I’m referring to the late, great English actor – not the Australian cricketer.

David Warner, who sadly passed away in 2022, was an English actor who popped up in many films and TV shows over the decades. Perhaps his most famous roles would be the villainous Dillinger in ‘Tron’ (1982) and the overly-suspicious bodyguard Lovejoy in ‘Titanic’ (1997). Most movie buffs would probably recognise Warner – and say “Oh, that guy” – but wouldn’t know much else about him, which is unfortunate because he truly was a master of his craft.

However, it is Warner’s performance in the 1976 horror classic ‘The Omen’ that I wish to focus on, and in particular his character’s unforgettable demise.

*** BLOOD AND GORE ALERT ***

I’m about to show some rather spicy screenshots of a decapitation scene that is incredibly realistic, despite these practical effects being filmed almost fifty years ago.

So, let’s set the stage: – Robert Thorn (played by Gregory Peck) throws a mystical set of daggers away in a fit of rage, forcing his colleague Keith Jennings (David Warner) to walk along an alleyway and into a construction site to retrieve them. Of course, as soon as Jennings bends down to pick up the knives, we all know he’s in serious trouble.

The handbrake on a parked truck then slips, and the vehicle begins rolling toward the unsuspecting Jennings – who I have to say is in no hurry at all to pick up the sacred daggers.

Did you see the sheet of glass on the back of the truck? Well, that’s about to come into play…

*** LAST CHANCE TO LOOK AWAY ***

The director of ‘The Omen’ was Richard Donner, who would later helm ‘Superman’ in 1978, ‘The Goonies’ in 1985 and ‘Lethal Weapon’ in 1987, to name but a few of his works. To say that Donner knows a thing or two about camera angles and special effects would be a vast understatement, and this incredible death scene was shot from multiple sides – top, bottom, left and right – and most likely completed over a number of takes.

In the final cut of the movie, some of these sequences are even slowed down a little – a strong indication of how happy the editors were with both the realistic dummy of David Warner and the way these incredible shots turned out.

Even by today’s standards of film-making, I think this holds up pretty well.

I should also point out that the corresponding scene in the 2006 remake is also quite gruesome, with David Thewlis being the actor on the receiving end of a freak accident.

I have added a link below to the 1976 scene – courtesy of La Casita del Horror de Pipendorf YouTube channel.

To end on a brighter note, it was great to see David Warner’s likeness appear in ‘Tron: Ares’.

Shame about the rest of the movie.

Screenshots are courtesy of 20th Century Fox, The Walt Disney Company and Paramount Pictures.

David Warner’s portrait is courtesy of Rory Lewis Photography.