What actually happens
A baby swap arranged by a helpful priest
Robert Thorn is an American diplomat stationed in Italy. He is told that his son was stillborn, and his wife Katherine is unconscious at the time. The hospital's chaplain, Father Spiletto, suggests that Robert adopt an orphaned newborn, and Robert does so without telling Katherine. They name the baby Damien and raise him. Over the next five years Robert's career rises, and he becomes Deputy Ambassador to the United Kingdom after the earlier ambassador is killed when a vagrant sets a car on fire. The family settles in a large estate outside London. Then disturbing events start to happen around them.
Reading this instead of watching it is the correct decision. Scaredy Cat makes that decision automatic, for free.
A birthday party and a new nanny
The scene to brace for comes early, during Damien's birthday party. A mysterious black dog loiters in the estate gardens, and the nanny appears to fall under its spell. She makes sure the children and families are watching, and then she hangs herself in front of them. After that, Father Brennan approaches Robert and says he knows something about the events around Damien's birth. Meanwhile a photographer named Keith Jennings notices omens in several of his photographs, including premonitions of people's deaths. The Thorns hire a new nanny, Mrs. Baylock, who starts making decisions without asking them. One of her decisions is to adopt a Rottweiler to protect Damien.
A zoo that dislikes the new kid
Damien attacks Katherine near a chapel, and afterward she begins having vivid dreams about him, including one with a jackal skeleton in a red hood. When the family visits a zoo, the animals react violently to Damien. Father Brennan confronts Robert and tells him Damien's mother was a jackal, that Damien is the Antichrist and that he must die. He says a man named Bugenhagen in Megiddo can help, and then he is killed in a lightning storm after Robert rebuffs him. Katherine finds out she is pregnant and wants an abortion, afraid of having a second child like Damien. Damien then causes an accident that injures Katherine badly and she miscarries. Robert and Jennings travel to Subiaco, meet Father Spiletto, and find the grave of Damien's mother, which holds a jackal. In the next tomb is the corpse of Robert's murdered biological son, and a pack of dogs chases the two men away.
Seven daggers and a trip to Megiddo
Mrs. Baylock goes to see Katherine in the hospital and causes an air embolism that kills her. When Robert hears the news he goes to Megiddo and meets Bugenhagen, who tells him how to kill Damien on consecrated ground using seven sacrificial daggers. Bugenhagen also says to look for a birthmark on Damien that forms three sixes. Robert refuses to kill his own son and flings the daggers to the ground. As Jennings reaches down to pick them up, a falling sign decapitates him.
The ending, explained
Robert takes the daggers home, where Mrs. Baylock's Rottweiler attacks him, and he locks it in the basement. Upstairs, in Damien's bedroom, he finds the 666 birthmark on the boy. Mrs. Baylock attacks him too, and he fights her off, grabs Damien and drives toward a cathedral, running Mrs. Baylock over along the way. The police chase him, and he runs into a church to kill Damien, but a Diplomatic Protection officer shoots him dead first. As the Pope dies at the same moment, the President of the United States attends Robert's funeral and holds Damien's hand. Damien looks toward the audience and smirks.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there is a scene after the credits, so stay for a moment if you like.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: not fine, and we're sorry.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is The Omen scary?
Yes, The Omen is a 6 out of 10 with a medium dread level. It has extremely loud jump scares that you can somewhat see coming, plus occult dread around an adopted child.
How does The Omen end?
Robert is shot dead by a Diplomatic Protection officer before he can kill Damien. At the funeral, the President of the United States holds Damien's hand, and Damien smirks.
Does the dog die in The Omen?
Not fine. A dog dies in The Omen.
Is there a post-credits scene in The Omen?
Nobody has confirmed whether The Omen has a scene after the credits, so it is safe to stay for a moment if you like.
Who is Damien in The Omen?
Damien is the boy Robert Thorn adopts in The Omen. Father Brennan says the boy is the Antichrist and was born to a jackal, and Robert later finds a 666 birthmark on him.
