Move over Immaculate there’s a new religious-horror film in town coming for your gig! In all fairness, I’ve been a fierce defender of the flawed, but stylish Sydney Sweeney-led horror flick released earlier this spring. Although, when pitted against the “prequel” to the 1976 classic, The First Omen, it’s difficult to deny the latter’s superiority. Both films have a handsome production, creepy atmosphere, and a startling lead female performance. The First Omen, however, features a more compelling, singular narrative that doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares to generate unease. In a wasteland of terrible sequels, reboots, and horror remakes, The First Omen breaks the curse of mediocrity and predictability.
When and where does The First Omen take place?
Who could forget Damien? The Antichrist disguised as a cute, innocent child born on the sixth hour of the sixth day of the sixth month (6 AM, June 6th – aka 666) in the early 1970s. Long before Damien inflicted his demonic reign of terror on the helpless Thorn family (Gregory Peck, Lee Remick), he was merely a long-prophesied conspiracy effort by the Catholic Church. The film, set against a leftist, politically-charged Italian backdrop in early 1971, reveals the burgeoning ascension of secular ideologies. This makes the fortuitous arrival of Margaret Daino (Nell Tiger Free), a young American novitiate, at a Roman Catholic orphanage all the more salient. The clergy view her nurturing spirit, innocence, and approachability as invaluable assets to lure people back into the church. Of course, this wouldn’t be a proper horror film if that was the only agenda they had for her.
She quickly takes to the troubled youths of the orphanage. After witnessing several disturbing incidents at her new residence, her growing concerns for the children’s safety (and her own) become apparent. A mysterious encounter with an outcast priest, Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson), who warns her of the church’s deeply rooted, conspiratorial practices, prompts her to investigate the institution’s history. Her findings lead her down a dark rabbit hole of disturbing truths and unlock sinister revelations about how and why she’s come to be where she is. As you might predict, shit gets dark and twisted from here on out.
How does The First Omen differ from other prequels?
What makes The First Omen a refreshing departure from other prequels is its commitment to character and story. Instead of cobbling together familiar narrative bits from other films, it takes time to flesh out its plot points and character arcs. It takes what we know about this subgenre and expands upon it with some fresh ideas, shocking reveals, and patient direction. I’m not a critic of “jump scares,” in general. On the contrary, they’re an essential element of the horror genre. The difference with the jump scares in this film versus the many others like it, is that it earns its scares.
The film also has an emotional core due in no small part to Free’s incredible lead performance as Margaret. She is at once warm and beguiling then monstrous and unhinged. The writers undeniably had a lot of affection for this property. They drafted a haunting origin story that stands firm on its own merits, while retroactively making the original film better. There are three or four images in this that are absolute nightmare fuel. This is not a masterful or groundbreaking horror film, per se. But it is proof that not all prequels have to recycle the same old sermons to get their message across.
The First Omen will be available to buy or rent VOD on May 28th and via streaming on Hulu on May 30th.
