The First Omen review

 

The original Omen movie is a horror classic no doubt. What followed however, not so much at least in my opinion. It's now 2024 and we're going back to the beginning even before the first movie as The First Omen is essentially that it tells the tale of the baby who would become the Anti-Christ and his mother apparent.  It begins in 1971 Italy when a nun arrives to pledge her vows to the Church. Her faith is soon in shambles when she uncovers a sinister plan to birth the Anti-Christ leading to some truly terrifying and unsettling scenes. Nell Tiger Free truly shines as Sister Margaret who goes through quite the ordeal throughout. 

The First Omen doesn't shy away from the true blasphemous acts of the church and the riots that insued against them. It's all compacted in an almost 2 hour scarefest that is as surprisingly good as it is harrowing. It also doesn't shy away from getting pretty graphic leading to a pretty uncomfortable birthing scene and a sense of dread once the Anti-Christ's birth is drawing near, not to mention it's dealing with grief, suicide and some pretty dark stuff.

The First Omen surprised me. A lot. It's actually quite fantastic to be honest. Great and believable performances propell it to huge heights and the surroudning mythos and ideology is pretty spot on. Not quite on the level of the original Omen but it's pretty close to being so and does actually set things in motion as the beginning point. Biggest horror surprise of the year so far?? I think so!

★★★★