A late revival of a horror classic from the 1970s? This backfired badly last year with The Exorcist: Confession. The expectations of many horror fans for The First Omen are likely to be correspondingly low. The surprise is even greater: The now 6th Omen film is a devilishly good horror highlight.
The first omen has been looking for since April 11, 2024 the German cinemas home. And even if you haven’t seen a single Omen film in the last 48 years, you shouldn’t miss the disturbing mix of nun nightmare and body horror.
After almost 50 years, The First Omen tells the backstory of a horror classic
Starting with Richard Donner’s The Omen in 1976, the story of the little antichrist Damian developed into a horror franchise that today includes six films and a series. As a prequel, The First Omen plays before all previous entries and It therefore works as an independent nun shocker without any prior knowledge.
The Walt Disney Company Germany
The first omen
The plot takes you to Rome in 1971. The American novice Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) emigrates to Italy to take her vows in a Catholic orphanage. Here goes, though not everything is right before. And soon the aspiring nun is confronted with brutal deaths, nightmarish visions and a diabolical conspiracy behind monastery walls.
The first omen is at the same time a bow to the original as well as an independent work that represents the well-known Antichrist mythology about new facets and (female) perspectives are meaningfully expanded. Hardly anyone would have expected this horror prequel to get under the skin like this.
The First Omen is a disturbing horror nightmare
What strikes you right at the beginning of the film is the fantastic retro look, which brings 70s cinema to life with soft images as well as camera pans and zooms. Not only awaits you here one of the most atmospheric shockers of the year, but also one of the most stylish horror debuts of recent years. The First Omen is the first feature film for series director Arkasha Stevenson (Channel Zero and Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor).
The Walt Disney Company Germany
We need more horror movies with Nell Tiger Free
But what is the horror like in The First Omen? Aside from some typical jump scares (nothing is scarier than Italian nuns smiling), the film goes all out with its horror set pieces. Several gruesome deaths are based on iconic scenes from the original and impress with a dense build-up of tension that horror fans know, for example, from the Final Destination films (and of course The Omen).
But hardly anything prepares you for the almost unbearable body horror scene, which almost cost the film its age rating in the USA (via The Wrap ) and, thanks to the persistence of director Arkasha Stevenson, managed to shock cinema audiences. After about 40 minutes, Sister Margaret witnesses a birth that culminates in an absolutely disturbing moment that will forever be burned into your nightmares.
The film’s great strength, however, is leading actress Nell Tiger Free, who previously embodied an expressive ambivalence between innocence and diabolism in M. Night Shyamalan’s horror series Servant. When her character experiences trauma, pain and horror, we just have to sympathize with her. Free plays her heart out in the truest sense of the word and remains the same with her incredibly piercing performance in the finale of the film – an unexpected homage to Isabelle Adjani’s legendary subway scene from Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession remembered long after the credits rolled.
Nun horror double in the cinema: The First Omen and Immaculate are almost the same film
It’s perhaps an unfortunate coincidence. Just last week, a similar horror film, Immaculate, was released in cinemas. Here, too, an American novice (played by Sydney Sweeney) is sent to the Italian convent, where dark machinations and perfidious pregnancy plans reveal themselves.
If you don’t want to watch the next nun shocker in the cinema after Immaculate, you should reconsider your decision. Because in a direct comparison, The First Omen is not only the better horror film in terms of craftsmanship. Although Immaculate even has an FSK 18 rating, the FSK 16 horror film with its disturbing (and beguiling) images resonates longer.