THE OMEGA CODE
US, 1999, 100 minutes, Colour.
Casper van Dein, Catherine Oxenberg, Michael York, Michael Ironside, Jan Triska, Gregory Wagrowski, William Hootkins, George Coe.
Directed by Robert Marcarelli.
Made in 1999 at the time of millennium speculation (and some fears), this is a product of a particular type of American Fundamentalist Christianity. It was popular amongst Christians who interpret the Scriptures not only literally, but as being fulfilled in their own times. Since the 19th century, there has been a strong tendency (especially in the United States) to expect the second coming of Christ to take place imminently - and this expectation has been always frustrated.
The Omega Code is a fiction that claims that scholars have been trying to piece together remnants of old prophecies and that whoever has the key to the prophecies will control the world. Clearly, this is an open invitation to potential Antichrists (who take the form of externally charming gentleman who have great wealth, corporate influence and have political ambitions which, when fulfilled, mean that they will rule the world). In our media age, the hero or heroine who is to confront the antichrist is often a reporter.
The films usually have exotic sequences where scholars unravel arcane secrets, where apostate villains do violent dirty work for the aspiring antichrist and where there is an apocalyptic conflagration which brings to an end the reign of the usurper.
If films like The Omega Code stayed on the level of such end-of-the world religious fictions like the Arnold Schwarzenegger epic, End of Days, which was released at the same time, they would simply be far-fetched entertainments. However, the makers want to communicate to audiences that these scenarios are biblically based and could be true.
Caspar Van Diehn is the rather unlikely scholar hero who, with the help of the media's Catherine Oxenburg, has to vanquish a sinister ex-priest played with his usual villainous relish by Michael Ironside and then confront the Antichrist, this time in the form of Michael York.
All in all, films like The Omega Code offer preposterous entertainment that begs to be taken literally but should not.
There was a sequel, Megiddo, in the 2002, directed by Brian Trenchard Smith.
Then came the Left Behind series.
