The First Omen
Year: 2024
Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Starring: Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson, Bill Nighy & Nell Tiger Free
Runtime: 119 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 09/04/24
Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Starring: Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson, Bill Nighy & Nell Tiger Free
Runtime: 119 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 09/04/24
It took approximately two minutes after the opening titles of The First Omen for me to think ‘Hang on, didn’t I see this film last week?’. It would seem that our protagonist’s arrival in Rome is almost shot for shot the same as the Sydney Sweeney starring Immaculate, and the comparisons don’t end either as come the final act I was convinced that the films had exactly the same plot. Whilst there are subtle differences, they are ostensibly the same film, which considering they’ve released only a couple of weeks apart was quite startling to me. But is The First Omen the definitive version of this story, or is it just a case of Hollywood resurrecting a dead property when a new IP would have served perfectly well?
Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) arrives in Rome during the early 1970’s to take her vows and devote her life to God and the church. Disturbed by the neglect shown to one of the orphans, as well as haunted by frightening visions, Margaret finds herself at the centre of a conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist.
I will admit that I’m not particularly familiar with The Omen franchise. I’ve never seen any of the previous films, but I am somewhat familiar with the story. I didn’t have overly high expectations for The First Omen, mostly because it’s a Hollywood mandated revival of a legacy franchise which in this day and age usually means it’s a cash grab. But what first time director Arkasha Stevenson has achieved here is genuinely worthy of praise.
I expected a jump scare laden, cliche, studio driven snooze. But instead, The First Omen takes some mighty big risks, particularly in its horrifying imagery. In fact, I couldn’t believe that The First Omen got past the BBFC with just a 15 certificate because there was some really fucked up shit in this film. One scene would be enough to put a woman off having a baby forever as far as I’m concerned, but there’s a few scenes in this film where I was left somewhat stunned at what I was watching. It was incredibly intense, and it was gorgeously shot too which just made the horror of it all land so much better.
Nell Tiger Free was fantastic here too. She commits to the role so much, and her descent into this hellish nightmare is captivating to watch. She could have easily played Margaret as just another hysterical woman but instead she’s just plain terrified. I got the feeling that there was genuine fear behind her eyes in so many of the scenes, and it made it so much harder to not watch through my fingers.
There are lots of fake out jump scares around the first act of the film but come the third act there’s almost zero jump scares, instead it’s been replaced with this crushing dead and some really effective slow burn scares, such as one involving something emerging from the darkness.
Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) arrives in Rome during the early 1970’s to take her vows and devote her life to God and the church. Disturbed by the neglect shown to one of the orphans, as well as haunted by frightening visions, Margaret finds herself at the centre of a conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist.
I will admit that I’m not particularly familiar with The Omen franchise. I’ve never seen any of the previous films, but I am somewhat familiar with the story. I didn’t have overly high expectations for The First Omen, mostly because it’s a Hollywood mandated revival of a legacy franchise which in this day and age usually means it’s a cash grab. But what first time director Arkasha Stevenson has achieved here is genuinely worthy of praise.
I expected a jump scare laden, cliche, studio driven snooze. But instead, The First Omen takes some mighty big risks, particularly in its horrifying imagery. In fact, I couldn’t believe that The First Omen got past the BBFC with just a 15 certificate because there was some really fucked up shit in this film. One scene would be enough to put a woman off having a baby forever as far as I’m concerned, but there’s a few scenes in this film where I was left somewhat stunned at what I was watching. It was incredibly intense, and it was gorgeously shot too which just made the horror of it all land so much better.
Nell Tiger Free was fantastic here too. She commits to the role so much, and her descent into this hellish nightmare is captivating to watch. She could have easily played Margaret as just another hysterical woman but instead she’s just plain terrified. I got the feeling that there was genuine fear behind her eyes in so many of the scenes, and it made it so much harder to not watch through my fingers.
There are lots of fake out jump scares around the first act of the film but come the third act there’s almost zero jump scares, instead it’s been replaced with this crushing dead and some really effective slow burn scares, such as one involving something emerging from the darkness.
I think what stopped me enjoying it more was the fact that Immaculate was so fresh in my mind still. I definitely preferred The First Omen, but the two films are so similar that it feels impossible to not compare the two or feel fatigue when watching basically the same film twice.
If I were to recommend one of the two to anyone, it would be The First Omen, but I’m not as mad about it as some of the critics I follow.
I was also not keen on the final scene. No spoilers here but it doesn’t feel like a studio mandated scene where some executive decided that there needed to be an explicit and clear link to the other Omen films, but because the story is a prequel that sets those films up anyway, I couldn’t help but just stop taking the film seriously as Ralph Ineson tries to deliver some incredibly clunky dialogue. A shame to end the film on a bum note, but it’s one of the only things that The First Omen properly fumbles.
My thoughts can be summarised like so; it was good, not great, but it had some absolutely brilliant moments. The horror is repulsive, and the whole film is just so unsettling. Stevenson knows how to craft some great tension, and Tiger Free’s performance was nothing short of superb.
If you’re going to watch a film about a nun uncovering a conspiracy of the antichrist this month then make sure it’s The First Omen.
If I were to recommend one of the two to anyone, it would be The First Omen, but I’m not as mad about it as some of the critics I follow.
I was also not keen on the final scene. No spoilers here but it doesn’t feel like a studio mandated scene where some executive decided that there needed to be an explicit and clear link to the other Omen films, but because the story is a prequel that sets those films up anyway, I couldn’t help but just stop taking the film seriously as Ralph Ineson tries to deliver some incredibly clunky dialogue. A shame to end the film on a bum note, but it’s one of the only things that The First Omen properly fumbles.
My thoughts can be summarised like so; it was good, not great, but it had some absolutely brilliant moments. The horror is repulsive, and the whole film is just so unsettling. Stevenson knows how to craft some great tension, and Tiger Free’s performance was nothing short of superb.
If you’re going to watch a film about a nun uncovering a conspiracy of the antichrist this month then make sure it’s The First Omen.