Review: The First Omen

Image courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

"The First Omen" is a horror prequel that nobody probably thought they needed, but it's a surprisingly gripping - especially considering that we know how it turns out - and often frightening (and occasionally disreputable, which in this case isn't a critique) prelude to Richard Donner's 1976 horror classic. It has breathed new life into a horror series that hasn't had an outright good entry since the original.

The film is set in 1971 Rome, and director Arkasha Stevenson from the start creates a creepy vibe, from a sweaty discotheque where two soon-to-be nuns go out for a night on the town to overhead shots of the city that fill the viewer with dread every time they appear.

As the film opens, Margaret Daino (Nell Tiger Free) has just arrived in Rome, where she is to work at an orphanage prior to taking her vows. She has been brought there by a Catholic bishop with some power (Bill Nighy), and it's clear from the start that Margaret has a checkered history. Growing up an orphan, she bounced from place to place and was somewhat, we learn, of a problem child. The visions that plagued her in childhood occasionally pop up to provide a jump scare or two.

A roommate, Luz (Maria Caballero), takes her out to the aforementioned nightclub, where the two women meet some men and have a few drinks. The next day, Margaret can't remember what happened the night before and as she awakens a small spider seems to crawl out of her eye. Ick!

Things at the orphanage seem odd, to say the least, especially the treatment of a problem child named Carlita (Nicole Sorace). The nuns at the orphanage tell Margaret to stay away from Carlita and even lock her up on occasion in a place known as the bad room.

Margaret meets an excommunicated priest (Ralph Ineson) who tells her of a nefarious plan involving a group of powerful church officials. With belief in God on the decline - and, therefore, power in the church's hands dwindling - this group has concocted a scheme to help birth the antichrist with the intention of controlling him, which they believe will draw believers back to the church out of fear.

A plot twist occurs late in the film regarding who the birth mother of the antichrist will be, although it's pretty easy to see coming. Not so easy to predict is the gruesome birth ceremony involving a Caesarean section operation late in the film, which follows a series of gruesome deaths throughout the picture - the effect of a piece of glass on a head, an act of self-immolation, and a traffic accident that is particularly grotesque.

"The First Omen" is what one might call a blasphemous good time. The picture is occasionally outrageous, pretty spooky, and atmospheric - naturally, its Italian setting is utilized for giallo-esque touches (the nightclub especially). I may not have thought another "Omen" film - prequel or otherwise - was necessary at this point, but "The First Omen" is a surprisingly effective one.