The First Omen (2024)

Director: Arkasha Stevenson

Starring: Nell Tiger Free, Ralph Ineson, Sonia Braga

A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, but encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.

What do you do when there is no belief anymore? You create something for people to fear.

I wonder what my thoughts on ‘The First Omen’ would have been had I not seen ‘Immaculate’ first. These films are so similar, it is impossible not to compare them. It is almost as if it is two versions of the same story, but with an alternate ending.

‘The First Omen’ serves as a prequel to ‘The Omen’ from 1976. Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) arrives at an Orphanage to do ‘the work of God’. Her roommate Luz (Maria Caballero) decides to take her out for a night on the town to see ‘what she is about to miss out on’ by becoming a nun.

Margaret befriends an orphan girl named Carlita, who is always locked up in ‘the bad room’ for misbehaving. Margaret senses something different about Carlita, and is later warned by Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson) that evil things happen around her. Margaret soon starts having strange visions and decides to investigate Carlita. Her visions intensifies until she is unable to tell what is real and what is not.

Although there are plenty of jump scares, the film isn’t really scary. Mysterious, yes, and the film only really gets interesting after the halfway mark. ‘The First Omen’ indeed feels very similar to ‘Immaculate’, but ‘The First Omen’ is definitely a more stylish film, and more of a psychological horror. In both films, the lead actresses (Nell Tiger Free in ‘The First Omen’, and Sydney Sweeney in ‘Immaculate’) deliver fantastic performances in a very demanding role with big character development.

Towards the end, both films have gory scenes, but ‘Immaculate’ is by far gorier with more disturbing scenes. I must also add, I found the unfolding of events more believable in ‘Immaculate’. There were a few reveals in ‘The First Omen’ that had me trying to make sense of how these events would be possible. Your point of view on these two films would determine which one you like best. ‘The First Omen’ is definitely more character-driven.

‘The First Omen’ is definitely one of the better entries in the Omen franchise. It boasts an excellent score, great performances, good editing, and a foreboding atmosphere.

At the box office, ‘The First Omen’ earned $57.3 million on a budget of $30 million. It is still too early for awards, but I do believe Nell Tiger Free deserves a few nominations for Best Actress.

Would I watch it again? I don’t think so. I’d rather watch ‘Immaculate’ again.