The horror genre typically has two routes: revamping a classic or attempting to innovate something new. This one is in the latter camp. The First Omen revisits The Omen film series, serving as a prequel to the first film, which came out in 1976. The reboot of the franchise was the 2006 release of The Omen (2006), which I managed to watch when I was ten years old. The Omen films typically revolved around a young boy, Damien Thorn, who is essentially Satan’s son/the Antichrist. He wreaks havoc and is a menace to those who stand in the way of his Antichrist goals.
The First Omen follows an American woman in 1971 named Margaret, who is recommended by an old Catholic church friend, Cardinal Lawrence, to help run an orphanage in Rome. Also, she is being reviewed by the orphanage’s sisters to take her final vows and take the veil (a traditional process in Catholicism where women of the church obtain their full veil, and it symbolizes their commitment to God).
When she first arrives, she becomes fixated on an isolated problem child named Carlita. Margaret bonds with Carlita because she, too, had a troublesome childhood. Both of them begin to discover the orphanage’s church members are not all who they seem to be, as Margaret learns through interactions with some of the sisters and the fathers. In the process of testing her curiosity, she discovers something more sinister is afoot. Ooh, very spooky!
“The storyline of The First Omen was generally simple and interesting enough to follow through.”
The storyline of The First Omen was generally simple and interesting enough to follow through. Some of the B-plot stuff was a bit of a slog, but they were followed shortly by the next horrific scene, which kept the pacing balanced. The overall production value of the film was very nostalgic for older films like some of the older Exorcist films. The shots of the city of Rome and its environments reminded me of old footage of races back in those days, as well as old shots of Italy’s streets during the Mille Miglia. I really liked this old style of filming to match the 1970s vibes; it added another layer of being immersed in this time period.
There were some interesting filming techniques I feel have gone obsolete as film and TV have evolved. Immediately at the start of the movie, there was a steady crane shot, and I noticed that a lot of modern films tend to either do overhead shots from a drone or a helicopter perspective.
I really liked the scene near the back half of the movie, where they do some b-roll shots of Rome, and the camera is frantically searching for the next scene—almost to symbolize the rising chaos of the story. It was a little disorienting, but I thought it was creative. On the note of disorientation, oh my Antichrist, I was blinded in some parts of this movie. Honestly, if you suffer from epilepsy or have any conditions with bright and/or flashing lights, beware. There is a scene in a nightclub, and while it was shot well, the strobing lights demolished my eyeballs.
In terms of sound design, someone had a little too much fun! The surround sound of whispers, creaks and screams was done with pinpoint precision. Additionally, nuns and priests reciting prayers in Latin or Italian in unison always add a haunting factor for me. It always sounds like they are casting a spell, and I hate that!
A lot of the jump scares used simple blocking techniques to quickly show a character randomly appearing behind the person in focus. It is a simple trick, but I felt that this film did it much more tastefully, and they also added classic jump scare sounds. They even combined this method of blocking with lingering shots to keep the suspense of dark corners and what they might turn into. A simple jacket may not look like a jacket.
These illusory moments of things in the dark turning into creatures could be seen in other horror movies like Talk to Me, the Insidious films or in The Conjuring films. I feel like those films have done these shots really well, and The First Omen played it off well. I find that is a special quality whenever horror movies utilize certain perspectives to symbolize things for the story. One perspective shot that stood out to me is when Margaret is praying, and the candles look like she is in the jaws of death.
“Ralph Ineson’s Father Brennan played a perfect role for him…”
Speaking of scares, The First Omen has some fairly decent scares but leans more toward the grotesque than gore or overly used jumpscares. It leaned into the weird ritualistic surrealism in Midsommar or other cult-like movies, such as both iterations of The Wicker Man. The use of practical effects and being able to film in Rome was a major boost. There were scenes that blended the practical prosthetics and VFX/CGI, but I thought every dismemberment or disfigured one looked pretty good and had to be done practically.
The acting was top-tier despite the lead not being some A-list actress! I primarily recognized Nell Tiger Free’s Margaret from Game of Throneswhere she played Myrcella Baratheon. I smirked when I realized Charles Dance was also in this since he was also in Game of Thrones playing the iconic character Tywin Lannister. He never fails to bring out his villainous side of him. While the cast was a melting pot of newer actors and actresses with fairly experienced ones, The First Omen played to everyone’s strengths.
I felt like everyone understood the assignment. Free was a very compelling actress who showed her sanity on the verge of breaking at times, and she was able to show off her skills when she was far gone and mentally broken. The way she could naturally contort and thrash around was unsettling and amazing at the same time. Ishtar Currie Wilson’s Sister, Anjelica, played a small role, but her ability to make me uncomfortable never failed.
Ralph Ineson’s Father Brennan (The Creator, Final Fantasy XVI) played a perfect role for him in this, delivering such a powerful quote. “How do you control people who no longer believe? You create something to fear.” It was not a unique statement, but the moment he delivered it when it needed to match the moment. His deep voice could also have added a certain weight to it.
If you want to see something close to a live-birthing moment with a side of a demon crowning out of a woman’s vagina or are curious to see what an amniotic sac looks like outside of the womb, The First Omen is for you! From the gnarly use of practical effects and riveting acting performances, this was a well-rounded horror flick. I believe it gave new fans enough lore and scares to be an entertaining watch and gave returning fans some nice nods and story tie-ins that did not break the canon since this was a prequel.
The film is relatively paced well for a two-hour flick. Despite the mostly generic horror score, I am confident horror fans will be happy to see this one. If you are a (expecting) mother watching this, good luck. Even though I am a man, whenever a woman was on a delivery table, I feared for their lives.
