‘The First Omen’ Review – Silencio, Satan
Chris Sawin
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The First Omen introduces audiences to Margaret Daino (Nell Tiger Free), who travels from America to Italy to be a novitiate at Vizzardeli Orphanage. Her roommate Luz (Maria Caballero) encourages Margaret to live life to the fullest before taking her vows, dressing up, going to a bar, and spending the night with a guy.
In Luz’s opinion, someone who has never sinned should sin a little before devoting the rest of their life to God.
At the orphanage, Margaret begins bonding with an older child named Carlita Scianna (Nicole Sorace), who always suffers from being troublesome and violent, and is regularly isolated from the other children. Margaret feels connected to her since she is also battling her demons.
After spending time with Carlita, Margaret starts to suspect something sinister within the church. She stumbles into a full-blown satanic conspiracy after a chance meeting with Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson), who warns her that the church she’s now a part of isn’t what they present themselves to be.
I recently watched all of The Omen films and didn’t care for any of them. I only gave The First Omen the time of day because of its positive buzz circulating online before its release.
Directed by Arkasha Stevenson (TV director whose writing credits include Legion and Brand New Cherry Flavor), who co-writes the screenplay with debutant writer Tim Smith and Keith Thomas (Firestarter 2022), and featuring a story penned by Ben Jacoby, The First Omen is easily the best film in The Omen franchise to date.
Considering the film is a prequel, The First Omen has a somewhat predictable element. However, the story unfolds in a consistently intriguing way. Margaret’s story is riveting and, while the outcome is foreseeable, you find yourself enthralled with the film’s events.
Nell Tiger Free is exceptional as Margaret Daino. She has had visions her entire life that, through therapy, she has dismissed as imaginary. Her performance is conflicted since she is introduced as a genuinely wholesome character who is hesitant to do anything outside of what is instructed by the church.
The way that Margaret sees things that aren’t there allows a few jump scares to enter the film, but her behavior gets increasingly erratic as the film progresses. She has a scene near the film’s end that is so unnerving and unnatural that you have no idea how she executed it.
The entire cast’s performances are quite good. Charles Dance and Bill Nighy have extremely small roles but are still memorable for different reasons. One of them has the first big kill of the film, while the other is evil in a way that takes the entire film to reveal.
Maria Caballero represents temptation and tasting some of the forbidden fruit for Margaret as Luz. This film is also Nicole Sorace’s feature film debut, which is impressive. Carlita seems broken based on what she witnessed at the orphanage.
The film doesn’t have buckets of gore, but what makes it on screen is incredibly graphic. Two birth sequences in the film are nasty and grotesque for two very different reasons. Both involve being tied down, desperately crying, and screaming for help.
But hearing the bonds be stretched to their limit and slammed around is massively jarring. The First Omen hints at the antichrist with these demonic paws that are sharp and covered in this disgusting slime. The death during the car crash involving someone’s insides is also gruesomely fantastic.
The First Omen takes some liberties from what The Omen film established in 1976. Most can only be stated by spoiling many of the film’s best twists, but The First Omen needed more of the jackal shown ever so briefly.
If you’re a fan of Andrzej Zulawski’s 1981 film Possession, the crazy birthing sequence in the middle of the street near the film’s end should be a pleasant surprise.
The First Omen is a sinfully crafted and stupendously acted horror surprise. A prequel horror film is rarely the best of its franchise, but The First Omen embraces the best tendencies of The Omen and expands upon fruitful religious horror that could spawn hellacious sequels.
NEXT: ‘Monkey Man’ Review – Senselessly Awesome Revenge
The First Omen (2024), 20th Century Studios
PROS
- Birthing scenes.
- Performances.
CONS
- It’s part of a so-so franchise.
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