Verdict
Summary
The First Omen is a worthy addition to the franchise and connects to the original trilogy perfectly. It is a little slow at times lacking the graphic kills, but it certainly has its moments and it drips with an unsettling atmosphere throughout. The music is the highlight for me as it features the main iconic theme tune.
Plot: A woman starts to question her own faith when she uncovers a terrifying conspiracy to bring about the birth of evil incarnate in Rome.
Review: I feel like The Omen franchise doesn’t get enough love from genre fans as it has always been a personal favourite of mine since I was a child. Religious themed horror fascinates me as does the concept of the Antichrist which is explored in these movies.
The First Omen is a prequel to the original film and essentially leads right into The Omen. It tells the story of Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), an American who arrives in Rome to become a Nun and at first all seems to be going well, but she begins to question everything when she meets a young girl who seems a little different and is kept away from the other kids.
I don’t want to go into any more detail regarding the story, but this is a fitting companion piece to the original Omen trilogy with stellar performances all around and a genuinely unsettling atmosphere from the very start.
It is a little slow at times and doesn’t have the same bodycount as the other movies, but this is more subtle and sets future events up nicely. Nell Tiger Free is incredibly sympathetic as Margaret and Ralph Ineson is simply perfect as Father Brennan.
The music still features eerie choral chants, but the familiar epic theme also makes an appearance which made me giddy and is one of the better music scores I’ve heard for some time.
Overall, The First Omen is a delight for fans of the original trilogy as it doesn’t detract from them, but adds some extra backstory while making for squirm inducing entertainment. The performances and atmosphere are faultless even if it is a little slow at times, but I feel like this is a long overdue resurrection of a dormant franchise. You do really need to have seen the original Omen starring Gregory peck to truly appreciate everything in this movie, so just a heads up about that.