“The First Omen” Movie Review by Rafy Mediailla (@Rmediavilla)
A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, but encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
What worked:
Taking into consideration that making a prequel is not at all easy, since the viewer the whole time already knows how this whole story ends, “The First Omen” accomplishes the task of giving you an excellent introduction to this story of the mother of the antichrist, and how it all started within The Omen franchise.
Her story with what they wanted to tell with Margret’s arc where she is brought to a nunnery to be indoctrinated into this cult that is looking for this womb to be used as a tool to give life to the antichrist is full of hidden messages not about religion and their beliefs, but how far they are willing to go to fulfill their purposes no matter how nefarious they are. Something I find very symbolic today with the argument that many women continue to battle against religion and politics over who has control over what they can do with their bodies. One thing I must highlight about her story was her last act, and that ending with an unexpected revelation, which I understand will leave many wanting more.
As for the performances, Nell Tiger Free in the leading role of Marget did an excellent job in giving life to this character who goes through very uncomfortable and certainly psychologically disturbing situations. The actress did an excellent job of projecting those emotions of confusion, fear, and angst as her story arc was unfolding.
What did not work:
While I am clear this is a horror, and suspense film, I found the famous “jump scares” that are used this type of film genre as they truly felt predictable and forced at times. That said, I am also clear that the story being told is more psychology than anything else, where the director and screenwriter are looking for the viewer to be immersed in the story to be carried away by the emotions projected by the titular character of the film. Something that did work as I mentioned before.
Like the famous jump scares I found this film to have some pretty gory visuals, something that perhaps wasn’t sold in the same way in the previews, teasers and/or trailers. And I mention this in the non-feature section mostly because I know that, even though they felt unnecessary or forced, a little trigger warning would have been something necessary to mention so that the viewer who may not be susceptible to this type of scene may already be mentally prepared to perhaps expect this type of situation. But again, having said that, yes, I am clear that this is a horror movie, and well maybe to give it this touch this kind of elements were necessary to be present, even if the story doesn’t merit them,
In conculsion:
The ending I came away pleased with what I saw, as the story worked to this mostly anchored to Nell Tiger Free’s performance, and all the bizarre things they put her through as her arc unfolds in order to find a way to tell the genesis of Antichrist. Truly the social critique that, although today is more relevant than back then is also an element I applaud about the project. But in the end that cliffhanger of the third act I understand is what makes this prequel extremely interesting, since it can raise the idea of whether it will explore further this open ending of the project.
