The original 1976 scary movie is fantastic, the second film was quite good, and The Final Conflict was silly, this was the only one in the franchise I had yet to see, I knew being made for TV it was going to be the worst one, directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard (Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers) and Jorge Montesi. Basically, Virginia congressman Gene York (Michael Woods) and his attorney wife Karen (Faye Grant), have tried and failed numerous times to have a child. They decide to adopt, visiting a nun-owned orphanage where they meet Sister Yvonne (Megan Leitch) and adopt a baby girl whom they name Delia. Apart from baby Delia scratching Karen and panicking when being baptised, everything seems fine. Following the attempted baptism, Father Hayes (David Cameron) suffers a fatal heart attack. Aged 3, Delia (Brianne Harrett) runs out into the road chasing a rottweiler and is almost by an oncoming truck. Following this, the Yorks adopt the dog as protection for their daughter, naming it Ryder. At age 7, it becomes clear there is something wrong with Delia (introducing Asia Vieira), as she displays a sociopathic personality with violent and manipulative traits. Soon, strange events begin to occur around Delia. Morris Creighton (Serge Houde), the father of a boy who was bullying Delia, is killed in a bizarre car accident. While horse riding, Delia scares several of the animals and her horse suddenly bolts and throws her to the ground. She is taken to the hospital and seems fine, but the family doctor Dr. Lou Hastings (Madison Mason) reveals that Delia is already going through puberty, she is menstruating. Jo Thueson (Ann Hearn), a New Age practitioner, is hired as a nanny for Delia. She may have psychic powers, wears healing crystals, and is highly suspicious of Delia. Jo's friend Noah (Jim Byrnes), an aura reader, suggests she takes Delia to a fair to meet with other psychics, who all sense a feeling of unease around the girl. Jo manages to get Noah to take a photograph of Delia before she storms off. As Noah sees the photograph showing very dark colours, Delia causes a fire that sets the entire fairground ablaze. Though Noah warns her to leave after showing her the photo, Jo tries to confront Delia about her negative energy. She discovers Delia's true identity, as being a spawn of the Devil. But before she can share this information with anyone, Ryder attacks her, and she is sent plummeting out of a window to her death. Karen, who witnesses the fall, faints from shock and is taken to the hospital, where she learns that she is pregnant. Becoming increasingly alarmed and paranoid of her adoptive daughter, Karen turns to her preacher, Father James Mattson (Duncan Fraser). He tells her about the prophecy of the Antichrist, and she becomes concerned for the safety of her unborn baby. Karen decides to find out more about Delia and returns to the orphanage, learning that Sister Yvonne mysteriously left after Delia was adopted. Karen hires private investigator Earl Knight (Michael Lerner) to find Delia's biological parents. Knight's search takes him to Charlotte, North Carolina, where he locates Sister Yvonne, now going by the name Felicity. Karen is terrified by Delia during the night, then goes into labour, giving birth to a healthy baby boy. Knight finds Felicity taking part in a bizarre snake-handling ceremony, standing in a circle surrounded by venomous rattlesnakes in a display of divinity. Earl shows Felicity a recent photograph of Delia and unintentionally causes her to be bitten numerous times by snakes. After speaking to her in her dying moments, Knight finds clippings in Felicity's trailer relating to Gene. Unable to return to Virginia due to winter conditions, Knight sends Karen a letter of his findings in the mail. After doing so, he looks in a toy shop window of a toy crane. Shortly after, this premonition comes true, when a construction crane nearby bizarrely swings itself and crashes through a building, the impact of the hook kills Knight. After returning home with her baby son, Alexander, Karen finds out about Yvonne and Knight's deaths. Karen receives Knight's letter that details Damien Thorn, the previous Antichrist. She then goes to see Dr. Hastings, revealed to a Satanic disciple; she tortures him to get answers and he confirms Damien Thorn is Delia's biological father. He also reveals that Alexander is Delia's twin brother, his embryo was carried inside Delia before being implanted into Karen by Hastings. Karen kills Hastings with a scalpel before returning home armed with his gun. She kills the new nanny, Lisa Roselli (Andrea Mann), also a disciple of Hell, only to find Delia waiting for her. Delia is holding Alexander and draws attention to the baby's birthmark, the number of the beast "666" on the palm of his hand. Influenced by the baby's power, Karen ends up shooting herself. Afterward, Gene, Delia, and Alexander attend her funeral and walk home together; it is unclear if Gene was also a disciple. Also starring Don S. Davis as Jake Madison, Joy Coghill as Sister Francesca, and Susan Chapple as Mother Superior. Grant and Lerner are okay as the adoptive parents, Vieira is reasonable as the Devil's daughter, and Lerner does alright as the detective. The story is unoriginal, changing the antagonist into a little girl makes no difference, you can tell the production is television budget, the attempts to be scary are pointless, the "coincidental" deaths are lame, and the Bible references are tiresome, easily the worst in the series, a dull supernatural horror. Pretty poor!
Review of Omen IV: The Awakening
