In Front | Antichrist in Culture

Antichrist figures (and antichrist-like figures) have shown up regularly in culture, especially in literature and film. C. S. Lewis develops an antichrist figure in his famed Narnia series of children books. In Narnia’s world of talking animals, the antichrist shows up in the form of a talking Ape in The Last Battle. The ape, named Shift, gains control over the animals of Narnia using a deception. He uses the carcass of a dead lion draped over his friend Puzzle, a donkey. He has this “lion” impersonate Aslan, the true king of Narnia. Thus he works out a plan to enslave and oppress all of Narnia. 

Perhaps the most famous series of films to center on an antichrist figure is The Omen series. The academy-award winning film, The Omen, released in 1976, followed by Damien: Omen II (1978), Omen III (1981) and Omen IV: The Awakening (1991). It also spawned several TV series. 

The leading character, Damien Thorn, is a child born of Satan. Tragedy and terror fills the lives of everyone who becomes close to Damien in his childhood: a nanny hangs herself, a journalist is decapitated in a freak accident, and his father is killed by the police before attempting to take the life of his adopted son. The films play out a storyline that leads to Damien becoming the antichrist.