In 1976, late director Richard Donner directed the horror classic ‘The Omen,’ which is one of the best horror films I have ever seen. This classic ended up spawning three sequels (Damien: Omen II; The Final Conflict: Omen III; Omen IV: The Awakening) and a 2006 remake.
Now a prequel to the classic is now showing on the big screen — ‘The First Omen.’ Usually I’m a little skeptical about prequels to horror films but I thought this is one of those rare prequels that really works.
When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
‘The First Omen’ is one of those rare prequels that really works. This horror movie delivers quite a few eerie, frightening moments, especially when we get to the latter half of the movie.
This ‘Omen’ prequel does take a little bit to get to the scares (except for the first opening moments). The first portion of the movie introduces us to the characters that we will be following and shows us what the lead character, Margaret, will be doing with the church. During that time, we also get introduced to a young girl (Carlita) who may be going through some very troubling times.
Once the scares start coming, the prequel gets really intriguing and suspenseful. There
are quite a few decent jump scares that come out of nowhere and are really effective. When we see Margaret begin to see some weird hallucinations, those scenes can be surreal.
Actress Nell Tiger Free does a really great job portraying Margaret. During the scenes where we see her going through the hallucinations and scary moments, the actress really gives it all she has. Actually, the whole cast (including Bill Nighy, of course) does a great job.
The final moments of ‘The First Omen’ are really tense and everything that they have to connect the prequel to the 1976 classic is really great. So, it might be a good idea to either re-visit the original classic or watch it for the first time since a couple characters from that film are also in this one. ‘The Omen’ is currently streaming on Hulu.
Overall, ‘The First Omen’ is a great entry to the series and the prequel does an amazing job leading into the 1976 film. The scares are actually thrilling and if you have seen the original, you will definitely notice a few references to the film. And, they do add the infamous ‘Omen’ theme, which is probably one of the most chilling themes ever created.
The cast: Nell Tiger Free as Margaret; Ralph Ineson as Father Brennon; Sonia Braga as Sister Silva; Tawfeek Bartrom as Father Gabriel; Maria Caballero as Luz; Nicole Sorace as Carlita Scianna; Andrea Arcangelli as Paolo; Anton Alexander as Father Spiletto; Charles Dance as Father Harris and Bill Nighy as Cardinal Lawrence.
‘The First Omen’ is written by Tim Smith, Keith Thomas and Arkasha Stevenson and also marks Stevenson’s directorial debut.
An ‘Omen’ prequel was announced to be in the works in April 2016, but development didn’t get moving until May 2022. Principal photography took place in Rome and sound stages at Lumina Studios.
‘The First Omen’ is rated R for violent content, grisly/disturbing images, and brief graphic nudity and has a running time of two hours.
Let me know on my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews Facebook page your thoughts on this horror prequel and did you like the 1976 classic? And, coming up on the review front — ‘American Fiction’ (festival), ‘Civil War,’ ‘Challengers,’ along with a couple other festival picks.
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