The First Omen
Horror prequel announces freshman filmmaker as forceful voice.
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“The First Omen” (now in theaters) is a prequel that should please fans of Richard Donner’s 1976 horror classic. It also has a whole helluva lot in common with the recent Sydney Sweeney vehicle “Immaculate,” which I reviewed a coupla weeks back here. (The two would actually make for a devilishly good double bill and are currently playing together at The Tibbs Drive-In here in Indianapolis.)
It’s 1971 and Margaret (the talented Nell Tiger Free) is a young, American nun-in-training sent to work at an orphanage in Rome at the behest of Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy). Margaret grew up as an orphan in a similar stateside facility overseen by Lawrence.
Upon arriving in Rome Margaret befriends fellow novice and flatmate Luz (Maria Caballero), gets weirded out by the deranged Sister Angelica (Ishtar Currie Wilson, doing wonders by simply being creepy) and is worried about the way Sister Silva (Sônia Braga) is disciplining Carlita (Nicole Sorace), a teenage girl who Margaret sees as a kindred spirit.
The excommunicated Father Brennan (aces British character actor Ralph Ineson) comes to Margaret with concerns about the orphanage and its intentions towards Carlita. Margaret initially writes off Brennan’s words as the ramblings of a mad man, but as things get progressively stranger she begins to heed his warnings.
“The First Omen” is directed by Arkasha Stevenson (she was a director and co-executive producer on the Netflix miniseries “Brand New Cherry Flavor”) and scripted by Stevenson, Tim Smith (with whom Stevenson worked on the Syfy anthology series “Channel Zero”) and Keith Thomas (director of the 2022 “Firestarter”) from a story by Ben Jacoby. It’s very much a slow burn horror offering (arguably too slow and too long at two hours) that often feels as though it could’ve come out in the era it’s recreating. Much like “Immaculate” this has an awful lot on its mind – namely how the Catholic Church has a history of abusing children and telling women what to do with their bodies and souls.
“The First Omen” announces Stevenson as a filmmaker who can do dour with power. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s an affecting and effective one with imagery that’s simultaneously vaginal and visceral. It’s girl power meets hurl power and it’s all for you, dear reader. You’ve been warned.