jandriod2012
It's such a shame this series has been cancelled, it had a great deal of potential and was genuinely creepy. Bradley James is excellent as Damien, still looking angelic enough to be the Antichrist. Contrary to other reviewers, I found Barbara Hershey's performance overwrought and hammy. The storyline itself is interesting and I would have liked to have seen where it eventually lead. Sadly the dialogue was poor in parts and some of the supporting cast were weak and extraneous to the plot. I liked the references to The Omen films and there were some good set pieces which neatly tied into the films, and some which mirrored classic scenes. What makes this more interesting is that Damien is not portrayed as a one dimensional character. We see him struggle with his humanity and destiny, is he the Antichrist or can he become a force for good as a prelude to the second coming? There are so many ways this series could have unfolded if only the production company had been brave enough to follow through. By comparison it is much better than some of the rubbish that has continued to be renewed, even The Walking Dead has lost the plot, the last series being one long fight scene. I wish producers/writers/companies would credit audiences with some intelligence and be prepared to take more risks. Anyway, I digress; as I said at the start, this had so much potential if only the production company tightened up the script and plot, had a bit of courage and persevered with the show; shame on them.
RetroRick
There's good and bad to this show, and it seems there's good and bad to the anti-Christ too which is just a tad confusing. At least we might expect the anti-Christ were he to exist to be a bit of a deceiver, pretending to be an all round good egg, while in reality sucking boiled eggs like Louis Cypher in Angel Heart but in Damien we have someone who is actually trying pretty hard to be a good person rather than anything genuinely beastly. That actually is the shows main strength: that someone who in the original 70s film seemed likely to be pretty irredeemable might actually become - as he encounters the competing forces of his identity - genuinely conflicted. Indeed this rendering of the Damien story makes it very clear that even if he literally IS the beast of revelation (yeah, let that sink in) he's at least fifty shades of grey as well. Which brings us to his effect on people. Women fall for him. Well lets face it women would fall at the feet of any man who could claim to be the ultimate bad boy. Even the nun who turns up mid-series looks like she's sublimating lesbian leanings (well she's a TV nun isn't she?) towards the prince of darkness. Perhaps the ultimate bad guy can straighten a woman out and obviously the women around him think they can straighten him out too, well, maybe, turn him into marriage material or something, and for most of the series it looks pretty likely that they might succeed.But ladies, seriously, you can't change who we are, right. Comprendez. Of course while there are some who want to save him from his self and from his apocalyptical destiny there are also some who want to help him fulfil it. Barbara Hershey is one of them, and actually she's a breath of fresh air, probably the best thing in the show. Amazingly this is a woman who's approaching 70 now, but could easily pass for her late 40s. Hershey is easily the strongest character in a series where the ensemble, although fit for purpose are slightly lacking in the necessary gravitas. It is she alone that really gives us the sense of who this guy might some day be, and she does a great job of juggling the facets of devotee and disciplining governess figure, taking over spiritually from that nasty protective governess nanny who appeared in the original film.As for the actor / character Damien himself, he's not entirely satisfactory, although he does OK. On balance I'd say he does a far better job at playing the nice guy than the Leviathan evolving before our eyes. There's still time for him to grow into the character of course, not least because this is someone or some thing that is itself evolving, and spreading its luciferian wings. I am not entirely sure I will join this show for the next series but I am quite curious to discover where Damien will be taken as his inner daemon comes to the fore. Again, the inner tensions of this character who has to face the almost ultimate horror of self-discovery, is an interesting one, but this romantic tortured fallen angel (so beloved of teenage chick fiction) really has to go further than that if it is to present us with something truly, if you will, ungodly. The anti- Christ is supposed to be deceiver, someone who might be capable of brute force and violence on an unimaginable scale, but ultimately there should be something morally fatal about his character - and seductively so as well - not just some external brand such as the mark of the beast. We spend the first series in the company of someone who makes it very clear he doesn't want what fate has given him, and as such he comes across in this sense as someone discovering something alien about himself (for a good comparison consider Mickey Rourke's character in the aforementioned Angel Heart). But should the anti-Christ really come across as fairly innocent. The latter part of the series begins to address this perhaps. But still where is the pride which precedes the fall?
dileepraja-me
This was one of the amazing shows i have ever seen. People who are in to supernatural series should definitely watch this series. In some episodes the acting was poor and the actors delivered dialog poorly. The script lacked the depth expected.The effects are not much. I expected much horror but i ended up disappointed. Although it had lags at some places the series delivered the entertainment and excitement to satisfaction. I definitely enjoyed it more than Walking dead.Some one with not much exceptions could enjoy it more. Too bad it wont have season2, i urge the producers and directors to make the season 2 happen. Enjoyable to the end. :)
