There are some things I’m astounded with. One of them is when one of these legacy horror films works out. The disappointment of The Exorcist: Believer and the lack of interest anyone had in Halloween Ends had me wondering if this trend was finally ending (the less said about 2022’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre the better). I had absolutely no faith in The First Omen, particularly when it was coming out in the wake of Immaculate, a film that built its own success through a well-targeted marketing campaign led by a star who knows exactly how to sell her brand. It also happened to have almost the same plot; an immaculate conception that may or may not be purposely constructed by corrupt religious officials, that goes incredibly wrong and ends in blood. The First Omen was headed for failure.
That’s why seeing it’s excellent is a nice surprise!
Imagine my excitement that the film opens with Father Brennan (The VVitch‘s Ralph Ineson) arguing with Father Harris (Charles Dance, who clearly only had one day available in his schedule) about a potential occult conspiracy within the church. These are two of the best “when are they ever bad?” actors out there, men with presence and grandeur who are happy to dive into genre films. Dance is eliminated in a delightfully gruesome and wonderfully understated moment that kicks off our journey from cult to conception to creation.
We shift to 1971’s Rome to meet Margaret Daino (Nell Tiger Free), a young novitiate who is determined to take the veil. It is quickly revealed that Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy) has been a key figure her entire life and has guided her to this point, laughing and embracing her with all the love of a weird uncle who is just really into Jesus. Margaret joins other potential nuns at a school for young orphan girls, taking a particular interest in young Carlita Scianna (Nicole Sorace). Scianna is openly mistreated by the sisterhood, being placed alone in “the bad room” and having no one take true interest in actually helping the disturbed young woman. Margaret does, going out of her way to make sure the girl has a protector.
From here we follow multiple standards for this franchise, from, “It’s all for you,” to random demonic kills. They tell you in cooking that if you’re going to make a classic you better make it right. The flavors, the cooking times, the ingredients, they’ve all been perfected long ago so there is no excuse for failure. Director and co-writer Arkasha Stevenson took that advice to heart and chose to focus on the basics. The film has wonderful scares, crafted by someone who knows what they’re doing and doesn’t want to mess with the recipe. Focusing on those basics (seemingly crazy priest, culty Catholicism, isolation of our main character) allows him to pull off some wildly fun plot diversions that astoundingly set up for a sequel. And it’s a sequel I’d watch!
One of those smart decisions at a basic level was hiring Mark Korven, a Robert Eggers collaborator known best for scoring The VVitch and The Lighthouse. Korven is allowed to go nuts, utilizing not just music but sound design to compose tracks that elevate every scene beyond what the talented cast and excellent script are already doing. We are fortunate to have such talent in the horror ecosystem. There’s so much clanging and breathless aggression while still paying a respectful amount of homage to the original music by Jerry Goldsmith. It’s a great score and one I’ll revisit for years to come.
I remain cackling that this and Immaculate came out alongside each other. They are almost the same film with crucial differences that make each a unique experience. We’ve had years like this before, with two Exorcist prequels coming out in the same year and the audacity to release No Strings Attached and Friends with Benefits so close together. Immaculate is a beautifully crafted, star-driven project that serves as a beautiful standalone film. The First Omen hints at the possibility of new blood, a sidequel series with Nell Tiger Free and Ralph Ineson reuniting in a series of films related to just how this film ends. I love that both exist and that we can have films like this together. See both, they both rule.
The First Omen is currently playing in theatres.
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