The First Omen

The First Omen
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Arkasha Stevenson
Screenplay by	Tim Smith Arkasha Stevenson Keith Thomas
Story by	Ben Jacoby
Based on	Characters by David Seltzer
Produced by	David S. Goyer Keith Levine
Starring	Nell Tiger Free Tawfeek Barhom Sônia Braga Ralph Ineson Bill Nighy
Cinematography	Aaron Morton
Edited by	Bob Murawski Amy E. Duddleston
Music by	Mark Korven
Production company	Phantom Four
Distributed by	20th Century Studios
Release date	April 5, 2024 (2024-04-05)
Running time	119 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$30 million
Box office	$18.8 million

The First Omen is a 2024 American supernatural horror film directed by Arkasha Stevenson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Tim Smith and Keith Thomas from a story by Ben Jacoby. It is the sixth installment of The Omen franchise and a prequel to The Omen (1976). The film stars Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy. Its plot follows an American woman sent to work at a church in Rome who uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist.

The First Omen was theatrically released in the United States by 20th Century Studios on April 5, 2024. The film received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Father Brennan presses Father Harris about an occult conspiracy; the shaken Harris gives Brennan a photograph of a baby with the name “Scianna” inscribed. While leaving, Harris is killed when a falling pipe splits his head open.

In Rome, 1971, amid left-wing protests, American novitiate Margaret Daino arrives at the Vizzardeli Orphanage. She meets with Cardinal Lawrence and Father Gabriel; and is introduced to Abess Sister Silvia, her roommate and fellow-novitiate Luz, and odd-mannered nun Anjelica. Luz invites Margaret to a disco, where she dances with a man named Paolo before blacking out; she awakens the next day with no memory of what happened.

Margaret begins to bond with the reclusive and mistreated orphan Carlita, who explains she is plagued by bad visions and feelings; Margaret reveals she had similar experiences during her childhood. Father Brennan seeks out Margaret and warns her about Carlita, saying "evil things" will begin to happen around her. Margaret spots Carlita showing Anjelica a drawing of a pregnant woman being restrained; moments later Anjelica self-immolates and hangs herself.

Margaret privately meets with Brennan, who explains that radicals within the church, desperate to regain power against the rise of secularism, seek to bring about the Antichrist to create fear and drive people back to the church, with Carlita intended to be his mother. Brennan urges Margaret to seek out Carlita’s files as proof, but Margaret refuses to believe him.

During a field trip, a riot breaks out; Margaret is separated from the group and experiences demonic hallucinations. Sister Silvia, having witnessed Margaret’s behavior, postpones her vows and orders her to distance herself from Carlita. Margaret spots Paolo and pursues him; Paolo, horrified, tells her to "look for the mark" before an oncoming truck fatally impales him against a wall.

As Luz takes her vows, Margaret sneaks into Sister Silvia’s office. She uncovers a hidden, underground chamber, where she finds a series of subject files, all labeled “Scianna”. Each file contains a photo of a disfigured baby with a birthmark in the shape of three sixes, with Carlita as seemingly the only survivor. Margaret attempts to flee with the files and Carlita, but is intercepted. Margaret spots the mark on Carlita's palate before being imprisoned in a room.

Father Gabriel recovers the files, frees Margaret and reveals his alliance with Brennan. As they examine the files, Margaret notices that the baby’s mark in Harris’s photo is in a different position than Carlita’s. They link the photo to another file, revealing that another baby survived. Margaret locates the mark on her own scalp and suddenly remembers she was forcefully impregnated in a satanic ritual the night she blacked out at the disco. Brennan observes that the Devil will need to mate with his own spawn in order to conceive the Antichrist, and that Margaret had been brought to Rome as Carlita is too young. The group drives off to have the pregnancy aborted, but another car crashes into theirs on the way. As Margaret stumbles out, her womb suddenly fills and she passes out.

Margaret awakens strapped to a hospital bed; she is greeted by Cardinal Lawrence, revealed as the head of the conspiracy. Margaret gives birth to two children, a girl and a boy; the latter is hailed as the Antichrist. Margaret stabs Lawrence and takes the boy, but cannot bring herself to kill him. Luz stabs Margaret in the stomach as the conspirators flee with the boy and set the chamber ablaze to cover their tracks. Carlita rushes in to save Margaret and her daughter. As they escape, Margaret sees her assaulter, a demonic jackal, among the flames. The baby boy is given to American diplomat Robert Thorn to secretly replace the child his wife Katherine has supposedly miscarried.

Years later, Margaret lives secluded in the mountains with Carlita and her daughter. Brennan appears and warns that the conspirators know Margaret is alive and will be hunting her, and that her son has been named Damien.

Cast

• Nell Tiger Free as Margaret Daino, an American sent to Rome to work at an orphanage before taking the veil
• Sônia Braga as Sister Silvia, the Abbess of Vizzardeli Orphanage in Rome
• Ralph Ineson as Father Brennan, a priest who warns Margaret of a conspiracy within the church
• Bill Nighy as Cardinal Lawrence, a senior member of the Catholic church
• Tawfeek Barhom as Father Gabriel, a member of the Catholic clergy working at the orphanage
• Maria Caballero as Luz Valez, Margaret's roommate at Vizzardeli
• Nicole Sorace as Carlita Scianna, an older child at Vizzardeli
• Ishtar Currie-Wilson as Sister Anjelica, a disturbed nun at Vizzardeli
• Andrea Arcangeli as Paolo, a man who encounters Margaret
• Charles Dance as Father Harris, a priest

Production

In April 2016, a prequel to The Omen (1976) was announced to be in the works, with Ben Jacoby writing the script and Antonio Campos in talks to direct. By May 2022, 20th Century Studios began developing it, with Arkasha Stevenson signing on in her feature directorial debut. David S. Goyer and Keith Levine produced under the Phantom Four Films label. Nell Tiger Free was cast in the lead role in late August 2022. On January 3, 2024, Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy were announced to star in the film.

Principal photography took place on location in Rome and on soundstages at Lumina Studios from September 19 to November 22, 2022. Buildings in Villa Parisi and a farm in Procoio was used to portray the orphanage. Production designer Eve Stewart stated, "We wanted it to be a very unique and beautiful building, and since we couldn't find everything within one building, we put three buildings together and made sure that they all linked well with one another". The basement was created on the soundstage.

Costume designer Paco Delgado wanted the costumes to have a gothic feeling. He designed light clothing that moves with the wind so it would match Stevenson's vision of "the figures sort of floating through the hallways". The girls at the orphanage were dressed in 1940s/1950s costumes, even though the film takes place in the 1970s; the crew wanted a "specific ambience". For Margaret's look, Delgado was inspired with Yves Saint Laurent fashion of the 1970s. Adrien Morot served as prosthetic and creature designer.

Music

The score was composed by Mark Korven, who wrote original music and referenced themes written by Jerry Goldsmith for the previous films, including "Ave Satani." The soundtrack album was released by Hollywood Records on April 5, 2024, the same day as the film.

Release

A specific shot in the birthing sequence resulted in the Motion Picture Association registering the film with an NC-17 rating classification. Producer Keith Levine said, "We had to go back and forth with the ratings board five times. Weirdly, avoiding the NC-17 made it more intense". David S. Goyer commented that, "The movie, by its nature, deals with female body horror, and I do think there's a double standard. That was really interesting when we were negotiating with the ratings board. I think there is more permissiveness when dealing with male protagonists, particularly in body horror".

The First Omen was greenlit in development for an intended streaming release on Hulu, but was given a theatrical wide release after Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures determined it needed to expand the studio's theatrical release slate after shortages caused by the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes. The film was theatrically released by 20th Century Studios on April 5, 2024.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, The First Omen was released alongside Monkey Man, and was initially projected to gross $14–15 million from 3,375 theaters in its opening weekend. After making $3.2 million on its first day (including $725,000 from Thursday night previews), estimates were lowered to $8 million. It went on to debut $8.4 million, finishing fourth at the box office.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 79% of 137 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Frequently frightening even as it plays within the confines of a nearly 50-year-old film series, this prequel is The First Omen of a bright future for the franchise in quite some time." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.

Kyle Turner of Slant Magazine gave it 3/4 stars, writing, "Throughout the film, Stevenson slides easily between earthly delights and disgusts, wedding them together through viscera and audacious aesthetics. In The First Omen, Stevenson atomizes all the darkness and the light within ourselves." The Guardian's Benjamin Lee gave it 3/5 stars, calling it "far more artful and striking than it has any right to be, thanks in overwhelmingly large part to the TV director Arkasha Stevenson, whose bravado works incredibly well until it really doesn't, when she's forced to play by franchise rules rather than her own."

Comparisons to Immaculate

Sharing similar premises (and a common Italian setting) and released at about the same time, The First Omen and Immaculate have been dubbed as "twin" movies. Both films explore the issue of female bodily autonomy, depicting the "systemic control of women's bodies reduced to vessels". Bilge Ebiri of Vulture wondered about "why should anyone be surprised that suddenly, in the wake of the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade, as state after state attempts to enact religious laws depriving women of bodily agency, America is getting horror movies about people forced into monstrous births by religious institutions worried about their growing irrelevance".

External links

• Official website
• The First Omen at IMDb