The First Omen (2024)
Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Starring: Neil Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson
Primary genre: Supernatural
Secondary genre: Horror
“The Omen” in 1976 captured perfectly the satanic paranoia zeitgeist of the US in one fell scoop. But like any great script, it quickly became a so-so movie series which by 2006 had only to offer an inevitable and failed remake due to its banal execution and copy pasting the source material.
Eighteen years later, director and co-writer Arkasha Stevenson’s first feature film “The First Omen” takes unexpectedly the prequel approach leading to an uphill battle involving critics, audiences and the original’s fans. With the outcome of the supernatural horror story already known, Stevenson and the writing duo of Tim Smith and Keith Thomas have to make our pre-Damian trip to Rome worthwhile and not just focusing on sightseeing. Their demonic path is mostly well laid out featuring somewhat 2-D characters even if they really run in the middle of every single hell-ish cliche you can think of; shadowy figures, abandoned rooms, dodgy nuns, whispers, otherworldly visions and theocratic conspiracies all converge towards the anticipated finale that will pave the way for “The Omen”.
Clearly a product of its time (i.e., post #MeToo era), there are some heavy handed themes of emancipation, anti-patriarchy and on the nose metaphors for abortion which will either make or break the film. Considering it takes place in 1971, this presentism view of Rome (complete with a diverse background cast (!) especially at a disco bar) occasionally does not make sense as way too modern ideas and dialogue are inserted towards a time and a place where Catholicism is as important to Italians as it is water to a person crossing a desert. As we head towards the appropriately fiery finale, “The First Omen” has to bow down to boring genre rules although its key message that touches sequel bait territory about (spoiler alert) preferring to give the middle finger to the Antichrist because he is a male is baffling considering we will have an upcoming apocalypse.
“How do you control people who no longer believe?”
Bypassing these conflicting notions, Arkasha does a remarkable job at recreating the supernatural horror 70s aesthetic just like James Wan did in “The Conjuring” (2013) showcasing Rome as a very unfriendly place indeed while simultaneously paying witty homage to Richard Donner’s work from the original. Taking cues from every successful horror flick of the last ten years, “The First Omen” emphasizes atmosphere and interestingly, it does not shy away from shocking body horror images that push its R-rating to the max. The marvelous architecture and befittingly Christianity inspired production design add extra dread to already ominous proceedings and despite some predictable jump scares (how many times a ghost nun can be effective these days?) and a few unintentional laughs due to the main lead’s line delivery, its outstandingly eerie music (candidate for best soundtrack of the year) combined with superb cinematography gives the film an unexpected panache.
The random word generator named Nell Tiger Free (Myrcella from “Game of Thrones” (2011-2019)) has an ok presence even if the dialogue’s quality turns her down several times. She is doing better in the numerous boo shenanigans than in cases requiring more emotional depth; Alyssa Sutherland (e.g., “Evil Dead Rise” (2023)) or Jane Levy (e.g., “Evil Dead“ (2013)) she ain’t. The supporting cast though manages to solidify the protagonist sharing good dynamics in their small but effective roles. Sonia Braga (e.g., “Kiss of the Spiderwoman” (1985)) is unrecognizable (veil and all) as the iron-fist ruling head nun, Billy Nighy … is Billy Nighy and (the stunning) Maria Caballero as Luz a solid contrast against Free’s reclusive soon to be a woman of god although all three (and subsequently the movie) would have benefitted from more of their on-screen presence.
“The First Omen” strays from the horror prequel, reboot, requel and remake pack that sees the destruction of the original’s legacy due a lack of creativity. This tale of satanic expansion might take away (as they always do) the mystery of a compelling story but at least, it executes it (mostly) with gusto and attempts to introduce some engrossing and original elements through an audio and visual panache which films of similar context sorely lack. It might be eventually trapped under an established mythology and become preoccupied to tick check boxes towards the end but one thing is for sure: Arkasha Stevenson has a bright future indeed.
Mostly good prequel of a classic 70s film
+Brilliant soundtrack
+70s aesthetic
+Excellent horror direction
+Solid supporting cast
+Respects the original
+Effective body horror moments
-Predictable jump scares
-Heavy handed social messages
-Mediocre acting from the main lead