The Final Conflict (1981) Movie Script
This way.
50,000 years ago, mankind faced
its first major threat of extinction,
a devastation rocked by nature: the Ice Age.
It lasted 5,000 years, rendered four fifths
of the earth's surface uninhabitable,
and wiped out all but the hardiest
of nature's creations.
One of these few was man.
From that devastation
dawned a new age - and a new hope.
Phoenix-like, man arose from the frozen
wilderness and set forth upon his dream.
Mankind has endured
many catastrophes since then,
but none so grave
as the one which faces him today.
The economic crisis of the past decade
has brought inflation, famine and chaos
to every corner of the globe.
Some label it the Great Recession.
Others are calling it Armageddon,
that final upheaval of the world
foretold by the prophets of old.
But amid all the pessimism,
one voice rings out its faith in the future:
Thorn, the world's leading light
in building a new tomorrow.
Trite, rhetorical,
clich?d, inane.
Viewers don't pay
much attention to that, Damien.
No, you're right. And there won't be
much attention to that bullshit either.
I said I wanted action, not words.
I wanna see Thorn at work.
A thousand starving kids
clamouring for a bellyful of Thorn soya.
Thorn medical teams,
construction, engineering.
Instead of which, you spend half the
commercial giving us a third-grade version
of the history of the Ice Age.
Do we have footage of
the Australian drought relief?
Sure, but nothing new,
and most of it's been seen on TV already.
We'll find you something.
In the meantime, go with the old commercial.
I don't want that one used.
- What have we got coming up?
- Botswana next week, then the Aswan Dam.
- Can we get a film unit to Botswana?
- Sure, but no relief unit till after the coup.
- No one's sure how long that's gonna take.
- All right. It'll have to be the Aswan Dam.
Have a film unit there when it goes.
Make sure they give our relief units coverage.
Don't let the Red Cross beat them to it.
Why don't you go?
Now that would be a real coup.
Damien Thorn
supervising relief work in person!
No, I've got to stay here.
- What for?
- To be on hand when the president calls me.
He's gonna offer me the post
of ambassador to Great Britain.
- I beg your pardon?
- Are you familiar with the Book of Hebron?
No, I don't know anything
about the Book of Hebron.
It's in the Apocrypha - one of the more
obscure backwaters of the Septuagint Bible.
"And it shall come to pass
that in the end days
the beast shall reign one hundred score
and thirty days and nights."
"And the faithful shall cry unto the Lord:
Wherefore art thou in the day of evil?"
"And the Lord shall hear their prayers."
"And out of the angel isle
he shall bring forth a deliverer,
a holy lamb of God
who shall do battle with the beast...
and shall destroy him."
"The beast shall reign one hundred score
and thirty days and nights"
is another way of saying seven years.
That's the time I've been head of Thorn.
"And out of the angel isle
he shall bring forth a deliverer."
The "angel isle" - the original Latin
has "exinsula angelorum".
England.
The Second Coming.
Only it won't be the beast that is destroyed.
It'll be the Nazarene.
You said you were gonna be offered
the post of ambassador to Great Britain.
What about our present ambassador?
Afternoon, sir.
Good afternoon, Mr. Ambassador.
Good afternoon, Mr. Ambassador.
I just had Mr. Sears on the line.
- No calls from anyone.
- He said it was urgent and I was to remind...
- Press office.
- This is the ambassador.
I want a press conference.
Three o'clock.
Come in.
Oh, my God!
I know that.
No. I'm not giving out any statements -
to him or to anyone else.
It'll only make matters worse.
Make sure that the cable
is noncommittal as well.
Yeah.
Let me see it before you send it.
Gee. Can you believe that?
Some sons of bitches from
the Egyptian opposition party
want us to endorse their condemnation
of Israel for blowing up the Aswan Dam.
How the hell do we know
Israels responsible?
- My guess is it's the work of the NLF.
- Who?
The Nubian Liberation Front -
a quasi-Marxist outfit.
They've had a gripe against Cairo since the
'60s, when the High Aswan Dam was built.
They claim that it submerged 50 per cent
of their homeland, which, of course, it did.
Until now.
How'd you get this information?
One of our Thorn relief teams - they were
on the scene ahead of the Egyptians.
I wanna take a look at that.
It's quite unofficial, of course.
I don't have to point out to you that... if we
can prove it had nothing to do with Israel,
we could be averting
one mother of a major flare-up.
I'll have to check it myself. I wouldn't want
to feed the White House false information.
As to the other matter,
I'm afraid I can't accept the post.
If I were ambassador to Great Britain,
I'd have to relinquish my control over Thorn.
Hell, no! We can take care of that for you.
- It is against the law.
- Then we'll just have to bend it a little.
But there are two other conditions.
What?
Well, first,
it could only be for two years,
because of running for the Senate in '84.
And second, I'd want
the presidency of the Youth Council.
- I've already promised that to Foster.
- I realise it's a problem.
The NL... what?
The Nubian Liberation Front.
- Craig.
- Yes, Mr. President.
I've just appointed Mr. Damien Thorn as our
new ambassador to the Court of St James.
Have Eisenberg prepare
a press release to that effect.
Right away, Mr. President.
- Craig.
- Yes, Mr. President.
Add to that that I've also
appointed Mr. Thorn
as president of
the United Nations Youth Council.
- But I thought...
- Just do it... will you?
Well, Damien,
your father would have been
very proud of you.
I appreciate your sentiments, sir.
Cassiopeia. Right ascension.
One hour, 16 minutes, 12.
Select declination at 22 degrees
on an eight-by-four ratio.
Super grid R-3 at eight diagonal.
- Eight diagonal.
- Increase focal length to max.
- Hold. OK, Tony. Hard copy.
- Right.
Can I see the cell from June 1953?
June 1953...
Right here.
And... December 1928.
- Well, what would you say?
- I'd say I was dreaming.
- And the rate of acceleration?
- A couple of thousand parsecs, minimum!
- I'd say we're in for one hell of a bang.
- No. An alignment, not a collision.
Let's transfer to the simulator, see if
we can't get an accurate schedule predict.
Right.
Whenever you're ready.
..verbo sanctifiicatur omnia
benedictionem tuam effunde
super scuti istas.
Per Christum dominum nostrum.
Amen.
Oh, blessed Saviour,
who hath, through the confession
of thy departed servant Father Spiletto,
revealed unto us the identity
of the Antichrist here on earth.
Grant us thy strength and guidance
in our holy mission,
that we may rid the world of Damien Thorn
and thus ensure the safety
of thy Second Coming.
Oh, Lord,
bless these seven sacred knives
from Megiddo,
which thou hast seen fit to return unto us,
that they may serve their holy purpose
and destroy the Prince of Darkness,
even as he seeketh to destroy
thy child of light.
I now call upon each of you
to come forward
and arm yourselves in the name of the Lord.
Brother Martin.
Brother Paulo.
Each of us must pray to our Lord
in the silence of his own soul.
Since we are prepared to lay down our lives
in the pursuit of this enterprise,
we must seek
final absolution from God now,
Lest we be denied the redemption
of the blessed last sacrament
at the moment of death.
Above all, we must ask God to grant us
courage, guidance and strength,
as we prepare to do battle
with Satan and his son, the Antichrist.
The exact hour of our Lord's Second Coming,
for which centuries have wept,
has now been revealed to us
by signs in the heavens.
It is imperative that the destruction
of the Antichrist takes place before then,
and we have but a short time
in which to carry it out.
My brothers, remember that
these seven daggers and ourselves
are all that stand between
the son of Satan and the Son of God,
for they alone can destroy him.
- Can't quite place it, can you?
- No.
Waiter, let me have a look at the label on
the bottle of wine we're drinking, will you?
Is he really only 32?
No idea. Shouldn't be surprised.
Americans always seem to think
- they can run before they can walk.
- Like their wine, what?
The answer is yes. He's the youngest
ambassador ever appointed by the president.
- Are you part of his staff?
- I'm his private secretary, Harvey Dean.
- Kate Reynolds, British television.
- My wife Barbara.
- How do you do?
- We're fine.
- Lafite-Thorn.
- Must have bought the bugger out!
Amazing what they can make
with soya beans these days.
- Would you like to meet the ambassador?
- Yes. Yes, I would. Thank you.
Be back in a jiffy.
- Good evening, Mrs. Dean.
- Hello.
- When is the happy event?
- Next week, I hope.
Damien. I'd like you to meet Kate Reynolds.
Miss Reynolds works for British television.
She has her own weekly news show.
It's called The Worldin Vision.
- In Focus.
- Excuse me. The Worldin Focus.
Or out of focus, as the case may be.
How do you do, Miss Reynolds?
The Barbara Walters of British television?
On my salary? They don't call us the
British Broadcasting Charity for nothing(!)
Well, that makes two of us. I'm in the charity
business as well. What can I do for you?
Actually, I'd like to talk about
doing an interview with you sometime,
concentrating on your views on youth. I've
heard a lot about them from my son Peter.
He's only 12, but your ideas
have made a big impression on him.
Excuse me.
The Israeli ambassador has to go.
Of course. I'd be pleased to talk to you.
Give Harvey a call. He'll arrange a time.
- How about Sunday?
- Well, Sundays I usually spend with Peter.
Fine. Bring Peter along too. Excuse me.
Come on, you two! You'll get wet!
Mummy, look what Damien's given me!
- No, you can't.
- He can. He just did.
It's safer with him. If I have a collision,
we might have some sort of
international crisis on our hands.
I'm not sure you should spoil him so much.
Well, to tell you the truth,
he's been spoiling me.
It's not every day
you get the chance to be a boy again.
Well...
English weather.
- Go on, dog. Go and get it.
- Tell me about Peter's father.
He died just after Peter was born.
- Have you never thought of getting married?
- No. I'm too much of a skeptic.
- Oh, yes?
- Besides, I've never really had the time.
Peter's always wanted me to buy him a dog.
Well, you should.
Dogs and boys go great together.
We've had one of these dogs
in the family since I was a kid.
- They used to march with the Roman army.
- Did they?
They're as old as sin.
- Feel like some lunch?
- Good idea.
..probably realised my favourite subject
is me, not only because I'm very beautiful...
I am beautiful!
People from all over the world
came for our actors,
but where are the new ones gonna train
if we haven't got any stages?
And the reason we haven't got stages
is because people are not going to the theatre!
They are watching television.
You're sitting in a bar, and at 11 o'clock
they say "You have 10 minutes to drink up."
You've paid a fortune for that drink
and they throw you out in the streets.
"The day of Christ is at hand" wrote St Paul
in his second letter to the Thessalonians.
"Yet let no man be deceived,
for that day shall not come
until the man of sins is revealed,
the son of perdition, the Antichrist."
"And be not deceived by him,
for Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light."
The hour of Christ's Second Coming draws
nigh. The prophecies fulfilled one by one.
Right now, my friends,
in the constellation of Cassiopeia,
a holy trinity of stars is converging
to herald our Lord's Second Coming.
"Rejoice, you heavens and you that dwell
in them" commands St John in Revelation.
"But woe to you, sea and earth, for the devil
hath come down to you in great fury,
knowing that his time is short,
and the Prince of Darkness shall be mighty."
"And he shall flourish
and destroy the mighty."
"And he shall cause craft
to prosper in his hands."
"And by peace shall he destroy many!"
I followed them through the crowd,
but couldn't get close enough.
He was with a woman and a boy of about 11.
- Who was the woman?
- She's a television interviewer.
I asked someone who went
up to her for an autograph.
Kate Reynolds.
She apparently is quite some celebrity.
- And the boy?
- Probably her son.
Please, Father, let it be me. Let me be
the bait to flush him out and destroy him.
- Thorn and I have made contact eye to eye.
- That is exactly why it cannot be you.
We have to strike him off guard.
Yet the target must be still...
for the marksman to be sure of his aim.
A sitting target...
- A sleeping target?
- No. His residence is guarded day and night.
- How about the embassy?
- Impossible.
There's our sitting target.
Where?
The Israeli government has denied
responsibility for the Aswan Dam disaster,
which has so far claimed
the lives ofover50,000 Egyptians,
though many fear that the final
death toll may reach twice that number.
Already typhoid has broken out among the
country's thousands of homeless refugees...
- It's OK. I'll do it myself.
- ..and a major epidemic seems unavoidable.
The Egyptian government has revealed
that Thorn is supplying soya...
At the centre of Thorns global operations is
a man who has become a legend for his time:
Damien Thorn.
Did you see that woman?
It's not a woman. It's a guy. It's a faggot!
- Dressed up like a woman. It's a faggot!
- They're all God's children, Harvey.
..in a career that's already being compared
to that of the late John F Kennedy.
After majoring at Yale, Damien Thorn
came to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar,
where he captained the Oxford eight to
victory and won the Westchester Cup at polo.
In 1971 he took over
his uncle's business, Thorn industries,
and in seven years has turned it
into the world's largest multinational,
producing everything from nuclear
armaments to soya bean food products.
And now, at the age of 32,
Damien Thorn has...
Are you lost?
You're not connected
with this programme, are you?
- This is stage eight, isn't it?
- Four.
- Studio eight's the next one along.
- Yes. Thank you.
A brilliant career
for one so young, Mr. Ambassador.
Not when you remember
that Alexander the Great
was commanding
the Macedonian army at 16.
Of course, that's how many people view you -
as a sort of 20th-century Alexander,
Leading the world out of the doldrums of
recession into the golden era of prosperity.
- You've seen too many of our commercials.
- But it is the image you put across.
Well, the image of Thorn as a corporation,
not a personal image of myself.
But yes, it's true. I certainly have
tremendous optimism for the future,
and I wanna see Thorn play
a major part in achieving it.
You have an interest in young people.
What are your plans as president
of the United Nations Youth Council?
A great many things, but I think
the most important task I have
is to help young people gain
a more prominent role in world affairs
than the one we currently
afford them, or rather deny them.
I mean, what is this arrogance that makes us
think that we know better than them?
We call them immature and naive. "Wait till
you're grown-up. Then we'll listen to you."
What we really mean is "Wait till you're
grown old. Then you'll think the way we do."
And so youth stands aside because
it has no other choice, and we set to work.
We ply them with our values,
we indoctrinate them with our mediocrity.
Until finally they emerge from
their brainwashing education
as so-called fully fledged citizens,
clipped, impotent, and above all safe.
Damien!
Grab one of these extinguishers! Come on!
God!
I need a drink.
I keep seeing that face.
How about you? You want one?
That was an assassination attempt.
What?
I found this on the studio floor.
This is one of the seven knives of Megiddo -
the only thing on earth that can kill me.
They were discovered in Israel
when I was a child.
An archaeologist, Bugenhagen, found them.
He gave them to my father to destroy me.
But I had the love of my true father
to protect me.
You said there were seven.
Where are the other six?
That's what we have to find out.
Someone must have dug them up
from the old Thorn Museum in Chicago.
And now they're in the hands
of someone who knows who I am.
And whoever knows who you are
must also know the prophecy.
Get hold of Buher right away. Tell him
to get to Chicago as soon as he can.
Excuse me, sir. The Harley Street Hospital
has just telephoned for Mr. Dean.
Barbara. I...
She went into labor this afternoon.
Can I borrow your car?
Call by the embassy first.
Get hold of Buher right away.
Are you OK, Damien?
"In a statement issued
from the American embassy,
Ambassador Thorn stated that he was
satisfied that there was no connection
between himself
and the unfortunate victim."
Thorn knows it was no accident.
Our priority now is to locate
the holy child as soon as he's born.
Brother Simeon and Brother Antonio,
I want you to make ready to come with me
tonight to ascertain his birthplace,
for the hour draws near.
The rest of you must wait until we return
before deciding how we proceed.
Our efforts must be
strictly coordinated next time.
We can't afford to make a second mistake.
- George.
- Yes, Mr. Ambassador?
- I won't be needing anything else tonight.
- Right you are, sir. Good night.
My father,
Lord of silence, supreme god of desolation,
who mankind reviles yet aches to embrace,
strengthen my purpose to save the world
from a second ordeal of Jesus Christ
and his grubby, mundane creed.
2,000 years have been enough.
Show man instead
the raptures of thy kingdom.
Infuse in him the grandeur of melancholy,
the divinity of loneliness,
the purity of evil,
the paradise... of pain.
What perverted imagination has fed man the
lie that hell festers in the bowels of the earth?
There is only one hell -
the leaden monotony of human existence.
There is only one heaven.
The ecstasy of my father's kingdom.
Nazarene charlatan,
what can you offer humanity?
Since the hour you vomited forth
from the gaping wound of a woman,
you've done nothing
but drown man's soaring desires
in a deluge of sanctimonious morality.
You've inflamed the pubertal mind of youth
with your repellent dogma of original sin.
And now you're resolved on denying
him ultimate joy beyond death
by destroying me!
But you will fail, Nazarene.
As you have always failed.
We were both created in man's image.
But while you were born
of an impotent god,
I was conceived of a jackal.
Born of Satan, the desolate one,
the nail...
Your pain on the cross was but a splinter
compared to the agony of my father,
cast out from heaven,
the fallen angel,
banished, reviled...
I would drive deeper the thorns
into your rancid carcass,
you profaner of vices.
Cursed Nazarene.
Satan,
I will avenge thy torment
by destroying the Christ for ever.
Father De Carlo, welcome. Gentlemen.
The simulator has established
the approximate location
over which the three stars are to converge.
- How accurate is that?
- To about 50 square kilometers.
Once the alignment has taken place, we can
narrow it down to the nearest square metre.
Excuse me, sir. We're at T minus 500.
The final countdown is about to start.
There, gentlemen, are your three stars.
The waiting of 2,000 years... is at an end.
Mr. Ambassador!
Is there any connection between
the accident at the BBC and today's news?
- No.
- What about Schroeder's revelation
that the Israelis were responsible
for the Aswan Dam disaster?
- If it's true, it's a sad blow to world peace.
- Is that an official condemnation?
I condemn all violence,
but it's too early for that.
The Soviet Union's offered
support to Egypt for retaliation.
- How do you react to that?
- Gentlemen, I have nothing else to say.
Mr. Ambassador, I tried calling you
last night but there was no reply.
Isn't there something we can do
to make up for what happened?
- Like what?
- Well, like...
- Like finishing the interview?
- Well, yes.
All right. But I'd sooner
we did it at my place than yours.
Yours is a little... dramatic for my taste.
Why not stay on for dinner afterwards?
- I'd love to.
- All right. I'll have Harvey fix it.
Fine.
No, a boy.
Yeah, he sure is ugly.
Yeah.
All right. Thanks, Paul. Yeah.
Yeah, I'll talk to you later.
That was Buher. He just sent over
the NLF report to the White House.
He said it's so full of holes,
you can drive a truck through it.
Thanks for the flowers.
Barbara really appreciated...
And the daggers?
Apparently all seven came up
for auction a few months back.
They were bought by a priest, and he passed
them on to a monastery in Italy - Subi...
Subiaco. The monastery of San Benedetto.
Yeah, Subiaco.
We've got our people in Italy working on it.
- Unless something happens, they should...
- It's too late.
They're here in England
for the birth of the Nazarene.
Trying to destroy me before I destroy them.
He was born last night. I feel his presence.
Like a virus, a parasite,
feeding on my energy,
trying to drain me of power.
For every day that he lives and grows,
my force will weaken.
Hide if you must, Nazarene,
but I will hunt you down.
- Why is he just sitting there?
- Waiting for me to follow him.
He must be an idiot if he thinks
you're gonna do something like that.
- He knows that's exactly what I intend to do.
- But what if he's got one of those daggers?
I'll be wasting my time if he hasn't.
Matteus here. I'm 10 minutes away.
Thorn's about... 500 yards behind me.
Enough!
Enough. It's done.
But it was him! I saw him! I saw him!
- Sweet Saviour, spare our minds.
- We're possessed!
Spare our minds!
Down there! It's our only way out!
- It's bricked up!
- It's closed here too.
There is no way out!
We're trapped!
There are still three daggers left.
But I can't afford to waste any more time.
The only way to be rid of the Nazarene
is to kill every male child in the country
born between midnight and dawn
- on March 24th.
- How can we be sure he's in the country?
"And he shall come forth out of the
angel isle." That's what the prophecy says.
One thing pedantic Christians believe in
is sticking to the letter of their prophecies.
- How's Barbara?
- Fine.
- And your son?
- Fine. He's fine.
He was born on March the 23rd, wasn't he?
Yeah, yeah. Sure. He was born
10 minutes before midnight, March 23rd.
Whenever you're ready, Mr. Ambassador.
Liquidate the Nazarene.
Me? How?
That's what our people are for.
Now, call a meeting for Sunday.
I'll make my own way there after the hunt.
Chin up, old boy.
Thank you, my dear. I've been waiting
for this drink since the last meet.
Stay close to Susan at the back,
and don't go showing off to Damien.
- Don't worry. You'll still get blooded.
- What does blooded mean?
You know perfectly well what it means.
If it's your first hunt and they catch a fox,
they smear blood all over your cheeks.
Satisfied?
Take care.
Well, Mr. Ambassador,
you've got the fastest horse in the hunt.
And it's a lovely morning for you.
OK, boys.
Take him.
Damien!
Damien, did you catch one?
The hounds didn't leave
too many souvenirs, but...
I saved some of the blood.
Can you blood me? Does it count?
It does with me.
Disciples of the watch,
I stand before you
in the name of the one true god,
who was cast out from heaven but is alive
in me.
Do you hear me?
We hear and obey. We hear and obey.
I now command you
to seek out and destroy the Nazarene child.
Slay the Nazarene,
and I shall reign for ever.
Fail,
and I perish.
Slay the Nazarene,
and you, my disciples,
shall truly inherit this earth.
Fail,
and you will perish without trace.
Slay the Nazarene,
and you will know the violent raptures
of my father's kingdom.
Fail,
and you will be condemned
to a numbing eternity
in the flaccid bosom of Christ.
Do you hear me?
We hear and obey.
Disciples of the watch,
there must be no delay.
Slay the Nazarene,
and the victory will be ours,
now... and for ever more.
Do you hear me?
We hear. We hear.
We're going for a walk now, aren't we?
With Auntie Carol, hey?
- Barbara!
- Hi. I'll be with you in just a minute.
There you go. All wrapped up.
- Harvey!
- Yeah?
I'm just going shopping with Carol.
I'm gonna take Junior with me, OK?
Listen, don't forget to pick up
my stuff from the cleaner's.
- No, I won't. I'll see you later.
- Bye.
Peterson? Harvey Dean.
I said "I'm not paying you that much.
You've only been here for two hours."
- What do you expect me to say?
- You've got such a nerve.
The Brookman family at 23 Ormsby Road,
Sefton Park, Liverpool.
Listen, Peterson, I don't give a shit
how you feel about this! Just do the job!
OK.
Now... Sefton Park, Liverpool.
And the boy's name is Christopher.
Kirkby Towers.
Kirkby 14.
Boy's name is Alexander David.
OK?
By Tuesday night.
Right.
Blake? Dean.
Why don't you and Harvey
come over for a meal?
Yeah. OK. That's nice.
I'll call you later. Bye.
We'll soon be home and you can have
something nice to eat. Are you hungry?
Who's a good boy, then?
Can you hear me?
No!
No!
- Name this child...
- Alexander David.
I baptise you Alexander David,
in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
We receive this child into
the congregation of Christ's flock,
and sign him with the sign of the cross.
Morning, missis. We've come
to do our good deed for the day.
We're devoting the first part
of our programme
to a disturbing phenomenon that's been
puzzling both doctors and police this week.
The mysterious deaths of numbers of babies
in the kind of circumstances
that coroners are fond
of terming "misadventure".
At the turn of the century, the infant mortality
rate stoodata staggering 34per cent.
In 1945 it dropped to 16 per cent.
And nowadays it's been cutback to under
two per cent. That is, until last week.
In Greater London, 17 babies
have died in the last seven days,
with a further 14 deaths reported
from Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester,
Leeds and Liverpool. These may
not sound unduly high figures,
but nationwide they represent
a chilling 15 to 20 per cent increase
- in the mortality rate.
- Harvey...
- Details are still sketchy at the moment.
- It's just a coincidence, that's all.
..except one - in every case
the victim has been a baby boy.
To throw further light on the subject,
I have with me Dr Richard Philmore
from the Ministry of Health
and Social Security.
- Tell me, what explanation do you have?
- Barbara?
It's too soon for us to make any statement,
but Id like to correct you
on a point that you just made.
It really is quite inaccurate
to speak of a 20 per centrise
in the infant mortality rate index.
Our statistics are based on annual averages
and not on weekly fluctuations.
But you admit there's been an unexplained
increase in the deaths among baby boys?
A rise, but nothing compared to the rise you'd
expect to find during, say, a flu epidemic.
Surely, Dr. Philmore,
we're not talking about a flu epidemic.
We're talking about
household burns, drownings,
car accidents, suffocation,
food poisonings, electrocution.
Scotland Yard has assured us that in their
opinion there is no question of foul play
in any of the mortalities reported.
Forgive me if I speak bluntly,
but your kind of scaremonger reporting
is the kind of behaviour
that brings the media into bad repute.
- Night, Miss Reynolds.
- Night, Bill.
Miss Reynolds.
I need to talk to you urgently.
- It's about your programme about the deaths.
- A protest march of one. How disappointing.
On the contrary, I congratulate you
on your perceptiveness.
Well?
- May we go inside?
- I'm sorry...
- Father De Carlo.
- I've had a long day, Father.
If you call my secretary,
she'll make an appointment.
I told you, I need to talk to you urgently.
OK. But... please keep your voice down.
My son's asleep.
"Then Herod sent forth and slew
all the children that were in Bethlehem
and in all the coasts thereof,
according to the time of the birth of Jesus,
which he had diligently
inquired of the wise men."
What are you talking about?
You stated that the common factor
about these killings is
that all the victims have been baby boys.
But there is another common factor.
All the boys were born between midnight
and 6am on the morning of March 24th.
Every child that's still living born
between those hours is in mortal danger,
- if he has not already been killed.
- Are you suggesting they've been murdered?
No, no, I am not. I am stating it as a fact.
- Who on earth would do such a thing?
- He is born again, Miss Reynolds.
And so is the Antichrist. The son of Satan.
As foretold in the Book of Revelation.
I'm sorry, Father. Look, I do respect
your faith, but I don't share it.
- You are not a practising Christian?
- No, I'm a practising journalist.
One rule of journalism
is to be a doubting Thomas.
I need to see evidence with my own two eyes.
Right.
Here is your evidence.
Check them for yourself.
Copies of the dead boys' birth certificates
from the central registry office.
In every case, the child was born
on the morning of March 24th.
Even if I can't appeal to your faith,
I appeal to your logic.
Why else would someone want to destroy
all children born on that date,
were it not in an effort
to destroy one child in particular?
That child is our blessed Saviour,
Jesus Christ, reborn.
Thus fulfilling his promise that,
at the end of times,
he shall come again to deliver
the world from the Antichrist.
And who exactly is this... Antichrist?
The American ambassador, Damien Thorn.
That's ridiculous! I know Damien Thorn.
You may know the man.
Do you know his soul?
Miss Reynolds,
I am a religious man, not a fanatic.
One of the commandments of my faith is
that we shall not
bear false witness against any man.
If I had one shred of doubt
about Damien Thorn,
my faith would command me
to remain silent.
But I've watched him now for 27 years,
ever since his father came to our monastery
to seek help in destroying him.
I've watched him grow from a boy into a man,
seen him exterminate
all those who stood in his way.
Very well. You know Thorn, the man.
I'll leave you with our research on him.
But you must satisfy yourself
before reaching your opinion.
And when you have done so, I would urge
that you contact me as soon as possible,
at this address.
Here.
Day or night.
I...
I can't promise you anything, Father.
You say I know only Thorn, the man -
not his soul.
But if I don't even know my own soul,
how can I see into his?
Only God can show you that.
There is, however, one sign
that identifies him as the Antichrist.
You will find it
in the Book of Revelation, as I told you.
You will also find it on Thorn himself.
Under his hair.
Here.
The birthmark of the devil.
6... 6... 6.
I'll let myself out. Good night, Miss Reynolds.
And may God guide your decision.
The Israelis are onto Schroeder.
We've got to eliminate him - now!
Before they have a chance to make him talk.
Then do it.
But we can't get close to him.
They've got him in Tel Aviv.
- Damien, you're the only one that can do it.
- You can handle it.
- I just told you. We can't get...
- And I told you
that every day the Nazarene lives,
my force would weaken.
- Now, how many boys are left?
- Three or four.
- Including your son?
- Now, wait a minute.
I've already told you,
he was born March 23rd.
- Now you gotta believe me.
- I'll believe you when the Nazarene is dead.
Yes?
Who is this?
It's Kate Reynolds' son.
He's calling from a coin box.
- But how'd he get this number?
- I gave it to him.
Hello, Peter?
Good. Now, listen carefully.
I want you to follow him wherever he goes,
and make sure he doesn't see you, OK?
Yeah, and call me as soon as you find out.
All right.
Be careful, Damien. His mother
was on the phone earlier this morning.
- She wants to see you.
- Why didn't you tell me?
- I wanna talk to her.
- Because she's dangerous.
I decide who's dangerous and who isn't.
Now, get her on the phone,
and tell her I wanna see her
tomorrow at the house.
And don't mention Peter.
Hi, honey! I'm home!
What are you doing in here?
Don't you come anywhere near him,
you murderer!
Murderer? What are you talking about?
You lay one finger on him,
and I'll butcher you,
just like you've butchered
all these other children.
A priest came by today. He came to warn me
that Damien Thorn is the Antichrist,
and he'll murder my baby, like he's killed
these others that were born on the same day.
- You believe some religious maniac?
- No!
I found the proof myself!
You don't know what you've done.
I once hosted a programme,
And Now For The Good News,
- which won an RTA award.
- Really?
For the lowest audience
viewing figure of the year.
Yet now I'm reporting death and destruction,
and my show's gone to the top of the ratings.
- Everyone loves a mystery.
- I think it goes deeper than that.
We might aspire after good,
but our real fascination lies with evil.
- Don't you agree?
- Not really.
Most people confuse evil with
their own trivial lusts and perversions.
Now, true evil is as pure as innocence.
Then what is evil?
Come on.
- I'll show you where Old Nick hangs out.
- Old who?
Old Nick.
He's down there somewhere,
lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce.
He must be at least 40 by now.
We first met when I was about four.
We've been old friends ever since.
You know Old Nick is the name
for the devil in England?
Of course I know.
But it's a great name for a pike.
Do you believe in God?
I think you know the answer
to that question already.
- Look, there it goes!
- Where?
Down there.
Damien! Help me!
Damien! I can't...
Help me!
Well, that should fit you.
I feel like a moth
that's flown too close to the flame.
But who is the moth,
and who's the flame?
Don't stop, Damien.
Don't stop.
Please don't stop.
What's the matter? What's the matter?
You wanna see what I see?
I want you, Damien.
You're hurting me.
Birth is pain. Death is pain.
Beauty is pain.
Damien?
- Was Schroeder on the Thorn payola or not?
- No statement.
- Can't we talk to Ambassador Thorn?
- The ambassador is unavailable.
- He's not even here.
- Where is he?
When he is ready to make a statement,
we will let you know.
Damien, I thought you were up at the house.
The press are goin' crazy for a statement.
I can hold 'em off until I've talked to Buher,
but you're gonna have to...
What was De Carlo doing
at your house yesterday?
Who?
Now, come on, Dean. Just give me the truth.
I'm telling the truth. I've never
heard of De Carlo before in my life.
Peter.
- Go ahead, Peter.
- "At half past three yesterday afternoon,
I saw the priest called De Carlo
go to 144 Abbey Crescent,
where he spent an hour and 22 minutes
talking to the wife of Mr. Dean."
Damien... Look, l...
I didn't know he was a priest.
- I didn't know Barbara would...
- Kill your son!
What?!
There's only one boy left, and that's your son.
Destroy him... or be destroyed.
Damien, for the love of God!
"And God said unto Abraham:
Take now thy son, thine only Isaac,
whom thou lovest,
and offer him for a burnt offering."
Now, if Abraham was willing to slay
his own son for the love of his god,
- why won't you do the same for mine?
- You're all crazy.
Crazy.
Aren't you gonna stop him?
There's no need.
Go on! Go away!
Go on!
There, now. It's OK, honey. He...
Barbara! Start packing!
Barbara?
Ten o'clock, Miss Reynolds.
Locking up in five minutes.
Coming.
Miss Reynolds.
- What are you doing here?
- You saw him, didn't you?
You know Thorn is the Antichrist,
so why are you protecting him?
Either you get out of here or I'll call security.
Your son... Where is he?
- He's in bed and asleep, of course.
- He is not.
Your son is with Damien Thorn.
In body and soul. Your son has become
an apostle of the Antichrist.
You think Peter's been at school
for the past three days?
Check with the school
if you don't believe me.
He's been working for Thorn,
conspiring to murder the holy child.
They won't succeed.
The holy child is beyond
his powers now. He's safe.
But your child is not. There is only
one way to save your son, Miss Reynolds.
And that's by destroying the Antichrist.
- Are you asking me...?
- No. No, Miss Reynolds.
That is to be my sacred task.
But if you value your son's immortal soul,
you must help me to carry it out.
Hurry along, Miss Reynolds.
We're locking up.
I'll be out in a moment.
- I'm going home to my son.
- Then I beg you to let me come with you.
There will be no time to lose
when you find he's not there.
Please.
You think you've won, do you?
You watched me slay a hundred children
and never lifted a finger to save them.
"Suffer the little children to come unto me."
Your words, Nazarene, not mine.
Oh, Satan, the victory is thine.
All praise to thee, for thou hast
delivered this child unto me
that I maybe brought
face to face with the Nazarene
at last.
Now, Peter, listen to me and listen carefully.
The Christian faith has ten commandments.
I have only one.
Say it now and we two shall become as one.
- I love you.
- Beyond all others.
- Beyond all others.
- Beyond life itself.
No, Peter. Don't say it.
Give me back my son
- and I will lead you to the Christ child.
- Where is he?
Give me back Peter first
and I'll take you to him.
Very well. You shall lead us both to
the Nazarene, and then Peter shall be yours.
- No, Damien! It's a trick!
- Not if she wants her son back, it isn't.
All right.
If you can help me,
help me now.
No!
Peter!
Peter? Peter, dearest!
- No.
- Where is your god now, priest?
I'm here, Nazarene!
Where are you?
You hear me?
Face me!
Face me!
It's time!
Show yourself!
I know you're here!
Come out and face me!
You bastard!
Nazarene...
You have won...
nothing.
50,000 years ago, mankind faced
its first major threat of extinction,
a devastation rocked by nature: the Ice Age.
It lasted 5,000 years, rendered four fifths
of the earth's surface uninhabitable,
and wiped out all but the hardiest
of nature's creations.
One of these few was man.
From that devastation
dawned a new age - and a new hope.
Phoenix-like, man arose from the frozen
wilderness and set forth upon his dream.
Mankind has endured
many catastrophes since then,
but none so grave
as the one which faces him today.
The economic crisis of the past decade
has brought inflation, famine and chaos
to every corner of the globe.
Some label it the Great Recession.
Others are calling it Armageddon,
that final upheaval of the world
foretold by the prophets of old.
But amid all the pessimism,
one voice rings out its faith in the future:
Thorn, the world's leading light
in building a new tomorrow.
Trite, rhetorical,
clich?d, inane.
Viewers don't pay
much attention to that, Damien.
No, you're right. And there won't be
much attention to that bullshit either.
I said I wanted action, not words.
I wanna see Thorn at work.
A thousand starving kids
clamouring for a bellyful of Thorn soya.
Thorn medical teams,
construction, engineering.
Instead of which, you spend half the
commercial giving us a third-grade version
of the history of the Ice Age.
Do we have footage of
the Australian drought relief?
Sure, but nothing new,
and most of it's been seen on TV already.
We'll find you something.
In the meantime, go with the old commercial.
I don't want that one used.
- What have we got coming up?
- Botswana next week, then the Aswan Dam.
- Can we get a film unit to Botswana?
- Sure, but no relief unit till after the coup.
- No one's sure how long that's gonna take.
- All right. It'll have to be the Aswan Dam.
Have a film unit there when it goes.
Make sure they give our relief units coverage.
Don't let the Red Cross beat them to it.
Why don't you go?
Now that would be a real coup.
Damien Thorn
supervising relief work in person!
No, I've got to stay here.
- What for?
- To be on hand when the president calls me.
He's gonna offer me the post
of ambassador to Great Britain.
- I beg your pardon?
- Are you familiar with the Book of Hebron?
No, I don't know anything
about the Book of Hebron.
It's in the Apocrypha - one of the more
obscure backwaters of the Septuagint Bible.
"And it shall come to pass
that in the end days
the beast shall reign one hundred score
and thirty days and nights."
"And the faithful shall cry unto the Lord:
Wherefore art thou in the day of evil?"
"And the Lord shall hear their prayers."
"And out of the angel isle
he shall bring forth a deliverer,
a holy lamb of God
who shall do battle with the beast...
and shall destroy him."
"The beast shall reign one hundred score
and thirty days and nights"
is another way of saying seven years.
That's the time I've been head of Thorn.
"And out of the angel isle
he shall bring forth a deliverer."
The "angel isle" - the original Latin
has "exinsula angelorum".
England.
The Second Coming.
Only it won't be the beast that is destroyed.
It'll be the Nazarene.
You said you were gonna be offered
the post of ambassador to Great Britain.
What about our present ambassador?
Afternoon, sir.
Good afternoon, Mr. Ambassador.
Good afternoon, Mr. Ambassador.
I just had Mr. Sears on the line.
- No calls from anyone.
- He said it was urgent and I was to remind...
- Press office.
- This is the ambassador.
I want a press conference.
Three o'clock.
Come in.
Oh, my God!
I know that.
No. I'm not giving out any statements -
to him or to anyone else.
It'll only make matters worse.
Make sure that the cable
is noncommittal as well.
Yeah.
Let me see it before you send it.
Gee. Can you believe that?
Some sons of bitches from
the Egyptian opposition party
want us to endorse their condemnation
of Israel for blowing up the Aswan Dam.
How the hell do we know
Israels responsible?
- My guess is it's the work of the NLF.
- Who?
The Nubian Liberation Front -
a quasi-Marxist outfit.
They've had a gripe against Cairo since the
'60s, when the High Aswan Dam was built.
They claim that it submerged 50 per cent
of their homeland, which, of course, it did.
Until now.
How'd you get this information?
One of our Thorn relief teams - they were
on the scene ahead of the Egyptians.
I wanna take a look at that.
It's quite unofficial, of course.
I don't have to point out to you that... if we
can prove it had nothing to do with Israel,
we could be averting
one mother of a major flare-up.
I'll have to check it myself. I wouldn't want
to feed the White House false information.
As to the other matter,
I'm afraid I can't accept the post.
If I were ambassador to Great Britain,
I'd have to relinquish my control over Thorn.
Hell, no! We can take care of that for you.
- It is against the law.
- Then we'll just have to bend it a little.
But there are two other conditions.
What?
Well, first,
it could only be for two years,
because of running for the Senate in '84.
And second, I'd want
the presidency of the Youth Council.
- I've already promised that to Foster.
- I realise it's a problem.
The NL... what?
The Nubian Liberation Front.
- Craig.
- Yes, Mr. President.
I've just appointed Mr. Damien Thorn as our
new ambassador to the Court of St James.
Have Eisenberg prepare
a press release to that effect.
Right away, Mr. President.
- Craig.
- Yes, Mr. President.
Add to that that I've also
appointed Mr. Thorn
as president of
the United Nations Youth Council.
- But I thought...
- Just do it... will you?
Well, Damien,
your father would have been
very proud of you.
I appreciate your sentiments, sir.
Cassiopeia. Right ascension.
One hour, 16 minutes, 12.
Select declination at 22 degrees
on an eight-by-four ratio.
Super grid R-3 at eight diagonal.
- Eight diagonal.
- Increase focal length to max.
- Hold. OK, Tony. Hard copy.
- Right.
Can I see the cell from June 1953?
June 1953...
Right here.
And... December 1928.
- Well, what would you say?
- I'd say I was dreaming.
- And the rate of acceleration?
- A couple of thousand parsecs, minimum!
- I'd say we're in for one hell of a bang.
- No. An alignment, not a collision.
Let's transfer to the simulator, see if
we can't get an accurate schedule predict.
Right.
Whenever you're ready.
..verbo sanctifiicatur omnia
benedictionem tuam effunde
super scuti istas.
Per Christum dominum nostrum.
Amen.
Oh, blessed Saviour,
who hath, through the confession
of thy departed servant Father Spiletto,
revealed unto us the identity
of the Antichrist here on earth.
Grant us thy strength and guidance
in our holy mission,
that we may rid the world of Damien Thorn
and thus ensure the safety
of thy Second Coming.
Oh, Lord,
bless these seven sacred knives
from Megiddo,
which thou hast seen fit to return unto us,
that they may serve their holy purpose
and destroy the Prince of Darkness,
even as he seeketh to destroy
thy child of light.
I now call upon each of you
to come forward
and arm yourselves in the name of the Lord.
Brother Martin.
Brother Paulo.
Each of us must pray to our Lord
in the silence of his own soul.
Since we are prepared to lay down our lives
in the pursuit of this enterprise,
we must seek
final absolution from God now,
Lest we be denied the redemption
of the blessed last sacrament
at the moment of death.
Above all, we must ask God to grant us
courage, guidance and strength,
as we prepare to do battle
with Satan and his son, the Antichrist.
The exact hour of our Lord's Second Coming,
for which centuries have wept,
has now been revealed to us
by signs in the heavens.
It is imperative that the destruction
of the Antichrist takes place before then,
and we have but a short time
in which to carry it out.
My brothers, remember that
these seven daggers and ourselves
are all that stand between
the son of Satan and the Son of God,
for they alone can destroy him.
- Can't quite place it, can you?
- No.
Waiter, let me have a look at the label on
the bottle of wine we're drinking, will you?
Is he really only 32?
No idea. Shouldn't be surprised.
Americans always seem to think
- they can run before they can walk.
- Like their wine, what?
The answer is yes. He's the youngest
ambassador ever appointed by the president.
- Are you part of his staff?
- I'm his private secretary, Harvey Dean.
- Kate Reynolds, British television.
- My wife Barbara.
- How do you do?
- We're fine.
- Lafite-Thorn.
- Must have bought the bugger out!
Amazing what they can make
with soya beans these days.
- Would you like to meet the ambassador?
- Yes. Yes, I would. Thank you.
Be back in a jiffy.
- Good evening, Mrs. Dean.
- Hello.
- When is the happy event?
- Next week, I hope.
Damien. I'd like you to meet Kate Reynolds.
Miss Reynolds works for British television.
She has her own weekly news show.
It's called The Worldin Vision.
- In Focus.
- Excuse me. The Worldin Focus.
Or out of focus, as the case may be.
How do you do, Miss Reynolds?
The Barbara Walters of British television?
On my salary? They don't call us the
British Broadcasting Charity for nothing(!)
Well, that makes two of us. I'm in the charity
business as well. What can I do for you?
Actually, I'd like to talk about
doing an interview with you sometime,
concentrating on your views on youth. I've
heard a lot about them from my son Peter.
He's only 12, but your ideas
have made a big impression on him.
Excuse me.
The Israeli ambassador has to go.
Of course. I'd be pleased to talk to you.
Give Harvey a call. He'll arrange a time.
- How about Sunday?
- Well, Sundays I usually spend with Peter.
Fine. Bring Peter along too. Excuse me.
Come on, you two! You'll get wet!
Mummy, look what Damien's given me!
- No, you can't.
- He can. He just did.
It's safer with him. If I have a collision,
we might have some sort of
international crisis on our hands.
I'm not sure you should spoil him so much.
Well, to tell you the truth,
he's been spoiling me.
It's not every day
you get the chance to be a boy again.
Well...
English weather.
- Go on, dog. Go and get it.
- Tell me about Peter's father.
He died just after Peter was born.
- Have you never thought of getting married?
- No. I'm too much of a skeptic.
- Oh, yes?
- Besides, I've never really had the time.
Peter's always wanted me to buy him a dog.
Well, you should.
Dogs and boys go great together.
We've had one of these dogs
in the family since I was a kid.
- They used to march with the Roman army.
- Did they?
They're as old as sin.
- Feel like some lunch?
- Good idea.
..probably realised my favourite subject
is me, not only because I'm very beautiful...
I am beautiful!
People from all over the world
came for our actors,
but where are the new ones gonna train
if we haven't got any stages?
And the reason we haven't got stages
is because people are not going to the theatre!
They are watching television.
You're sitting in a bar, and at 11 o'clock
they say "You have 10 minutes to drink up."
You've paid a fortune for that drink
and they throw you out in the streets.
"The day of Christ is at hand" wrote St Paul
in his second letter to the Thessalonians.
"Yet let no man be deceived,
for that day shall not come
until the man of sins is revealed,
the son of perdition, the Antichrist."
"And be not deceived by him,
for Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light."
The hour of Christ's Second Coming draws
nigh. The prophecies fulfilled one by one.
Right now, my friends,
in the constellation of Cassiopeia,
a holy trinity of stars is converging
to herald our Lord's Second Coming.
"Rejoice, you heavens and you that dwell
in them" commands St John in Revelation.
"But woe to you, sea and earth, for the devil
hath come down to you in great fury,
knowing that his time is short,
and the Prince of Darkness shall be mighty."
"And he shall flourish
and destroy the mighty."
"And he shall cause craft
to prosper in his hands."
"And by peace shall he destroy many!"
I followed them through the crowd,
but couldn't get close enough.
He was with a woman and a boy of about 11.
- Who was the woman?
- She's a television interviewer.
I asked someone who went
up to her for an autograph.
Kate Reynolds.
She apparently is quite some celebrity.
- And the boy?
- Probably her son.
Please, Father, let it be me. Let me be
the bait to flush him out and destroy him.
- Thorn and I have made contact eye to eye.
- That is exactly why it cannot be you.
We have to strike him off guard.
Yet the target must be still...
for the marksman to be sure of his aim.
A sitting target...
- A sleeping target?
- No. His residence is guarded day and night.
- How about the embassy?
- Impossible.
There's our sitting target.
Where?
The Israeli government has denied
responsibility for the Aswan Dam disaster,
which has so far claimed
the lives ofover50,000 Egyptians,
though many fear that the final
death toll may reach twice that number.
Already typhoid has broken out among the
country's thousands of homeless refugees...
- It's OK. I'll do it myself.
- ..and a major epidemic seems unavoidable.
The Egyptian government has revealed
that Thorn is supplying soya...
At the centre of Thorns global operations is
a man who has become a legend for his time:
Damien Thorn.
Did you see that woman?
It's not a woman. It's a guy. It's a faggot!
- Dressed up like a woman. It's a faggot!
- They're all God's children, Harvey.
..in a career that's already being compared
to that of the late John F Kennedy.
After majoring at Yale, Damien Thorn
came to Oxford as a Rhodes scholar,
where he captained the Oxford eight to
victory and won the Westchester Cup at polo.
In 1971 he took over
his uncle's business, Thorn industries,
and in seven years has turned it
into the world's largest multinational,
producing everything from nuclear
armaments to soya bean food products.
And now, at the age of 32,
Damien Thorn has...
Are you lost?
You're not connected
with this programme, are you?
- This is stage eight, isn't it?
- Four.
- Studio eight's the next one along.
- Yes. Thank you.
A brilliant career
for one so young, Mr. Ambassador.
Not when you remember
that Alexander the Great
was commanding
the Macedonian army at 16.
Of course, that's how many people view you -
as a sort of 20th-century Alexander,
Leading the world out of the doldrums of
recession into the golden era of prosperity.
- You've seen too many of our commercials.
- But it is the image you put across.
Well, the image of Thorn as a corporation,
not a personal image of myself.
But yes, it's true. I certainly have
tremendous optimism for the future,
and I wanna see Thorn play
a major part in achieving it.
You have an interest in young people.
What are your plans as president
of the United Nations Youth Council?
A great many things, but I think
the most important task I have
is to help young people gain
a more prominent role in world affairs
than the one we currently
afford them, or rather deny them.
I mean, what is this arrogance that makes us
think that we know better than them?
We call them immature and naive. "Wait till
you're grown-up. Then we'll listen to you."
What we really mean is "Wait till you're
grown old. Then you'll think the way we do."
And so youth stands aside because
it has no other choice, and we set to work.
We ply them with our values,
we indoctrinate them with our mediocrity.
Until finally they emerge from
their brainwashing education
as so-called fully fledged citizens,
clipped, impotent, and above all safe.
Damien!
Grab one of these extinguishers! Come on!
God!
I need a drink.
I keep seeing that face.
How about you? You want one?
That was an assassination attempt.
What?
I found this on the studio floor.
This is one of the seven knives of Megiddo -
the only thing on earth that can kill me.
They were discovered in Israel
when I was a child.
An archaeologist, Bugenhagen, found them.
He gave them to my father to destroy me.
But I had the love of my true father
to protect me.
You said there were seven.
Where are the other six?
That's what we have to find out.
Someone must have dug them up
from the old Thorn Museum in Chicago.
And now they're in the hands
of someone who knows who I am.
And whoever knows who you are
must also know the prophecy.
Get hold of Buher right away. Tell him
to get to Chicago as soon as he can.
Excuse me, sir. The Harley Street Hospital
has just telephoned for Mr. Dean.
Barbara. I...
She went into labor this afternoon.
Can I borrow your car?
Call by the embassy first.
Get hold of Buher right away.
Are you OK, Damien?
"In a statement issued
from the American embassy,
Ambassador Thorn stated that he was
satisfied that there was no connection
between himself
and the unfortunate victim."
Thorn knows it was no accident.
Our priority now is to locate
the holy child as soon as he's born.
Brother Simeon and Brother Antonio,
I want you to make ready to come with me
tonight to ascertain his birthplace,
for the hour draws near.
The rest of you must wait until we return
before deciding how we proceed.
Our efforts must be
strictly coordinated next time.
We can't afford to make a second mistake.
- George.
- Yes, Mr. Ambassador?
- I won't be needing anything else tonight.
- Right you are, sir. Good night.
My father,
Lord of silence, supreme god of desolation,
who mankind reviles yet aches to embrace,
strengthen my purpose to save the world
from a second ordeal of Jesus Christ
and his grubby, mundane creed.
2,000 years have been enough.
Show man instead
the raptures of thy kingdom.
Infuse in him the grandeur of melancholy,
the divinity of loneliness,
the purity of evil,
the paradise... of pain.
What perverted imagination has fed man the
lie that hell festers in the bowels of the earth?
There is only one hell -
the leaden monotony of human existence.
There is only one heaven.
The ecstasy of my father's kingdom.
Nazarene charlatan,
what can you offer humanity?
Since the hour you vomited forth
from the gaping wound of a woman,
you've done nothing
but drown man's soaring desires
in a deluge of sanctimonious morality.
You've inflamed the pubertal mind of youth
with your repellent dogma of original sin.
And now you're resolved on denying
him ultimate joy beyond death
by destroying me!
But you will fail, Nazarene.
As you have always failed.
We were both created in man's image.
But while you were born
of an impotent god,
I was conceived of a jackal.
Born of Satan, the desolate one,
the nail...
Your pain on the cross was but a splinter
compared to the agony of my father,
cast out from heaven,
the fallen angel,
banished, reviled...
I would drive deeper the thorns
into your rancid carcass,
you profaner of vices.
Cursed Nazarene.
Satan,
I will avenge thy torment
by destroying the Christ for ever.
Father De Carlo, welcome. Gentlemen.
The simulator has established
the approximate location
over which the three stars are to converge.
- How accurate is that?
- To about 50 square kilometers.
Once the alignment has taken place, we can
narrow it down to the nearest square metre.
Excuse me, sir. We're at T minus 500.
The final countdown is about to start.
There, gentlemen, are your three stars.
The waiting of 2,000 years... is at an end.
Mr. Ambassador!
Is there any connection between
the accident at the BBC and today's news?
- No.
- What about Schroeder's revelation
that the Israelis were responsible
for the Aswan Dam disaster?
- If it's true, it's a sad blow to world peace.
- Is that an official condemnation?
I condemn all violence,
but it's too early for that.
The Soviet Union's offered
support to Egypt for retaliation.
- How do you react to that?
- Gentlemen, I have nothing else to say.
Mr. Ambassador, I tried calling you
last night but there was no reply.
Isn't there something we can do
to make up for what happened?
- Like what?
- Well, like...
- Like finishing the interview?
- Well, yes.
All right. But I'd sooner
we did it at my place than yours.
Yours is a little... dramatic for my taste.
Why not stay on for dinner afterwards?
- I'd love to.
- All right. I'll have Harvey fix it.
Fine.
No, a boy.
Yeah, he sure is ugly.
Yeah.
All right. Thanks, Paul. Yeah.
Yeah, I'll talk to you later.
That was Buher. He just sent over
the NLF report to the White House.
He said it's so full of holes,
you can drive a truck through it.
Thanks for the flowers.
Barbara really appreciated...
And the daggers?
Apparently all seven came up
for auction a few months back.
They were bought by a priest, and he passed
them on to a monastery in Italy - Subi...
Subiaco. The monastery of San Benedetto.
Yeah, Subiaco.
We've got our people in Italy working on it.
- Unless something happens, they should...
- It's too late.
They're here in England
for the birth of the Nazarene.
Trying to destroy me before I destroy them.
He was born last night. I feel his presence.
Like a virus, a parasite,
feeding on my energy,
trying to drain me of power.
For every day that he lives and grows,
my force will weaken.
Hide if you must, Nazarene,
but I will hunt you down.
- Why is he just sitting there?
- Waiting for me to follow him.
He must be an idiot if he thinks
you're gonna do something like that.
- He knows that's exactly what I intend to do.
- But what if he's got one of those daggers?
I'll be wasting my time if he hasn't.
Matteus here. I'm 10 minutes away.
Thorn's about... 500 yards behind me.
Enough!
Enough. It's done.
But it was him! I saw him! I saw him!
- Sweet Saviour, spare our minds.
- We're possessed!
Spare our minds!
Down there! It's our only way out!
- It's bricked up!
- It's closed here too.
There is no way out!
We're trapped!
There are still three daggers left.
But I can't afford to waste any more time.
The only way to be rid of the Nazarene
is to kill every male child in the country
born between midnight and dawn
- on March 24th.
- How can we be sure he's in the country?
"And he shall come forth out of the
angel isle." That's what the prophecy says.
One thing pedantic Christians believe in
is sticking to the letter of their prophecies.
- How's Barbara?
- Fine.
- And your son?
- Fine. He's fine.
He was born on March the 23rd, wasn't he?
Yeah, yeah. Sure. He was born
10 minutes before midnight, March 23rd.
Whenever you're ready, Mr. Ambassador.
Liquidate the Nazarene.
Me? How?
That's what our people are for.
Now, call a meeting for Sunday.
I'll make my own way there after the hunt.
Chin up, old boy.
Thank you, my dear. I've been waiting
for this drink since the last meet.
Stay close to Susan at the back,
and don't go showing off to Damien.
- Don't worry. You'll still get blooded.
- What does blooded mean?
You know perfectly well what it means.
If it's your first hunt and they catch a fox,
they smear blood all over your cheeks.
Satisfied?
Take care.
Well, Mr. Ambassador,
you've got the fastest horse in the hunt.
And it's a lovely morning for you.
OK, boys.
Take him.
Damien!
Damien, did you catch one?
The hounds didn't leave
too many souvenirs, but...
I saved some of the blood.
Can you blood me? Does it count?
It does with me.
Disciples of the watch,
I stand before you
in the name of the one true god,
who was cast out from heaven but is alive
in me.
Do you hear me?
We hear and obey. We hear and obey.
I now command you
to seek out and destroy the Nazarene child.
Slay the Nazarene,
and I shall reign for ever.
Fail,
and I perish.
Slay the Nazarene,
and you, my disciples,
shall truly inherit this earth.
Fail,
and you will perish without trace.
Slay the Nazarene,
and you will know the violent raptures
of my father's kingdom.
Fail,
and you will be condemned
to a numbing eternity
in the flaccid bosom of Christ.
Do you hear me?
We hear and obey.
Disciples of the watch,
there must be no delay.
Slay the Nazarene,
and the victory will be ours,
now... and for ever more.
Do you hear me?
We hear. We hear.
We're going for a walk now, aren't we?
With Auntie Carol, hey?
- Barbara!
- Hi. I'll be with you in just a minute.
There you go. All wrapped up.
- Harvey!
- Yeah?
I'm just going shopping with Carol.
I'm gonna take Junior with me, OK?
Listen, don't forget to pick up
my stuff from the cleaner's.
- No, I won't. I'll see you later.
- Bye.
Peterson? Harvey Dean.
I said "I'm not paying you that much.
You've only been here for two hours."
- What do you expect me to say?
- You've got such a nerve.
The Brookman family at 23 Ormsby Road,
Sefton Park, Liverpool.
Listen, Peterson, I don't give a shit
how you feel about this! Just do the job!
OK.
Now... Sefton Park, Liverpool.
And the boy's name is Christopher.
Kirkby Towers.
Kirkby 14.
Boy's name is Alexander David.
OK?
By Tuesday night.
Right.
Blake? Dean.
Why don't you and Harvey
come over for a meal?
Yeah. OK. That's nice.
I'll call you later. Bye.
We'll soon be home and you can have
something nice to eat. Are you hungry?
Who's a good boy, then?
Can you hear me?
No!
No!
- Name this child...
- Alexander David.
I baptise you Alexander David,
in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
We receive this child into
the congregation of Christ's flock,
and sign him with the sign of the cross.
Morning, missis. We've come
to do our good deed for the day.
We're devoting the first part
of our programme
to a disturbing phenomenon that's been
puzzling both doctors and police this week.
The mysterious deaths of numbers of babies
in the kind of circumstances
that coroners are fond
of terming "misadventure".
At the turn of the century, the infant mortality
rate stoodata staggering 34per cent.
In 1945 it dropped to 16 per cent.
And nowadays it's been cutback to under
two per cent. That is, until last week.
In Greater London, 17 babies
have died in the last seven days,
with a further 14 deaths reported
from Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester,
Leeds and Liverpool. These may
not sound unduly high figures,
but nationwide they represent
a chilling 15 to 20 per cent increase
- in the mortality rate.
- Harvey...
- Details are still sketchy at the moment.
- It's just a coincidence, that's all.
..except one - in every case
the victim has been a baby boy.
To throw further light on the subject,
I have with me Dr Richard Philmore
from the Ministry of Health
and Social Security.
- Tell me, what explanation do you have?
- Barbara?
It's too soon for us to make any statement,
but Id like to correct you
on a point that you just made.
It really is quite inaccurate
to speak of a 20 per centrise
in the infant mortality rate index.
Our statistics are based on annual averages
and not on weekly fluctuations.
But you admit there's been an unexplained
increase in the deaths among baby boys?
A rise, but nothing compared to the rise you'd
expect to find during, say, a flu epidemic.
Surely, Dr. Philmore,
we're not talking about a flu epidemic.
We're talking about
household burns, drownings,
car accidents, suffocation,
food poisonings, electrocution.
Scotland Yard has assured us that in their
opinion there is no question of foul play
in any of the mortalities reported.
Forgive me if I speak bluntly,
but your kind of scaremonger reporting
is the kind of behaviour
that brings the media into bad repute.
- Night, Miss Reynolds.
- Night, Bill.
Miss Reynolds.
I need to talk to you urgently.
- It's about your programme about the deaths.
- A protest march of one. How disappointing.
On the contrary, I congratulate you
on your perceptiveness.
Well?
- May we go inside?
- I'm sorry...
- Father De Carlo.
- I've had a long day, Father.
If you call my secretary,
she'll make an appointment.
I told you, I need to talk to you urgently.
OK. But... please keep your voice down.
My son's asleep.
"Then Herod sent forth and slew
all the children that were in Bethlehem
and in all the coasts thereof,
according to the time of the birth of Jesus,
which he had diligently
inquired of the wise men."
What are you talking about?
You stated that the common factor
about these killings is
that all the victims have been baby boys.
But there is another common factor.
All the boys were born between midnight
and 6am on the morning of March 24th.
Every child that's still living born
between those hours is in mortal danger,
- if he has not already been killed.
- Are you suggesting they've been murdered?
No, no, I am not. I am stating it as a fact.
- Who on earth would do such a thing?
- He is born again, Miss Reynolds.
And so is the Antichrist. The son of Satan.
As foretold in the Book of Revelation.
I'm sorry, Father. Look, I do respect
your faith, but I don't share it.
- You are not a practising Christian?
- No, I'm a practising journalist.
One rule of journalism
is to be a doubting Thomas.
I need to see evidence with my own two eyes.
Right.
Here is your evidence.
Check them for yourself.
Copies of the dead boys' birth certificates
from the central registry office.
In every case, the child was born
on the morning of March 24th.
Even if I can't appeal to your faith,
I appeal to your logic.
Why else would someone want to destroy
all children born on that date,
were it not in an effort
to destroy one child in particular?
That child is our blessed Saviour,
Jesus Christ, reborn.
Thus fulfilling his promise that,
at the end of times,
he shall come again to deliver
the world from the Antichrist.
And who exactly is this... Antichrist?
The American ambassador, Damien Thorn.
That's ridiculous! I know Damien Thorn.
You may know the man.
Do you know his soul?
Miss Reynolds,
I am a religious man, not a fanatic.
One of the commandments of my faith is
that we shall not
bear false witness against any man.
If I had one shred of doubt
about Damien Thorn,
my faith would command me
to remain silent.
But I've watched him now for 27 years,
ever since his father came to our monastery
to seek help in destroying him.
I've watched him grow from a boy into a man,
seen him exterminate
all those who stood in his way.
Very well. You know Thorn, the man.
I'll leave you with our research on him.
But you must satisfy yourself
before reaching your opinion.
And when you have done so, I would urge
that you contact me as soon as possible,
at this address.
Here.
Day or night.
I...
I can't promise you anything, Father.
You say I know only Thorn, the man -
not his soul.
But if I don't even know my own soul,
how can I see into his?
Only God can show you that.
There is, however, one sign
that identifies him as the Antichrist.
You will find it
in the Book of Revelation, as I told you.
You will also find it on Thorn himself.
Under his hair.
Here.
The birthmark of the devil.
6... 6... 6.
I'll let myself out. Good night, Miss Reynolds.
And may God guide your decision.
The Israelis are onto Schroeder.
We've got to eliminate him - now!
Before they have a chance to make him talk.
Then do it.
But we can't get close to him.
They've got him in Tel Aviv.
- Damien, you're the only one that can do it.
- You can handle it.
- I just told you. We can't get...
- And I told you
that every day the Nazarene lives,
my force would weaken.
- Now, how many boys are left?
- Three or four.
- Including your son?
- Now, wait a minute.
I've already told you,
he was born March 23rd.
- Now you gotta believe me.
- I'll believe you when the Nazarene is dead.
Yes?
Who is this?
It's Kate Reynolds' son.
He's calling from a coin box.
- But how'd he get this number?
- I gave it to him.
Hello, Peter?
Good. Now, listen carefully.
I want you to follow him wherever he goes,
and make sure he doesn't see you, OK?
Yeah, and call me as soon as you find out.
All right.
Be careful, Damien. His mother
was on the phone earlier this morning.
- She wants to see you.
- Why didn't you tell me?
- I wanna talk to her.
- Because she's dangerous.
I decide who's dangerous and who isn't.
Now, get her on the phone,
and tell her I wanna see her
tomorrow at the house.
And don't mention Peter.
Hi, honey! I'm home!
What are you doing in here?
Don't you come anywhere near him,
you murderer!
Murderer? What are you talking about?
You lay one finger on him,
and I'll butcher you,
just like you've butchered
all these other children.
A priest came by today. He came to warn me
that Damien Thorn is the Antichrist,
and he'll murder my baby, like he's killed
these others that were born on the same day.
- You believe some religious maniac?
- No!
I found the proof myself!
You don't know what you've done.
I once hosted a programme,
And Now For The Good News,
- which won an RTA award.
- Really?
For the lowest audience
viewing figure of the year.
Yet now I'm reporting death and destruction,
and my show's gone to the top of the ratings.
- Everyone loves a mystery.
- I think it goes deeper than that.
We might aspire after good,
but our real fascination lies with evil.
- Don't you agree?
- Not really.
Most people confuse evil with
their own trivial lusts and perversions.
Now, true evil is as pure as innocence.
Then what is evil?
Come on.
- I'll show you where Old Nick hangs out.
- Old who?
Old Nick.
He's down there somewhere,
lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce.
He must be at least 40 by now.
We first met when I was about four.
We've been old friends ever since.
You know Old Nick is the name
for the devil in England?
Of course I know.
But it's a great name for a pike.
Do you believe in God?
I think you know the answer
to that question already.
- Look, there it goes!
- Where?
Down there.
Damien! Help me!
Damien! I can't...
Help me!
Well, that should fit you.
I feel like a moth
that's flown too close to the flame.
But who is the moth,
and who's the flame?
Don't stop, Damien.
Don't stop.
Please don't stop.
What's the matter? What's the matter?
You wanna see what I see?
I want you, Damien.
You're hurting me.
Birth is pain. Death is pain.
Beauty is pain.
Damien?
- Was Schroeder on the Thorn payola or not?
- No statement.
- Can't we talk to Ambassador Thorn?
- The ambassador is unavailable.
- He's not even here.
- Where is he?
When he is ready to make a statement,
we will let you know.
Damien, I thought you were up at the house.
The press are goin' crazy for a statement.
I can hold 'em off until I've talked to Buher,
but you're gonna have to...
What was De Carlo doing
at your house yesterday?
Who?
Now, come on, Dean. Just give me the truth.
I'm telling the truth. I've never
heard of De Carlo before in my life.
Peter.
- Go ahead, Peter.
- "At half past three yesterday afternoon,
I saw the priest called De Carlo
go to 144 Abbey Crescent,
where he spent an hour and 22 minutes
talking to the wife of Mr. Dean."
Damien... Look, l...
I didn't know he was a priest.
- I didn't know Barbara would...
- Kill your son!
What?!
There's only one boy left, and that's your son.
Destroy him... or be destroyed.
Damien, for the love of God!
"And God said unto Abraham:
Take now thy son, thine only Isaac,
whom thou lovest,
and offer him for a burnt offering."
Now, if Abraham was willing to slay
his own son for the love of his god,
- why won't you do the same for mine?
- You're all crazy.
Crazy.
Aren't you gonna stop him?
There's no need.
Go on! Go away!
Go on!
There, now. It's OK, honey. He...
Barbara! Start packing!
Barbara?
Ten o'clock, Miss Reynolds.
Locking up in five minutes.
Coming.
Miss Reynolds.
- What are you doing here?
- You saw him, didn't you?
You know Thorn is the Antichrist,
so why are you protecting him?
Either you get out of here or I'll call security.
Your son... Where is he?
- He's in bed and asleep, of course.
- He is not.
Your son is with Damien Thorn.
In body and soul. Your son has become
an apostle of the Antichrist.
You think Peter's been at school
for the past three days?
Check with the school
if you don't believe me.
He's been working for Thorn,
conspiring to murder the holy child.
They won't succeed.
The holy child is beyond
his powers now. He's safe.
But your child is not. There is only
one way to save your son, Miss Reynolds.
And that's by destroying the Antichrist.
- Are you asking me...?
- No. No, Miss Reynolds.
That is to be my sacred task.
But if you value your son's immortal soul,
you must help me to carry it out.
Hurry along, Miss Reynolds.
We're locking up.
I'll be out in a moment.
- I'm going home to my son.
- Then I beg you to let me come with you.
There will be no time to lose
when you find he's not there.
Please.
You think you've won, do you?
You watched me slay a hundred children
and never lifted a finger to save them.
"Suffer the little children to come unto me."
Your words, Nazarene, not mine.
Oh, Satan, the victory is thine.
All praise to thee, for thou hast
delivered this child unto me
that I maybe brought
face to face with the Nazarene
at last.
Now, Peter, listen to me and listen carefully.
The Christian faith has ten commandments.
I have only one.
Say it now and we two shall become as one.
- I love you.
- Beyond all others.
- Beyond all others.
- Beyond life itself.
No, Peter. Don't say it.
Give me back my son
- and I will lead you to the Christ child.
- Where is he?
Give me back Peter first
and I'll take you to him.
Very well. You shall lead us both to
the Nazarene, and then Peter shall be yours.
- No, Damien! It's a trick!
- Not if she wants her son back, it isn't.
All right.
If you can help me,
help me now.
No!
Peter!
Peter? Peter, dearest!
- No.
- Where is your god now, priest?
I'm here, Nazarene!
Where are you?
You hear me?
Face me!
Face me!
It's time!
Show yourself!
I know you're here!
Come out and face me!
You bastard!
Nazarene...
You have won...
nothing.