Movie Review: ‘The First Omen’

Director Arkasha Stevenson cleverly connects this prequel to the original, but it suffers from pacing issues despite a strong performance from Nell Tiger Free.

Nell Tiger Free as Margaret in 20th Century Studios' 'The First Omen'.

Opening in theaters on April 5th is ‘The First Omen,’ which is the sixth film in the franchise and acts as a prequel to 1976’s ‘The Omen.’

The new movie is directed by Arkasha Stevenson (‘Legion’) and stars Nell Tiger Free (‘Servant’), Maria Caballero (‘Olvido’), Ralph Ineson (‘The Creator’), Sônia Braga (‘Shotgun Wedding’), Bill Nighy (‘Living’), and Charles Dance (‘The Golden Child’).

Initial Thoughts

‘The Fist Omen’ successfully connects to the mythology of the original ‘The Omen’ with a strong opening sequence and third act but suffers from pacing issues throughout. Director Arkasha Stevenson crafts some solid scares but fails to keep the momentum building through the second act. However, Nell Tiger Free’s fearless performance carries the movie with the help of strong supporting performances from Maria Caballero, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson and Bill Nighy.

Story and Direction

Director Arkasha Stevenson and Nell Tiger Free as Margaret on the set of 20th Century Studios' 'The First Omen.'

The film is set in Rome in the mid-1970’s and begins by introducing us to Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson), who is investigating a conspiracy within the Catholic Church. We then meet Margaret Daino (Nell Tiger Free), an American sent to Rome to work in an orphanage before taking the veil. Margaret has suffered from strange visions since she was a child and was recruited by longtime mentor Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy).

Upon arrival at the orphanage, Margaret meets her new roommate, Luz Valez (Maria Caballero), a young woman also preparing to take the veil but who wants to experience as much of life as possible before becoming a nun. Margaret also meets Sister Silvia (Sônia Braga), who runs the orphanage, and a young girl named Carlita Skianna (Nicole Sorace), who suffers from the same strange visions as Margaret.

Nell Tiger Free as Margaret and Nicole Sorace as Carlita in 20th Century Studios' 'The First Omen'.

While Margaret secretly enjoys Rome’s nightlife with Luz, she also realizes that something strange is happening with Carlita and discovers that her own dark visions have returned. Margaret soon becomes suspicious of Sister Silvia and the other nuns, who lock Carlita away from the other children. When unexplained events begin happening at the orphanage, Margaret is contacted by Father Brennan who shares his theory on the events.

According to Brennan, there is a secret society within the Catholic church that wants to birth the Anti-Christ so that the modern world will believe in God again. Believing that Carlita is the key, Margaret works with Father Brennan to save Carlita and stop the church from enacting their evil plans, but she soon learns that she can trust no one, including herself.

Director Arkasha Stevenson has a good feel for crafting scary moments and there are quite a few good ones here, but the set-up can feel slow and unruly at times. While the pacing feels off, the mood and tone is solid and delivers what you would expect from an ‘Omen’ prequel. Stevenson and co-writers Tom Smith and Keith Thomas wisely place the prequel in the mid-1970s, right before the events of the original (erasing the possibility of a ‘First Omen’ sequel) but leading right up to the original movie.

The location, period setting, production design and costumes are all well executed, which adds to the film’s gothic tone. Stevenson also gets very good performances from her cast, despite the screenplay’s shortcomings.

‘Omen’ Mythology

Ralph Ineson as Father Brennan in 20th Century Studios' 'The First Omen'.

‘The First Omen’ works best when it is exploring the mythology of the original film in the opening sequence and the third act, but it loses its urgency in the first and second act. Being a prequel, the film is a bit predictable as we know that it will end with the birth of Damian. How they get there doesn’t completely work, and the movie gets lost at times setting up what we all know is coming. However, once it gets there, it’s a race to the finish with a very exciting third act.

The opening sequence featuring Father Brennan questioning another priest played by Charles Dance feels like a classic ‘Omen’ scene, but then the tone changes once we are introduced to Margaret and we don’t get back to uncovering the conspiracy until later in the film.

However, the conspiracy is well thought out, and fans of the original will be happy to see a posthumous photo cameo from Gregory Peck, who starred in ‘The Omen,’ connecting this new movie to the original.

Performances

Nell Tiger Free and María Caballero in 20th Century Studios' 'The First Omen'.

Actress Nell Tiger Free gives a very good performance and really carries much of the film. As Margaret, she is completely believable as a quiet young American concealing a dark secret of her own and is also fun in her moments when the character is exploring life outside the church. She has some excellent scenes with Father Brennan, Cardinal Lawrence, and Sister Silvia, and has great chemistry with Maria Caballero and Nicole Sorace.

Speaking of Caballero, she brings Luz alive in a very interesting way, creating a seemingly innocent character who is much more nefarious than one would expect. While Sorace fills her demanding role well, playing a possibly possessed child with very little dialogue.

Veteran actors Bill Nighy, Sônia Braga and Ralph Ineson are all welcomed additions to the film, but I did wish there was more time to explore their characters. Nighy’s Cardinal Lawrence is a fascinating character but has very little screentime and practically disappears in the middle of the movie. Ineson’s Father Brannan is probably the most developed of the three characters, but again, is not given enough time to truly explore his role.

Déjà vu?

Sydney Sweeney in 'Immaculate.' Photo: Neon.

Hollywood is no stranger to delivering two different movies about the same subject at the same time, and in fact has a long track record of doing so. We had two asteroid movies (‘Armageddon’ and ‘Deep Impact’), two volcano movies (‘Volcano’ and ‘Dante’s Peak') and even two movies about runner Steve Prefontaine (‘Prefontaine’ and ‘Without Limits’). So, it should be no surprise that we are getting two different “Nunsploitation” horror movies just a few weeks apart.

The other “Nunsploitation” movie already in theaters is Sydney Sweeney’s “so bad its good” ‘Immaculate’. ‘The First Omen’ is basically the same exact movie, just without the popular ‘Euphoria’ actress and featuring ‘Omen’ mythology. I’m sure the movie will be unable to avoid comparisons to ‘Immaculate,’ and fairly or not, they are basically carbon copies of each other. While I liked ‘Immaculate’ slightly more due to Sweeney’s performance and its tongue-in-cheek vibes, fans of the original series will probably prefer ‘First Omen’ because of its connections to the overall franchise.

Final Thoughts

While ‘The First Omen’ drags through much of the middle, its opening and closing sequences are strong, as is its ties to the original. Nonetheless, Nell Tiger Free gives a very strong performance and is helped by an excellent supporting cast of actors. In the end, while it’s not a home run, ‘The First Omen’ does have an interesting premise and connects to the franchise well-enough to entertain fans of the genre and the series alike.

‘The First Omen’ receives 6 out of 10 stars.

The First Omen

"Create something to fear."

R1 hr 59 minApr 5th, 2024

Showtimes & Tickets

Watch The First Omen Online

What is the Plot of ‘The First Omen’?

The plot follows an American woman (Nell Tiger Free) sent to work at a church in Rome who uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist.