In Theaters Now
The supernatural thriller that has haunted generations is revisited in the stylishly tense-filled THE FIRST OMEN which sets the stage for the coming of the most dreaded evil let loose on mankind!
The horror genre is besieged with the most amount of reboots and reimagines in Hollywood. Audiences love to be frightened and lately with everything that’s going on in the world, perhaps a good jolt to the system is preferable to the slow-moving tick of world affairs. Horror films have often served as the barometer for measuring what society is currently fearing the most. Whether the taste lies in the advent of rogue A.I.s, or a terrifying masked serial killer that is stalking coeds, supernatural horrors strike at the core of our own beliefs and generate an unparalleled fear factor that is disturbing on multiple levels.
In 1976, Hollywood legends Gregory Peck and Lee Remick starred in The Omen as a privileged American family, whose adopted son, Damien (Harvey Stephens) may not be as innocent as he looks, although that’s debatable. As mysterious deaths abound, Peck’s American diplomat uncovers the harrowing possibility that Damien may be the Antichrist! Several sequels followed and in one in particular, Sam Neill played an adult Damien who ascends to the highest office on the planet becoming the President of the United States. The thought of the “Antichrist” in the White House is enough to scare anyone senseless! Oh, but how art imitates life!
Generations later movie audiences are returning to the gothic, religious origins of the story. THE FIRST OMEN is a prequel to the classic horror film opening exclusively in theaters on Friday, April 5. Directed by Arkasha Stevenson and based on characters created by David Seltzer (The Omen) it follows a young American woman, Margaret, played by Nell Tiger Free (Apple TV+ Servant) who is preparing to take the veil and journeys to Rome to work at an orphanage. Margaret is highly recommended and vetted by the cardinal himself, portrayed by veteran actor Bill Nighy. The orphanage is under the watchful eye of Sister Silva (Sônia Braga) who keeps Margaret close.
When Margaret becomes concerned by one of the students, Carlita (Nicole Sorace) it draws concern, especially when strange things start to happen — in particular a fellow nun lights herself on fire and hangs a belfry as everyone watches from the courtyard. Margaret is determined to uncover the secret behind Carlita’s isolation and torture, and in so doing uncovers a sinister and diabolic secret that has a bearing on the coming of an evil so powerful that hell will be unleashed upon mankind! Margaret is warned, that not everything is what it seems at the orphanage, but how is her fate tied into this dark prophecy, and how embedded in the church is the birth of the Antichrist?
Stylishly Surreal and Haunting
Director Arkasha Stevenson along with her cinematographer has created an atmosphere that is evocative of the original 1976 film. Richard Donner (Superman: The Movie) texturized the world of privilege inhabited by his characters in the classic with an inescapable sense of foreboding and quiet unease that elevated the haunting gaze of Damien (Stephens) to new levels of terror. There was a constant tension that was unbearable at best and when something dark occurred it was a shocking tragedy that assaulted the senses. Stevenson does something very similar in The First Omen that allows for ease of continuity between this prequel film and the next chapter.
Margaret’s Rome is beautifully enchanting, especially against the aging dilapidating feel of the orphanage. The dark shadows and gothic arches of her day transform into stained gaslit cobblestones at night, with a perception that around every dark corner, something sinister exists — something is always watching. It’s this visual that increases the harrowing feel of The First Omen. A church is a sanctum of safety and worship, and here it feels false, hiding something deep in the catacombs underneath that pangs of hunger. The sun rarely shines through in Stevenson’s world, without forcing itself through some haze, deceptively hiding images in plain sight which perfectly sets the tone.
What is determinately lacking in this film is a script. Even as the story plains out through intense visuals and dramatically shocking moments, the actors themselves aren’t expressing anything that is all that threatening or macabre. Margaret’s urgency is felt, but as she unravels the unbelievable horror of what is at play, an allegory for our trying contemporary circumstance where fear and untruths are propagated in an attempt to create chaos and control the population into unwitting submission, the supporting cast around her is largely moving in deliberate stealth. This choice, be it a device used to increase the tension, hardly services the narrative along the path, weighing it down instead.
The First Omen is intended to incite fear and create a disorienting and unsafe feeling, especially since it strikes at the core of our most sacred beliefs and the purpose of a loving god that is there to protect us from evil, but when that truth is shattered to the core, we should be left with an unease that prompts an action or motivation. The hopefulness after this story is outweighed by the tragedy that we all know is leading to inspire, that the Antichrist is now among us and there is likely no retribution left. It does leave the possibility for the story to take a divergent course, but just how invested the audience will feel is unpredictable.
There is a sincere opportunity in The First Omen to frighten us into submission, but the decision to keep many aspects hidden from plain sight, behind the veil of subterfuge or a curtain in the caves, in a locked set of old files, it all isn’t as penetrating as Damien’s demonic and cold stare.
Get your #FansEyeView of the trailer for The First Omen here:
THE FIRST OMEN | starring Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson, with Charles Dance, and Bill Nighy and directed by Arkasha Stevenson based on characters created by David Seltzer and opens exclusively in theaters on April, 5 and is released by 20th Century Studios.
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