The First Omen

Unless the filmmaker’s name is Jordan Peele, James Wan or Ari Aster, it’s a tall task for a horror filmmaker to justify two-hour-plus running times. That bar cannot be cleared by The First Omen, a prequel to the 1976 Satanic panic classic The Omen, which somehow runs even longer than the original film.

It’s a particularly weary length when telling a story that many have told before – even as recently as last month’s Immaculate – centring on a young woman’s journey to becoming a nun and entangled in a prophecy revolving around giving birth to evil. Coupled with the fact that it’s focused on an American woman sent to Italy, the comparisons to the Sydney Sweeney starrer become more apt, except the latter knew how to tell its tale efficiently.

After a grotesque cold open where Father Brennan (the always reliable Ralph Ineson) is made aware of the sinister conspiracy in an encounter with another priest, the movie takes us to the arrival of Margaret Daino (Nell Tiger Free), who’s come to Rome to work at an orphanage and taken under the wing of Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy), who expresses how Christianity is losing its grasp and that a young person dedicated to her religion could empower a new generation of faithful folk. This was by far the most interesting aspect of the narrative – how it touches on the need for religious leaders to tell a better story to allow potential converts to find their way into a belief system that has been hijacked by controversy.

Unfortunately, the theme doesn’t resonate deeply, with much of the plot thereafter playing out with the same beats of generic religious horrors. Director Arkasha Stevenson finds pockets for some seriously inspired imagery, including one of a gnarly birth scene that will surely rank as one of the year’s best, and a showstopping one-take sequence where Tiger Free channels the best moments of her preceding scream queens, which will also satisfy those craving more of the manic energy in the finale of Immaculate. The creepiest image, however, is one focused on the faces of onlookers who do nothing when Margaret’s autonomy over her body is removed, which is an ugly reflection of the world today. Ultimately, though, The First Omen’s most exhilarating moments are far between, owing to the overly long running time.

Musanna Ahmed

The First Omen is released nationwide on 5^th April 2024.

Watch the trailer for The First Omen here: