The First Omen

Grade: B-

I like that you can see a prequel without having seen any of the movies in the series that came “before” – because, well, it’s the beginning of the story. However, you will have a leg up if you have seen the previous films. The First Omen is MY first Omen. I’m sure it has references and setups that went over my head, but I was still able to appreciate a significant amount. I hear that this one ends right where The Omen (1976) starts. Like, you could go home after seeing this, cue up the 1976 movie, and it would be a seamless progression. I wouldn’t know, but The First Omen can be viewed as a standalone movie.

Nell Tiger Free is electrifying as our lead, Margaret. She does something near the end, in the scene by the crashed cars, that must have taken lots of energy, courage, commitment, and leaving her embarrassments/insecurities at the door. She plays Margaret, who arrives in early-1970s Rome to begin a life of service to the church. She had a problematic childhood, filled with misbehavior and punishment, so the Sisters, priests, and elders are a little skeptical about the hallucinations she begins to experience.

I don’t have the knowledge that the Omen aficionados possess (no pun intended). There’s no doubt that I missed out on the excitement of discovering moments like “Cool! This character becomes that character later.” The film is a fine journey otherwise. The jump scares appear in sneaky places, not the usual easy ones. Some of the most frightening things we see are smiles and laughs. There’s a childbirth scene that competes with such parts in Immaculate and Asphalt City. Director Arkasha Stevenson fought very hard to get one particular shot in the film, and won.

It’s dark and bleak, but The First Omen has the entertainment factor that recent releases like Monkey Man and Immaculate sorely lacked. The sound is particularly efficacious. It creates an immersive sensory experience that continues through the roll of the end credits while you’re walking out. The music is loud, looming, and imposing, while you feel almost attacked by the white-on-black credits popping up in that large font. Much like Immaculate, it’s funny to think all of this got set in motion because a young, sweet, innocent, devout Catholic just wanted to devote her life to God. It’s all for Damien – whatever he ends up doing. I guess I’ll find out.

Grade: B-