The post-Roe-v-Wade world gives rise to another terrifying story about bodily autonomy in The first omen (now streaming on Hulu), which at first seems like an IP retreat, but ends up being a pretty good movie that almost stands on its own. is he sixth film in The Omen franchise, which launched with a minor genre classic in 1976 and followed up with some unpleasant sequels, a remake, and a short-lived TV series. Directed by newcomer Arkasha Stevenson, The first omen is a prequel to the original film that draws many parallels with another of this year’s best horror films, Sydney Sweeney Vehicle ImmaculateOne wonders if they weren’t part of a Hollywood conspiracy to release two cinematic variations on the same theme within a couple of weeks of each other, but who expected both to be worth seeing?
THE FIRST Omen: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
The essence: I did not like it The first omen until the crazy woman licked the novice nun’s face. I’ll back up a bit: we start with two priests talking vaguely about sinister, secret Catholic shit, and the conversation ends, let’s say, ominously; We’ll talk more about that later, if it’s not too spoilery. We then cut to Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), a habit-clad American who arrives in Rome and is greeted by a smiling, friendly priest played by Bill Nighy, so we immediately distrust her. that. Margaret is so fresh-faced she looks like the “after” photo of a Clearasil ad. She came to Italy to work in an orphanage for a time before taking her vows as a nun and marrying the lord our god. Rome is in the throes of student political protests, which means things are a little unstable around here, what with all the advances people want to make that all of Catholicism sees as an ideological threat. It’s 1971.
Now the good part, where the licking begins. Carlita (Nicole Sorace) is the problem child at the orphanage, and Margaret, as a recovering problem child, is immediately attracted to her. Carlita runs her tongue along Margaret’s cheek (quite a greeting) and draws a creepy drawing. No wonder, all the other nuns are quite tense about such behavior and often punish Carlita by locking her in the “bad room”, which Margaret rightly believes is unnecessary, but what can you expect from a group of old nuns in 1971? ? Mercy, compassion and a good therapist? Margaret stays with another future nun, Luz (María Caballero), who dresses Margaret in a tank top and stilettos for a night out, you know, to sow a wild oat or three before they give it all up. a wimple Margaret feels weird and cold in clothes that show a little skin, and she’s never drank alcohol before, but before you know it, she’s toasting and chatting with a handsome gentleman, dancing with him and licking him at the table. face and then the screen suddenly goes black.
Hey, it happens. She’s wasting some time there. Don’t judge her. Although maybe the next day it won’t be quite right, because we hear strange choirs in the background and suddenly, one of the priests from the opening scene, Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson) comes up to her and says vague things about the need to “tell him everything.” She returns to the orphanage and actually, did I mention that Margaret sometimes sees things? As in hallucinations? Well, she does it herself, and those things aren’t Smurfs and Rainbows, more like the things one might expect from a horror movie that she feels obligated to give a scare from time to time. and this is when The first omen It really digs deep and is scary, unleashing some chilling images (hallucinated or not, and sometimes we can’t quite tell) that don’t bode well for Margaret as she tries to figure out what Carlita has to do with whatever it is. It is Brennan who speaks in an urgent and deeply concerned tone. Of course, he’s all about jolly old Satan and his offspring of the Antichrist, because you’re almost certainly not watching this movie without knowing what this franchise is all about.
What movies will it remind you of?: Omen Fans of the franchise can count the Easter eggs and rank the movies from worst to best – knock you out. But I’m here to tell you that Free gets an Isabelle Adjiani-in-Possession-Stylish moment that makes me want to see that amazing and disturbing classic. again again.
Performance worth seeing: What about “Free gets an Adjiani-in-Possession-moment of style†you didn’t understand? It’s the kind of scene you don’t forget easily, especially if you’re the actor who had to prepare for it, execute it, and live with it for the rest of your life.
Memorable dialogue: Classic Binary Morality/Circular Logic from an Old School Nun:
Old nun: (Carlita) had to go to the bad room.
Margaret: Why is there a bad room?
Old Nun: Because some girls are bad.
Sex and skin: There is nothing sexy about this movie, although I must warn you that there is one shot here that is too AUGGGHHHHHHH for words.
Our opinion: There are enough cases of women tied to beds in The first omen, functions as a screaming metaphor for, oh, I don’t know, some of the laws regarding female bodily choice and autonomy in this country? Context gives significant agency to what could have been an IP flex by the numbers, but instead entrenches its fear within some very real and tangible fears. Anyone surprised by this sharp cultural critique might want to pull their ostrich heads out of the sand; Anyone surprised that the sixth film in a dying franchise is thematically relevant, well-directed, and scary on multiple levels can join me in being struck down with a pen and praising Stevenson, who also co-writes with Tim Smith and Keith. Thomas, for creating the leeway necessary to make a memorable film within the narrative constraints of the series.
Stevenson also displays an impressive eye for the details of period pieces, allowing us to feel immersed in the surroundings and therefore more vulnerable to the gruesome images she dishes out: miscellaneous. Sinister rituals, immolations, creepy nun shit, a couple of truly shocking scenes that push the boundaries of R-rated horror almost to a breaking point, and almost dare you to look away. It is an often brave and daring film in which many horror outings are content to pile on blood, jump scares and clichés; The film’s most disgusting and terrifying moments come hard and fast, but they also carry dramatic weight. There are moments where one feels that her employers probably forced the director to insert the story into the series’ pre-existing narrative, so the film occasionally veers into clumsy and obvious moments. But for the most part, The first omen It works quite well whether you’ve seen the other films or not, and Stevenson delivers the brutality where it counts.
Our call: Oh man, this Omen It will end up being one of the best horror movies of the year. TRANSMIT IT.
John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic living in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
