The First Omen

The First Omen (2024)

79% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 139 reviews)

Runtime: 121 minutes

Directed by: Arkasha Stevenson

Starring: Nell Tiger Free (what a name), Ralph Ineson, Sonia Braga, Tawfeek Barhom, Maria Caballero

From: 20^th Century Studios

I had to go through Hell to see this movie.

I first saw the movie at AMC at Disney Springs… but had to leave before the first act even concluded due to how bad the crowd was (this is NOT the movie you want to view with a Troglodyte audience) and left so I could attend the late showing of this at my town’s local cinema instead. Yet another time having the AMC A-List app is nice; the cost wasn’t as high as it could have been, although the inconvenience…

It’s just a shame that hardcore horror fans tend to be awesome people, yet the genre seems to attract some of the biggest jackasses to theatrical screenings. Theater etiquette hasn’t always been great this year; too many mouthbreathers either flapping their jowls or dead-eye looking at their phones constantly. I thought about making a scene before leaving but in hindsight, discretion & my storming off without a word was the right move.

To answer two questions right away:

* I only saw parts of the made for cable Omen movie; otherwise, I can comment on the entire movie franchise. The OG is very good, the second is fine while The Final Conflict is only OK, despite the best efforts of Sam Neill. The 2006 remake is also only OK; in many regards it was a Xerox copy of the original film, just not done as well and featuring some rather poor CG.
* I’ve not tackled Immaculate, despite Syd… I mean, despite the similarities to this movie. At home one day I’ll create the obvious double-feature.

Not every narrative decision in The First Omen sat well w/ me; at least one point had to come via the dreaded “studio notes” rather than the intentions of director Arkasha Stevenson; this being a feature film debut was surprising given how assured most of it was. Be that as it may, I still found this prequel to be pretty good-chronicling young Margaret as she moves to a Rome orphanage in 1971 for training to become a nun. She bonds w/ a troubled young girl, and I won’t go more in-depth than that.

One key aspect: there are some legitimate scares. Sure, there’s more than one of the jump-scare variety. That said, there’s also some horrifying imagery and (admitted by the filmmakers) a homage to a legendary scene in 80’s Euro-horror. Another aspect is the turmoil in the country at the time. That was accurate (it’s known as the Time of Lead) & was a major reason why the genre fare was not only so wild, it was pessimistic.

The message of “a woman having autonomy over her body” is presented in a way that wasn’t… preachy (pun intended); in a refreshing break from too many Hollywood movies these days, there isn’t any lecturing over controversial topics that are bound to enrage a large section of the demographic. The setting was decently presented although some of the period clothing may have been a few years anachronistic and one song heard certainly was, as I’ll mention in a minute. Speaking of music, the score wasn’t epic and bombastic like Jerry Goldsmith’s contributions to the original trilogy yet Mark Korven’s score was satisfactory to the film’s subject matter… which was presented in a deliberate yet never dull manner until it goes into overdrive.

Nell Tiger Free… now, I have rather high skepticism that was the name on her birth certificate. Bizarre monikers aside, I’d never seen her act before (avoiding Game of Thornes proved to be a wise move given its wet fart final season!) but she was great leading The First Omen. It was a large reason why I kept engaged with the movie despite my misgivings of more than one plot point. At least in 1971 Italy, I have to presume that nuns in training aren’t cloistered anywhere & they can go out in sexy clothing to the discotheques. Then again, those few minutes tickled me pink due to the hilarious 70’s Euro-pop that was played, only one of which I knew: Boney M.’s Daddy Cool! Of course, that song came out in ’76, but…

The First Omen was not the pretentious crap “elevated horror” that does nothing to thrill me nor lame Blumhouse crap (where from reviews I understand they are now ripping off their own movies), thus I was pleasantly surprised it was an entertaining horror prequel.