Hey there, fellow horror geeks and monsterphiles! Prometheus here with the first round of FRIGHT FIGHT FRIDAY’S Killer Kids Bracket! After a few weeks off, it’s good to be back! Tonight, we have two of the most famous killer kids in all of cinema facing off to get it started right, DAMIEN (The Omen) VS ISAAC (Children of the Corn)!
For decades, both of their names have held weight. So, who wins? A temperamental toddler, who just so happens to be the unknowing spawn of Satan himself? Or a pint-sized fanatic with the demeanor of an adult, who only serves “He Who Walks Behind the Rows?” Lucky for you, I’m about to answer that question! Let’s take a look at our fighters!
DAMIEN (The Omen)
To be fair, I could probably skip the introduction for this little bastard. If you don’t know who Damien is, or you’ve never watched “The Omen,” why are you even here? I kid, I kid, but seriously… put this article down, and go watch The Omen. Now… I’ll wait.
Those familiar with Damien know that he is quite literally the toddler from Hell. The son of Lucifer, this kid has more power than even he knows… at first. The older he gets, the stronger he grows. His powers include but are not limited to, telekinesis, healing, dark magic, manipulation, beyond human strength, intelligence, and vast knowledge of past historical events.
The literal anti-Christ, you have to stab this kid with the seven daggers of Megiddo to stop him. With all seven. Not one of the daggers. All seven. Good luck.
ISAAC (Children of the Corn)
The boy-leader of a cult that worships “He Who Walks Behind the Rows,” Isaac Chroner came to Gatlin and organized the town’s children to murder all the adults. He is very persuasive, intelligent and articulate. Not to mention incredibly cold-blooded.
Isaac doesn’t have any natural-born abilities but has been seen to gain power from “He Who Walks Behind the Rows,” including above average strength and intelligence.
What makes Isaac dangerous is his ability to control and manipulate the other children around him. They will and have killed for him and his ideologies.
FIGHT
“He hasn’t said anything the whole time.” He keeps his voice low, careful not to wake the child in the back seat.
“Give him a break, Tom. After everything the poor kid’s been through, a little compassion is more than warranted.”
He lets out a small sigh. “You know I didn’t mean it like that, Janet. I’m just saying that he hasn’t said a word the entire drive. Not one. I’m concerned, is all.”
“He’ll come around. Give him some time.”
“Yeah,” he replies as he glances in the rearview mirror. Rows of corn pass, one after another. “Have you seen anything, I mean anything, besides corn for the last two and a half miles?”
“Saw an eagle back aways.”
He laughs, then smiles coyly. “That was a buzzard, dear.”
“Oh.”
They laugh together as the rows of corn grow smaller behind them. It had always been their dream to have a child and move out to the country. Of course, the news of her infertility put a hamper on that dream for many years. They had only begun to consider adoption when they met Damien. His story was so tragic and sad. Both of his parents dead, no other family. Nobody else in the world to care for him. It was almost as if it was meant to be.
“There,” says Janet. “Finally, a sign of life.” Her finger points to a small store up ahead on the corner. “Let’s stop and ask for directions.”
After a look of disapproval, Tom pulls the car over. “I’ll run in.”
“No way, Mr.” Janet smiles at her husband. “I’m going, too. I want to meet the locals.”
Tom turns his head towards Damien. “He’s sleeping.”
“Leave him. He’ll be fine. We’re not in Chicago anymore, Tom.”
The old wood creeks as it pushes open. It makes the exact sound you would expect a door, on a rundown store, in the middle of nowhere to make. The bells, hung on the edges, jingle as it opens and closes.
The inside of the store is dingy and smells like an attic. Sunlight reflects off the thick dust in the air as it seeps through the shades. After a moment, a young boy, no older than twelve, comes from the back room to greet them.
“Howdy, folks! What can I do for ya?” His tone is friendly, but his posture seems too tired for that of a young boy. His hair is as orange as the sun. Wire framed glasses rest on his face, crookedly. His smile is warm, but something in his eyes doesn’t quite match.
“Hi,” says Janet. “We’re new to town. Very new actually, and to be honest,” she pauses for a moment, looking around, “we’re kind of lost. Are your parents here? We were hoping they could point us toward Mulberry St.”
“You folks traveling without a map?”
“A map?” Tom laughs. “Do they even make those anymore? No, we have GPS on our phones, it was working fine right until we got to town.”
“Yeah,” replies the boy. “Your fancy gadgets and PVS, they won’t work out here.”
“No, G-P-S. You know, like Google Maps.” Tom smiles at the child. “Can you get an adult for me?”
“Not here.” The fire-haired boy spits on the floor, his tone suddenly seems less friendly although his face still smiles. “Take a left after the next cornfield. Turn right at the stop sign.”
“Which stop sign?”
“The only stop sign. That’ll be Mulberry St.”
Tom nods his head. “Thanks.” As he walks back towards the exit with his wife, the child calls out.
“Hey, Mr.”
Tom turns around curiously. “Yeah?”
The young boy tosses him a road atlas, similar to the ones you used to find in the gas stations all across America.
“Thanks,” replies Tom as he lifts his arm, catching it. The odd child nods in acknowledgment as they head outside to the car.
“Tom?” asks Janet. “Where’s Damien?” Her voice suddenly heightened and panicked.
“What?” Tom rushes out behind her, looking into the car. “Damien?” He looks around, his head frantically turning this way, then that. “Damien!” His gaze shifts back to the store as two young girls come out, followed two boys. “Have any of you seen our son?”
“Outlanders,” says one of the girls, as she points to them.
“Outlanders,” join the other children, as three more boys come from inside the store, including the orange-haired child that gave Tom the map.
“Outlanders,” they all chant together as they form a circle around them and point. “Outlanders. Outlanders!” The boys remove knives from their pockets as the circle grows smaller.
Meanwhile, in the cornfields…
“Here he is, the outlanders’ child. Just as you asked.”
“You’ve done good, and what of the adults?”
“They will be here soon.”
A group of children sit, gathered around their leader like a congregation awaiting sermon.
“What is your name, Outlander?”
Damien looks at the one they call Isaac, confused.
“What do you want?”
“It’s not what I want. It’s what HE wants.”
“Who?”
“He Who Walks Behind the Rows.”
“You should probably let me go.”
“Why is that?”
The conversation is interrupted by a group of kids, holding two adults at knifepoint. Damien sees it’s his adopted parents. Tom’s head is bleeding.
“Ah, good. Just in time. Don’t feel too bad, Outlander. All of us have done it. We have all purged ourselves, and this town from the corruption of adulthood. Each of us responsible for our own parents' cleansing. Join us, outlander.” He holds his hand out, toward Damien in offering. A knife clenched in his fist.
“Damien, are you OK?” asks Janet.
“Let them go.” Damien’s voice is quiet, but not soft.
“Grab him, too. We’ll offer them all.”
A group of children gathers around Damien, their eyes seem sedated and their movement is slow. As they close in, one reaches for Damien’s arm. A burst of flame engulfs the children instantly, igniting the rows of corn behind them.
The group of kids not close enough to be touched by the fire, the kids surrounding the two adults, immediately lift their own knives to their throats, cutting deep and hard. This leaves only Damien, and their leader, Isaac standing in the middle of the clearing.
“Oh my God!” yells Janet.
“Damien!” Tom runs toward the child but is flung through the air by an invisible force. He lands hard, hitting his head on a rock and going unconscious.
Isaac runs for Janet, holding his blade to her. “Now what outlander? Who are you? Has ‘He Who Walks’ Sent You? Have I lost his favor?”
Damien stares blankly at the boy zealot. His eyes cold, and dark.
“Answer me!” yells Isaac. “Who are you?” As he pleads for an answer, the knives in the hands of his dead friends’ wiggle loose and rise into the air. Flames shoot into the dusk behind Damien. “Outlander, you will never….”
His sentence is left incomplete as several knives plunge into his body, one of them through the back of the skull, exiting his mouth. Blood drips from the tip of the blade and onto the ground and Isaac’s body falls forward, onto the dirt.
Damien shifts his gaze to Janet, who is standing there watching in terror, her mouth and her eyes both wide open.
“What the fu…”
DAMIEN
If I’m being honest, there was no way Isaac was beating Damien. Not happening. Isaac might be charismatic, and he might be able to talk some backwater, questionably bred children into following his crazy ideas, but at the end of the day, he doesn’t have the toolset to mess with the son of the Devil. (Let’s be real, he could barely mess with Malachi.)
In my opinion, Damien wins this round quite easily. What do you think out there? Am I way off? Comment below! Join us next week for round 2 of our Killer Kids bracket! GAGE (Pet Sematary) VS DAVID (Village of the Damned)!
Until next time, keep on geekin’ on, my friends!
Joshua "Prometheus" Scafidi
