Father Brennan- why did he have the 666
Apparently the coroner said it was a birthmark.
What is the connection with Brennan and Satan?
I may be wrong, but I'm thinking that Father Brennan had a lot to do with the shooting of Thorn's real baby and replacing it with the anti-Christ.
So I don't think Brennan always had it--I think that he got it after doing the awful deed...But then it wouldn't be a birthmark.
The original title of this movie is called "The Birthmark", so there's no question about what the mark is. If it's supposed to be a birthmark given to the one true anti-Christ (as we're led to believe), then the only one who should have it would be Damien.
This is one thing that always bothered me about the movie. If everybody who becomes apostates of Satan (Brennan, Ms. Baylock, the dogs) gets it too, then they can call it a "mark", but not a "birthmark".
I guess we'll just have to chalk it up to slopping thinking.
"If everybody who becomes apostates of Satan (Brennan, Ms. Baylock, the dogs) gets it too, then they can call it a "mark", but not a "birthmark"."
It would have been natural for the coroner to ASSUME that the 666 on Father Brennan was a birthmark. After all, the coroner had no idea that a plan was unfolding to bring the anti-christ into the world. We couldn't expect the coroner to know that everyone who serves Satan has the 666 on them.
In the novel of The Omen Father Brennan was the one who actually killed Robert Thorn's real baby, with a rock to the head. Except he had a different name: Father Tassone.
I agree Greg. I never said anything about what the coroner speculated--I would've speculated the same thing.
All I'm saying is that they (those who presented us the story) can't call it a "birthmark" (the original title of the movie) if some people didn't have it at birth.
I thought that there was a hole in the baby's head suggesting that it was a gunshot. I'll take your expertise that I got it wrong, and it was really the slam of a rock. Thanks for the clarification.
Any theories as to why Father Brennan would do such a thing? From what we saw of him, he seemed like a pretty-good guy.
"Any theories as to why Father Brennan would do such a thing? From what we saw of him, he seemed like a pretty-good guy."
David Seltzer gave a lot more information about the priest's background in the novel. Up until Damien's birth he was a committed member of a satanic cult that devoted itself to spreading unrest and upheaval around the world. The cult would do anything it could to ignite religious conflict, undermine peace treaties, destablise parts of the world that were prone to violence. It even created the conditions that resulted in Idi Amin's rise to power. Father Brennan (or Tassone) was pretty much a fanatic.
After the birth of Damien the priest was ordered by Father Spiletto to kill Robert's baby so the switch could be made. That was when his dedication started to waver. He used a stone to strike the baby's head, but he didn't do the job properly. He had to swing the stone several times. After that he left the cult wracked with remorse. He went to Israel and spoke to Bugenhagen about what happened. Then he went to England, having developed cancer, which is when we see him in the film desperately trying to earn Christ's forgiveness by telling Robert the truth about Damien.