The Final Conflict (1981)

Directed by Graham Barker. Starring Sam Neill, Lisa Harrow, Rossano Brazzi, Don Gordon, Barnaby Holm, Leueen Willoughby, Mason Adams, Robert Adren. [R]

The Antichrist is now an adult played by Neill, poised in a position of power with a legion of followers, but even though he doesn’t have much trouble repelling the occasional clumsy assassination attempt, his plans are at risk of being thwarted by the Second Coming! A completely absurd movie (even by the overwrought standards of the series), featuring the usual assortment of grisly, over-the-top death scenes—the only reason to watch, preferably with a big tub of buttery popcorn—but also a lot of dead air, as self-importance creeps in too often while the filmmakers pathetically set up the stakes for the ultimate (er, underwhelming) showdown at Armageddon…more like “Ar’m-a-gettin’-bored,” ba-dum-dum-tiss. Neill’s a good actor, but nothing he’s capable of doing can make his monologues defying and cursing the “Nazarene” not sound hysterically silly. As for whether the “Nazarene” makes an appearance or not, it’s bound to disappoint the expectations/hopes of both camps. The passage of ten years rendered the title as false advertising when the series was extended by the made-for-television The Omen IV: The Awakening.

40/100