'The First Omen' review: Can this nun-centered prequel hold a candle to the original?

The First Omen has the grand misfortune of popping out scorching on the heels of Immaculate, a nun-centered horror film that bears greater than a glancing resemblance to this prequel to 1976’s The Omen.

Each plots revolve round a younger and delightful American novitiate, new to an Italian convent, going through stern Catholic authority and penetrating forces of evil. Stylistically; nevertheless, they’re fairly totally different. Immaculate relishes within the attractive star energy of Sydney Sweeney in its delve into nunsploitation, however reveals a contemporary squeamishness with regards to onscreen violence. The First Omen is a pastiche in Seventies type and pacing, however pulls no punches with regards to gore.

Should you’re after a film a couple of tormented nun that basically goes for the gusto, The First Omen needs to be your decide.

What’s The First Omen about?

Set in 1969 Rome, The First Omen begins with Margaret (Servant‘s Nell Tiger Free), a doe-eyed younger lady from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, who grew up as a ward of the Catholic church. Invited by Cardinal Lawrence (Invoice Nighy) to hitch a convent, the place the sisters take care of orphaned women and unwed moms, Margaret is keen to contribute and to take her vows. However shortly after her arrival, this fish out of water begins to suspect one thing is off within the non secular sanctum, and it appears to revolve round an issue little one named Carlita Scianna (Nicole Sorace). 

The place the opposite youngsters have shiny smiles, rosy cheeks, and flowers of their hair, Carlita carries baggage below her darkish eyes and a perpetually grim expression. She attracts troubling photographs and is uncomfortably near a creepy nun (a requisite of this subgenre), whose high-pitched giggle is like nails on a chalkboard.

Whereas a fellow novitiate (a beguiling Maria Caballero) cajoles Margaret to give attention to the optimistic and embrace her youth and physique earlier than signing herself over to the church for good, the harried heroine is suffering from darkish visions of vicious nuns and a horrid clawed hand reaching out for her. Are these hallucinations of an overactive creativeness? Or is Margaret getting omens of one thing horrible to return? 

How does The First Omen tie to The Omen (1976)?

There are some connective characters in widespread with the unique, together with Father Brennan. The priest performed by the late Patrick Troughton within the 1976 model is portrayed by Sport of Thrones‘ Ralph Ineson. Right here, Brennan is an ally of Margaret’s who’s researching rumors a couple of conspiracy to convey concerning the antiChrist. Different cryptic connections and callbacks might be made, together with a grisly dying that evokes the chilling catchphrase, “It is all for you!” 

How else this prequel units up its predecessor can seemingly be guessed by The First Omen‘s very existence. The purpose of this movie isn’t an excessive amount of the vacation spot however the journey. To the credit score of director and co-writer Arkasha Stevenson (Model New Cherry Taste), she imbues the movie with atmospheric dread that feels true to the unique. The rating programs with choral singing distorted to show the human voices into nightmarish squalls. The colour scheme is match for shadows, permitting creeping nuns to emerge as mighty and terrifyingly as Michael Myers in a suburban closet. 

At occasions, the scares are predictable, however in a neatly intentional method. Stevenson is aware of a horror savvy audiences might be hip to the beats of such methods, and makes use of that to her benefit. As an example, as a personality fearfully retreats to cross a road — we’d rightly predict he’ll be hit by a automobile. This expectation pulls us to the sting of our seats in anxious anticipation. However once we’re confirmed proper, Stevenson would not allow us to off the hook with a bounce scare and a fast demise — as was usually the case in The Omen.

She lingers on the aftermath, the harm, the blood, the bodily agony and emotional anguish, not permitting us the reduction a bounce scare usually provides. Nevertheless, the close-ups of such garish graphic violence can provide diminishing returns. Typically the extended publicity to such intense imagery is affecting, as if we’re caught in a nightmare from which we will’t look away. However different occasions Stevenson’s generosity in displaying such graphic violence sours to mad, as some sensible results look higher in glimpses than lengthy gazes. (See the modifying of Jaws for a traditional instance.) 

Nell Tiger Free offers her all in The First Omen. 

Whereas this perturbing prequel delivers on graphic violence in a method Immaculate willfully avoids, it falls prey to the identical pitfall of characterization.

Make no mistake, Free is devoted in her efficiency. Enjoying a heroine who’s put by means of the ringer, emotionally, bodily, and psychologically, — hell, even ideologically — Free is pushed to precise herself not solely by means of bulging eyes, panicked screams, and full-body shivers, but additionally bodily contortions that would veer into goofy in a lesser actor’s palms. Nevertheless, her efforts are undermined by the screenplay, penned by Stevenson, Tim Smith, and Keith Thomas. 

Chockful of twists, turns, and Omen lore (new and outdated), the movie has so many hoops to leap by means of in its runtime that what’s shortchanged is establishing Margaret. Like Immaculate, the nun heroine is launched upon her arrival to Italy, fresh-faced and wanting to serve Jesus. Certain, a tragic backstory is plopped down in dialogue to provide her some context. However Margaret is clumsily outlined as candy and harmless, and never a lot else.

These traits make her a suitably angelic archetype for the horror story that can observe, which delves into how non secular authority dehumanizes girls, decreasing them to Madonna, whore, or vessel. However the lack of depth within the protagonist’s character deadens the impression of her ache. Margaret feels extra like a caricature than an individual, and so, whereas the metaphor works, the emotional observe by means of doesn’t.

Is The First Omen scary? 

Reasonably.

Admittedly, rising up Catholic I’m a very laborious critic on horror motion pictures round Christian ideology. Any given Sunday a priest may say one thing on the pulpit extra horrifying than the issues I’ve seen in dozens of those motion pictures. Nonetheless, I respect this Stevenson’s dedication to striving for the tone and the unique. Too usually in reboots and prequels and regardless of the Scream franchise has devolved into, the intention to attain the tone of the unique looks like winking set dressing meant as fan service. Right here, the temper brings us again to 1976 and the distinctive terror of Richard Donner’s traditional movie, however with out feeling hole in its admiration.

By mimicking the pacing of the unique, Stevenson neatly folds within the traditional and the up to date, bringing in a post-torture porn period thirst for blood that results in some genuinely alarming on display violence. Whereas total the movie left me a bit underwhelmed, Stevenson’s depiction of demons is undeniably nightmare gas and can guarantee The First Omen a spot of honor within the maternity horror canon for one snatching shot specifically. Nevertheless, Stevenson’s lust for carnage results in indulgence, and being skinny on character improvement makes the movie’s emotional terror extra frail than fraught. 

In the long run,The First Omen provides beneficiant splashes of gore, bounce scared, and dread. So when you’re seeing one thing extra spooky than scary, or extra haunting than horrifying, this non secular thriller will scratch that itch with an extended, putrid claw.

The First Omen opens in theaters April 5. 

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