The First Omen review.
The First Omen is both surprisingly strong for a legacy prequel studio film…and hurt by being exactly that.
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The First Omen
Directed by Arkasha Stevenson
Screenplay by Tim Smith, Arkasha Stevenson and Keith Thomas
Starring Nell Tiger Free, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, Bill Nighy, Tawfeek Barhom, Maria Caballero and Nicole Sorace
The First Omen Review
Let’s start with the obvious. A prequel to The Omen, no matter how bold, will inevitably paint itself into a corner. There are certain things that need to happen. Characters that have to exist after the credits on The First Omen roll. Full disclosure…I’ve never seen The Omen. I’m aware enough of it to see the homages to famous lines or moments when this prequel goes to that well, however. I know which characters are important to the 1976 classic. Put simply…I knew enough to know what was going on.
Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) is an American sent to Rome to take her holy vows. Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson) is an expelled priest tracking down a plot to birth the Antichrist. He warns Margaret that a young girl in the convent may be the girl he’s looking for. A girl created with the sole purpose of birthing the Antichrist. When unexpected horrors start befalling the people around the girl…Margaret puts herself at great risk to investigate her background.
The first thing that will strike you about this throwback prequel is how much care went into crafting the feel of a story set before The Omen. Style wise…this feels like it could slide right into it’s early 70s setting. It looks the part…just with some modern sensibility attached to its body horror and gore effects. The latter is, perhaps, the most surprising element of The First Omen. Studio horror is usually fine with gross effects…not so much body horror stuff. It’s presented sparingly. It’s delivered effectively. The days of casual viewers buying tickets to horror movies, mainstream or otherwise, are long gone so it’s unlikely to outright shock the people in the theater. But it deserves to be noted. 20th Century Studios let director Arkasha Stevenson tell the story the way she wanted to.
Which brings us to the unfortunate part. Immaculate just told, in many ways, the same story. The same story on a more modest budget with the ability to go even further. Both films reach the same climax. Immaculate doesn’t have to serve either a major studio or being a prequel to a classic film. It can’t take the same path that the Sydney Sweeney movie does. Two incredibly similar stories that diverge at the moment of truth. One in service of story. The other in service of franchise.
The First Omen isn’t just interested in the franchise that already exists. It’s interested in building a new one. Bound by an ending that has no choice but to go a specific direction…The First Omen still finds a way to make an interesting move. It opens the door to an intriguing path forward. A universe for The Omen that can run concurrently with the one we already know.
Given that the story has to follow a path already laid out…The First Omen attempts a bit of a story twist that never really works. It doesn’t seem particularly interested in hiding its “twist” either. Which makes for a strange scene when the reveal is played like…well…a reveal. The script does a good job justifying the subterfuge…but you’re going to see it coming a mile away. The movie is practically spelling it out for you the entire time.
It’s a strange beat in a film that otherwise overdelivers on expectations. A well-crafted, well-acted, patent movie that houses genuine intrigue and some fine scares. There’s fan service, of course. Impressively, it never feels forced. Even when a riff on a famous line is delivered before a famous scene is reenacted…this time with fire! Okay…maybe it does feel a little forced that time. It’s also expected. Comparing The First Omen to recent legacy sequel The Exorcist: Believer…you’ll take somewhat forced fan service over not understanding the project whatsoever. We’ll stop punching down on David Gordon Green’s abomination when it stops being relevant to do so. Or fun.
The First Omen’s high production values and willingness to push the envelope create a surprising studio horror success. This is a high-quality film that finds itself blocked by a few outside factors. It can’t do anything about Immaculate beating it to the punch…or existing inside a universe that dictates certain choices ahead of time. The movie does a great job overcoming these problems and creating something that feels right and looks even better. It also carves out an original path for the future where it won’t be as beholden to things that it can’t control. A surprising rebirth for a dormant franchise whose best may be yet to come.
Scare Value
The First Omen is a refreshing piece of work for studio produced horror. It pushes things to surprising limits while benefitting from a higher budget than an independent film can claim. The result is a strong effort. A lovingly crafted throwback. It also finds itself trapped by some of those same benefits. It’s not The First Omen‘s fault that Immaculate beat them to the punch…pushing further than a prequel to a set world can push. There is, however, an interesting work around that opens that world to new ideas going forward. Hopefully any future installments will find the same care applied to it.
4/5
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