WHEN TIME RAN OUT... (1980)

Note to self: never build a resort hotel next to a volcano.

Holden and Newman are back together again, baby!!!  Hell yeah.  This time, instead of fighting a towering inferno, they're fighting, well, actually they're just running like hell from a pissed off volcano.  And that's about it.  The End.

WHEN TIME RAN OUT... is alright.  I don't like the three dots at the end of the title, but the location photography in Hawaii is beautiful and the build-up stuff is fun.  William Holden is a rich dude and very busy, so when his hotel manager guy, James Franciscus, tells him everything is okay, he believes him.  So what if the volcano right next door to the hotel is smoking and lava's bubbling like it's a fucking witches cauldron.  That's nature, baby!

And the volcano ain't the only thing blowing it's load around here...Holden proposes to his secretary (Jacqueline Bisset), but she's secretly seeing local oil man (Paul Newman); Franciscus is cheating on his wife (Holden's goddaughter) with a hotel employee who happens to be engaged to another employee who is secretly Franciscus' illegitimate half-brother!!!  What the hell?  That's a lot to take in.  It's awesome and so pointless!  I love it.

Poor looking special effects, medium pace that actually gets slower as the film goes on, random tidal wave, Jacqueline Bisset in a low cut t-shirt, people crowding a helicopter like it's a zombie movie, zero nudity, a glass-bottomed elevator thing that actually lowers people down into the volcano(!!!), lava bombs, silly story.  Honestly, the best thing about WHEN TIME RAN OUT... is the cast.  The movie's not very good (it kinda feels like an old made-for-TV movie), but it's fun watching all of these big names running around.  (Red Buttons' speed walk is goddamn hilarious!)  I have no regrets about watching it and will most likely watch it again occasionally...at least the first two acts.  The third kinda stunk. 

Rumor has it WHEN TIME RAN OUT... had a budget of $20 million and brought in less than $4 million at the box office.  Ouch.

Post-review thoughts: I have absolutely nothing to back this up, but while watching the film, I kept thinking to myself that the character of Mona seemed like it would be perfect for Shelley Winters.  The actress even seemed to act a little bit like Shelley, at least to me.  It wasn't until later that I discovered the actress, Sheila Allen, was actually producer Irwin Allen's wife.

DAMIEN: OMEN II (1978)

"Damien Thorn is the Antichrist."

Seven years after the events of the first film, Damien Thorn is now 12-years-old and living with his wealthy aunt and uncle.  Life is pretty normal for Damien: friends, military school, loving adoptive parents...but all of that changes when he learns that he's the Antichrist!  I mean, that's kinda shitty when you think about it...he never asked to be the Antichrist.  Anyway, just like in the first film, Damien has a small army of secret protectors watching over him and, most importantly, that awesome pre-FINAL DESTINATION invisible force is still going around killing everybody in crazy ways.  The kills in this film are pretty wicked.  My two favorites were the raven ripping the woman's eyeballs out before she stumbles out into the road then gets launched by a truck and the dude getting cut in half in the elevator.  I re-watched both multiple times.

Right from the beginning, DAMIEN: OMEN II moves along at a brisk pace.  The acting is really good (William Holden and Lee Grant were both fantastic), the story is very interesting, great kills, nice photography.  Hell, the whole thing is enjoyable.  I watched it twice for this review.  One thing that kinda struck me weird was how Lance Henriksen's character never really went anywhere.  Also, the abrupt ending.  It almost seems like there was more to the original story that didn't make it to the screen.

Anyway, if you like the OMEN series, then Part 2 is mandatory.  I honestly like it even more than Part 1.  It's a great continuation of the story.  I did miss the demonic dogs though.  Who left the dogs out?!  Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!

Part 1 - The Omen (1976)
Part 3 - Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)
Part 4 - Omen IV: The Awakening (1991)
Remake 1 - The Omen (2006)
Prequel - The First Omen (2024)