Over the almost fifty years of its existence, The Omen franchise has been a rollercoaster. The original The Omen was terrifying. The sequel, Damien: Omen II ventured a bit into Final Destination territory, but still had its chills and thrills. Omen III: The Final Conflict went truly crazy yet still remained a horror film, while the television movie Omen IV: The Awakening bordered on the absurd with its unintentional hilarity. And then, in 2006, The Omen received the 21st century’s badge of horror honor/shame – the pointless shot-for-shot remake.
Now, the series is attempting a bounce-back with The First Omen.
Just as its title suggests, The First Omen takes place before the events of The Omen. Set in 1971, the story revolves around a young American nun-to-be named Margaret (Nell Tiger Free from Game of Thrones) who is sent to Rome to work at a church orphanage before she takes her final vows. While there, she meets a troubled young girl named Carlita (Summer Limited Edition’s Nicole Sorace). Carlita reminds Margaret a lot of herself at that age, and so, Margaret immediately forms a connection with the child. That connection leads to a crisis of faith…and a horrible discovery about the girl.
With help from co-writers Tim Smith and Keith Thomas, writer-director Arkasha Stevenson manages to pay homage to the original The Omen trilogy while also expanding upon and further explaining the mythology behind those classics. By no means does The First Omen reinvent the wheel, but it does inject some fresh blood into what has, after fifty years and five other movies, become a bit stale and predictable.
Because it is a direct prequel (it literally ends where The Omen picks up), the viewer pretty much knows where things are going, but Stevenson does throw in a handful of keen surprises to keep audiences on their toes. The most impressive aspect of what Stevenson does is how she creates a ’70s aesthetic for the film. From the production design and costuming to the camera work and music, The First Omen feels like a classic period horror flick.
And there is no shortage of callbacks to the original The Omen, from specific scenes that are quoted verbatim to the presence of the character of Father Brennan (played by The VVitch’s Ralph Ineson). Best of all, the callbacks are done organically. It may ultimately be fan service, but it doesn’t feel like it in the moment.
The biggest flaw in the film involves its pacing. The story is divided neatly into three parts. The first part, which basically introduces the characters and sets the scene for what’s coming, drags on a bit too long. However, once the movie transitions into its second act, it becomes an Omen movie, and that’s where the fun is. The meat of the movie, and all the carnage contained therein, is a blast.
Unfortunately, the third act is where things start to fizzle out. The plot shows its hand a little too early when it comes to the big twists, and from that point, everything seems to grind to a halt. With a runtime of about two hours, an easy twenty minutes could be shaved off of the film, and most of that fat is in the third act.
To its credit, The First Omen doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares to shock its audience. Of course, the cheap jump scares are there, but they’re not nearly as effective or frightening as the creepy atmosphere and subtle tension that Stevenson builds over the course of the movie. This is not your father’s Omen movie – it even ventures squarely into the realm of Cronenbergian body horror at times – but it’s also not the typical modern BOO-fest.
Despite its weaknesses, The First Omen is a fun little entry into the series’ lore. It’s no competition for the original 1976 movie, but what is? It’s still way better than a shot-for-shot remake.
GRADE: B-
MPAA Rating: R for violent content, grisly and disturbing images, and brief graphic nudity
Release Date: April 5, 2024
Running Time: 2 hours
Studio: 20th Century Studios
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