2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

BA_Harrison Having already ripped off The Exorcist with his pretty dreadful 1974 movie The Antichrist, director Alberto De Martino has a bash at copying one of the other major horror successes of the '70s, The Omen—and he does a slightly better job this time around.The decent cast certainly helps: Kirk Douglas stars as industrialist Robert Caine, who slowly comes to realise that his plans for a nuclear power plant in the third world might lead to the Apocalypse, as prophecised in the Bible; Simon Ward is his son Angel, who is determined to see the project to completion at whatever the cost; the lovely Agostina Belli plays Sara Golan, Robert's love interest, whose unborn child may or may not be The Antichrist; and Anthony Quayle appears as scientist Dr. Griffith, who unravels the truth but pays for his discovery with his life.With such solid performers at his disposal, De Martino is able to deliver an entertaining slice of horror hokum despite the script's somewhat talky nature, its preachy anti-nuclear message and more than a few implausible plot turns, with the film's highlights being the juicy decapitation of a political leader by helicopter blade, beautiful Belli getting nekkid for a raunchy romp with ageing Kirk (such a coupling might sound unlikely, but if Michael can get it on with Zeta Jones in real life, then why not?), Caine's trippy dream sequence (which delivers the truly horrific sight of a naked Kirk Douglas), and a chilling scene where a room full of newborn babies are accidentally poisoned by a negligent nurse.6.5 rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

dbdumonteil Some will dismiss it as some parboiled cross between "the omen" and "Rosemary's baby";but Alberto De Martino had become an expert in the subject of ripoff:Sergio Leone ("Centomila Dollari Per Ringo"),Dario Argento (" L'Assassino è Al Telefono") American gangsters in Roma (John Cassavetes in "Roma Come Chicago!!),James Bond ("Missione Speciale Lady Chaplin" "OK Connery" (sic)) .He even made "L'Anti Cristo" (1974) BEFORE "the omen"."Holocaust 2000" is an entertaining nay very entertaining ripoff.It even includes good ideas such as the nuclear power plant and the Apocalypse Beast or the mathematic riddle 2V231 (2 times square root of 231).Whereas the demon in "the omen" moved in the political field ,the new Antichrist wants to destroy man which has already invented his doom with his own weapons :the nukes .The anti-nukes demonstrations on the street were common in those years ;so the movie contains a 'message' of easily digestible proportions ;great care is taken with the screenplay and the actors CAN act ,which is not always true with this cheap cinema:Kirk Douglas is very professional,but the standout is unquestionably Simon Ward as Angel: he succeeds in being disturbing without losing his Buddah smile and his cold look gives the jitters ;he 's truly got an angel face.

The_Void Italian filmmakers in the seventies weren't exactly slow when it came to ripping off successful films, and indeed it didn't take long for Alberto De Martino to deliver this obvious Omen rip-off just one year after the release of Richard Donner's successful film in 1976. The title suggests that the film will put something of a modern spin on the story, and indeed it has as in this tale of the Antichrist living among us humans, there is a nuclear power station at the centre. Kirk Douglas plays Robert Caine, an executive in charge of a Middle Eastern nuclear power plant. One of his main backers is his son, Angelo, but Angelo's reasons for wanting the power plant built are far more sinister than anything Robert would have expected. After a series of events, it becomes apparent to Robert that his son doesn't want the plant built to benefit mankind. In fact, he is the son of the Devil and his reasons for wanting the nuclear power plant completed is so he can carry out the Devil's work and use the plant to destroy all of mankind! It has to be said that this really isn't a good film. It rips off The Omen so much it's almost painful, and the rest of the movie is a complete mess. However, I can't completely condemn this movie as aside from the numerous plot issues, it's a lot of fun to watch and there always plenty of stuff going on. The Omen became infamous for its gory and inventive death scenes, and while the ones here may not be all that inventive - they're plenty gory and serve in adding to the fun. The only big actor in the film is Kirk Douglas. This can hardly be considered the classic actor's best work (not that I'm a big fan of most of his stuff), but somehow he manages to stay fairly credible despite the fact that the dialogue in this film is choppy at best, and it cant be easy to act well when you're working with actors that are less than brilliant. There's not a lot in this movie that will make you think, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It all boils down to the sort of conclusion you can expect, but it's good fun getting there and overall I'd give this Omen rip off a thumbs up.

Coventry Undoubtedly one of the most ambitious Italian exploitation/rip-off efforts of the 1970's, "Holocaust 2000" shows the courage (or stupidity?) to amalgamate TWO contemporary popular themes of Sci-Fi horror. Back in the glorious decade of the 70's, the end of the world could either be inflicted by humanity's own damn fault (ecological disasters or scientific revolutions) or biblical prophecies (the birth of the Antichrist, etc). This film, directed by the tremendously underrated Alberto De Martino; king of Italian rip-offs, features a mixture of both themes and the script really isn't as imbecile as it sounds! Superficially, this film looks like a straight imitation of "The Omen" in which a prominent American industrialist replaces the position of the prominent American ambassador, but the difference is that the industrialist's work is also relevant – crucial, even – to the development of the plot. Unfortunately, but almost inevitably, the film's strength is also its main weakness… Blending religious & ecological themes quickly results in a lot of complexity, confusion and especially a whole lot of skepticism. Even though the script is surprisingly well elaborated and quite intelligent, you can't help thinking it's overly grotesque and far-fetched. Kirk Douglas, charismatic and reliable as ever, stars as the millionaire industrialist Robert Caine, whose lifework involves the large-scaled construction of a thermo-nuclear power plant in the Middle Eastern region. This gigantic project, with its seven turbines and its ten-headed output-system could provide powerful energy for the entire Third World; only the safety precautions are unstable and questionable. Caine and his lovely young girlfriend Sara also discover that the plant's design suspiciously bears a lot of resemblance with the biblical beast that is believed to unleash an apocalyptic fire that burns down the entire planet. The more reluctant Robert gets to carry on with his project, the more his adult son Angel insists on continuing and he even takes control. Meanwhile, Sara is pregnant and Robert is overcome with fear of his unborn baby being the Antichrist whose birth would complete the apocalypse. "Holocaust 2000" is wrongfully accused of simply being another uninspired Italian clone of "The Omen", but I certainly beg to differ! Admittedly some of the basic aspects are blatantly copied from Richard Donner's milestone, like the social setting and particularly the circumstances surrounding the death sequences, but Alberto De Martino's film contains a lot more ingeniousness and originality than everybody thinks! Multiple sub plots are even downright marvelous and suspenseful, most notably the scenes inside the psychiatric clinic and Caine's nightmare visions. The first hour is terrific, with a constant spitfire of clever dialogs and an overall macabre ambiance, but I do admit the last 45 minutes are a little tedious and repetitive. Particularly the ineffective "mystery" of the Antichrist's identity is quite foolish, because it's more than obvious since the start of the film already. De Martino had a decent budget to work with for a change, and this is clearly illustrated through the convincing set pieces and professional photography. The music is courtesy of Ennio Morricone, so you can blindly accept it is brilliant, and Kirk Douglas' performance is more than impeccable to guide you through the mediocre moments. Vastly underrated film, ripe for re-discovery! And even if you don't care for this type of storyline, at least you got to love the awesome helicopter-decapitation moment! I rewind that scene each and every time!