The First Omen

 

Director ~ Arkasha Stevenson

Writers ~ Tim Smith, Arkasha Stevenson, Keith Thomas

2024,     United States-Italy-Serbia-Canada

Stars ~ Nell Tiger Free, Ralph Ineson, Sonia Braga

One of those “better than you expect” because the title implies a lazy cash-in; and indeed, its need to tie-in with the franchise is its most groansome feature. That, and some uninteresting-unnecessary jump-scares and a cameo from The Nun that were probably seen as obligatory.

It has a strong performance by Nell Tiger Free and the presence of Bill Nighy, Ralph Ineson and a host of imperious elder nun faces give it a respectable foundation. Inevitably, this kind of False Flag operation conspired by these religious nutters is played out on the female body, which means the body horror here is to do with what comes out. It doesn’t go as gonzo as ‘Immaculate’, a direct peer that hits many of the same beats, and subsequently ‘The First Omen’ is not quite as much fun. It’s more to be judged on its worthiness. The hysterical bombast of the original ‘Omen’ exemplified by Jerry Goldsmith’s iconic score implied a horror in-joke, a satire even, of religion’s self-seriousness, which is also something the immediate sequels missed out on. The brutalisation and manipulation of women is scary, but not so much else, for aside from the playfulness of the opening, we don’t really get the ‘Final Destination’-style elaborate death set-pieces for audience-pleasing yuks either.

Mostly sustained by beautiful compositions by Arkasha Stevenson with some pleasingly offbeat music choices that promise much, but as we know where it’s going it doesn’t have enough surprises or the set-pieces to make it more than impressively mounted and better than you expect.