has a baby boy. The hospital chaplain, Father Spiletto, tells Robert the baby died after a single breath. He then persuades Robert to secretly adopt another newborn, whose mother also died in childbirth that same night. Robert never tells Katherine that the child is not theirs, and they name him Damien. From that point the family runs on one decision that only Robert and the chaplain know about.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
A birthday party with a bad guest list
Five years later Robert is the Ambassador to the United Kingdom, living in London, and things start going wrong. A Rottweiler appears at the house. Damien's nanny hangs herself in public at his fifth birthday party. This is the scene people dread most, early in the film, so here is exactly what you will see: the nanny hanging herself where everyone can see. A replacement nanny, Mrs. Baylock, then arrives without anyone asking for her. Damien fights going into a church, and the animals at a safari park panic around him. A Catholic priest, Father Brennan, visits Robert to warn him about Damien's origins and says Damien is not human. He insists that Robert take Holy Communion.
A lightning rod with a purpose
Brennan says Damien is Satan's son and tells Robert that Katherine is expecting. The boy, he says, will kill the unborn baby and both parents. Robert dismisses it and leaves, a storm breaks out, and Brennan, looking for shelter in a church, is impaled when lightning strikes its lightning rod. Katherine says she wants an abortion, which Robert opposes. Damien knocks Katherine over a railing, and she miscarries. A photographer named Keith Jennings notices shadows in photos of the nanny and Brennan that foreshadow their deaths, shows them to Robert, and goes with him to Rome. They learn that a fire destroyed the hospital and killed the staff, and find Spiletto in a monastery, burned and mute. He points them to the grave of Damien's mother. In it lies a jackal carcass, and the neighboring plot holds the skeleton of a child whose skull was smashed, which Robert realizes is his own son. A pack of Rottweilers drives them away.
Seven daggers for one child
Robert phones Katherine in the hospital to tell her to leave London, but Mrs. Baylock throws her out of her window to her death before she can. Robert and Keith travel to Jerusalem to see Carl Bugenhagen, an expert on exorcising the Antichrist, who says the true Antichrist will have a birthmark of three sixes. Carl hands Robert seven daggers to use on Damien on hallowed ground. Robert refuses, but Keith insists, and then a pane of glass slides off a truck and decapitates Keith. Robert reluctantly accepts the task. He finds the birthmark on Damien's scalp, kills Mrs. Baylock in a fight, and drives Damien to a cathedral with the daggers, with his erratic driving attracting the police.
The ending, explained
Robert drags a screaming Damien onto the cathedral's altar and begs God for forgiveness, but the police arrive and shoot him dead as he raises the first dagger. A double funeral is held for Robert and Katherine, which the U.S. President and the First Lady attend. Damien stands with them, turns toward the camera and smiles at the audience. Robert, Katherine, Keith, Father Brennan and Mrs. Baylock are all dead and Damien is the only one left standing at the funeral.
The post-credits ruling
There is no post-credits scene. You can leave when the credits start.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is The Omen scary?
Yes, The Omen is a 6 out of 10 with medium dread. It is slow occult dread with a few elaborate deaths, and the unease comes from a very calm child and the people who keep dying around him.
How does The Omen end?
Police shoot Robert Thorn dead in a cathedral as he tries to kill Damien. At the funeral for Robert and Katherine, Damien stands with the U.S. President and turns to smile at the audience.
Does the dog die in The Omen?
No dog dies in The Omen. A Rottweiler menaces the family and a jackal carcass is found in a grave, but no dog is killed.
Is there a post-credits scene in The Omen?
No. The Omen has no post-credits scene, so you can leave when the credits start.
Who is Damien in The Omen?
Damien is the child Robert Thorn adopts in Rome after a chaplain says his own baby died. Father Brennan says Damien is the son of Satan, and Robert later finds the birthmark of three sixes on Damien's scalp.
