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Movies tend to follow trends. When a film hits it big at the box office, it often sets the tone for Hollywood for years to come. “Halloween” gave rise to an avalanche of slasher copycats throughout the ’80s, while “The Blair Witch Project” laid the groundwork for the found footage craze. Among horror franchises, “The Omen” might not be the flashiest name, but it has a knack for keeping up with the times.
The original “Omen” rode the wave of satanic panic sparked by films like “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Exorcist”. In the sequel-heavy ’80s, “The Omen” expanded into a trilogy, with a TV movie rounding things out. Fast forward to the 2000s, when the horror remake boom—kicked off by “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”—dominated, “The Omen” joined the trend with its 2006 reboot.
Now, in the era of legacy sequels and prequels, “The Omen” isn’t missing its cue. “The First Omen” proves that even this understated franchise knows how to hop on the bandwagon.
“The First Omen” serves as a prequel to the franchise. A young American woman named Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) travels to Rome to dedicate her life to the church, but her journey of faith takes a harrowing turn. Confronted by a malevolent force, she begins to question her beliefs and uncovers a chilling conspiracy aimed at ushering in the birth of pure evil.
The “Omen” franchise essentially laid the groundwork for what would later define the “Final Destination” series, with its signature death scenes. Throughout the films, anyone posing a threat to Damien met their end in gruesome, often spectacular accidents—an element that became the series’ calling card. However, “The First Omen” takes a different path, relegating the freak accidents to a chilling opening sequence and a pyrotechnic reimagining of one of the original movie’s most iconic moments.
The rest of “The First Omen” brought to mind this year’s “Immaculate”, starring Hollywood’s current it-girl, Sydney Sweeney. That film also follows a young woman traveling to Italy to become a nun, only to be drawn into the dark mystery surrounding the birth of the Antichrist. Twin movies are no rarity in Hollywood, but these two take the concept to new extremes. While “The First Omen” is undeniably the more high-profile release, bolstered by its ties to a legendary franchise, I found “Immaculate” to be the stronger film overall. Its original story feels more cohesive and compelling, whereas “The First Omen” struggles as a prequel, existing mostly as a setup for a superior movie.
I have to commend the filmmakers for steering away from rehashing the same old “Omen” storyline, but unfortunately, the movie never fully resonated with me, and I struggled to get invested in it. It’s a slow burn that doesn’t really gain momentum until the second half of its two-hour runtime. The first hour feels like a slog, dragging its feet with little to hold my attention, making it a challenge to stay engaged.
If you ever wondered how the Thornes ended up with Damien in the original film, “The First Omen” is here to fill in the gaps. The problem is, I never had those questions to begin with. As a result, the movie feels less like a necessary addition to the lore and more like a calculated attempt to milk an existing IP. In today’s landscape, where familiarity often takes precedence over originality, “The First Omen” feels like yet another product designed to cater to nostalgia rather than offer something truly fresh.
