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With the recent interest in The Bible Code and its spin-off tomes, it was inevitable that Hollywood would offer up a mainstream cinematic interpretation. In fact, they did, and the result is Robert Marcarelli's The Omega Code, a film which, from its poster design, is obviously marketing towards the End Of Days crowd. But this one succeeds where so many other apocalyptic opuses have fallen short. The script by Stephan Blinn and Hollis Barton--with theological scholar Hal Lindsey as advisor--begins in an Israeli synagogue, where a rabbi (Yehuda Efroni) pecking away on a PC has pieced together the final portion of an encrypted code that now predicts to him his own death, which occurs seconds later from an assassin's bullet. The gunman is Dominick (Michael Ironside), later revealed to be a failed priest now working for financier and political climber Stone Alexander (Michael York). Alexander has an agenda to bring peace to warring nations, food and water to starving countries, and a global currency to replace existing monies. Moreoever, he wishes to enlist obnoxious self-help guru Dr. Gillen Lane (Casper Van Dien) as a team member, since Lane is also an authority on the Bible Code prophecies.
If Stone's agenda sounds familiar, it's probably because it gels with the agenda of the Antichrist in the book of Revelation. Once the skeptical Lane leaves his disapproving wife (Devon Odessa, in a performance rivaling Eeyore for dourness) to work with Alexander, he begins experiencing demonic visions that cause him to re-think his assessment of the Bible Code prophecies and their true salience to current affairs. Ultimately, he becomes the tool to thwart the Beast. It's not long, of course, until Alexander orchestrates a seven-year peace treaty between Israel and Palestine, sacred temples get blown up but then rebuilt by Alexander, a pair of preternatural prophets (Jan Triska and Gregory Wagrowsky) start making headlines in the media, and Alexander survives a seemingly-fatal gunshot wound to the head. Damien Thorn, eat your heart out; instead of siccing demonic dogs on people, this Antichrist sticks to the letter of prophecy. His ultimate goal is to ascend to Chancellor of the United World, and the scene of his coronation works some of the most integral passages from Revelation into smartly-written dialogue for the occasion. What's amazing about The Omega Code is that it's the first mainstream Hollywood picture to dramatize Biblical prophecy into the scenarios and events as they've come to be interpreted by modern faith; face it, even non-believers can't deny the dramatic tension (and by extension, the entertainment potential) of what Revelation says is supposed to happen in the final days. And the filmmakers here cover all the bases and turn in a remarkably solid movie interpretation with a breezy 98-minute running time. So why is Pit Of Horror covering it? Well, it's the frigging Antichrist, for one thing! Global destruction at Satan's bidding--acceptably daunting. Need another credential? Okay, celebrated horror composer Harry Manfredini did the score; it's got a great Jason Goes To Hell ring to it. Throw in the mention that Michael York turns in an electrifying performance--at once charming and demonic--that helps the viewer forget he was Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers flicks, then stop contemplating and check out The Omega Code at first opportunity.
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