The title of this film immediately had me thinking of the horror films of the similar name that were released back in the 70s in England. I immediately thought of how eerie they once seemed to me while I was growing up, the ways in which the films played on the idea of the antichrist in the era of mass hysteria over satanism and various forms of entertainment media, to which the agenda exacerbated with the introduction of games in the following decades like Dungeons and Dragons, video games in general, as well as Magic: The Gathering. This era was incredibly fragile, not much different to the present. And I think the horror films of this time alongside the idea of the antichrist created quite an odd atmosphere that the film industry successfully played. I never did like those original titles of The Omen. But this came from a place of the films genuinely just making me feel uneasy when I was younger. That horrible look of the 70s on 35mm film stock, the harsher accents of England, mixed with the ambient style of filmmaking back then. So, that is to actually praise the films and state they were incredibly effective in conveying that feeling of impending doom.
When I stumbled across The First Omen, before I even knew it had any connections to the original titles, I instantly thought of them and considered what the comparisons may be like. I saw the review scores which seemed quite high for a horror film in this period. A bit of a rarity for a film like this to be considered fairly decent. I don't have much interest in the fact that this is actually attached to those prior films, but my curiosity was hit once I saw the trailer, noticing some rather impressive filmmaking techniques in the film that looked like it could really play into the horror genre, though this was equally met with the typical and tiresome horror tropes. Of course, the trailer would focus on these. The moments that we all expect within a horror film, the same cliche editing techniques and jump scare suspense moments. I hoped the film wouldn't actually be this way, and carried on that idea from the originals. But the filmmaking, that was the real attraction for me. There's no doubt that modern techniques and gear accessibility can amplify a tired genre, letting some new ideas and styles enter and adding to the atmosphere.
Part of me still doesn't like that this film had to hold the name of the first films though. It is clear that this is a film that could've been its own thing, but certainly wouldn't have had the same level of marketing and attraction without an existing franchise name to use. The usual case of relying on something from the past in efforts to profit easily. But I can also understand that in this era of cinema rejection from the consumer side, this would've flopped with a different name.
The First Omen
One of the things that almost immediately made me dislike the film was a blatant copy of Possession, a film that is rather famous for its more grotesque aspects of demonic possession. A woman proceeding to thrash around on the floor as she foams from the mouth and various bodily fluids leave the body. It's a horrific scene that really pulls out the horror side of the film, and The First Omen felt like it totally copied that concept with such incredible similarities that it couldn't be seen as an homage at all. From until that point, I didn't have many thoughts on The First Omen. It certainly felt far too long and was losing my attention, but it had its moments here and there that were interesting and engaging enough to keep it on. It's harder to consider it as an homage given this is a film that intends to be a prequel title to an existing franchise from over fifty years ago, and only exists to try to print money from that existing name. The rest of the film has the setup of usual demonic and devil oriented narratives: a nun enters a holy place and is new to the location, expecting things to go smoothly and pursue her healthy career and life in this new location surrounded by seasoned professionals.
Naturally this isn't the case and almost immediately many oddities are discovered. I can't say I enjoy this setup, it has been done to death and it just feels lazy at this point, particularly with the concept of nuns. The idea that nuns can be scary or that things aren't always as they seem. I have seen it so many times at this point that I started to grow a bit tired of the film as the action and suspense began to kick in. These tropes are just exhausted, and it seemed to lose its magic the more it focused on such things. And there's always such an intense flaw in such spaces: to believe in God is to naturally assume the existence of the Devil, yet these stories always assume that the devil himself is some strange incapable being that couldn't possibly exist. To which they act surprised when bad things happen, invoking fear and the lack of God into the characters. Though the reality would be that if there is one, there is the other and there would also be some form of protection. Die as a result of the devil himself having you killed off? Well if you're a nun or good person that has not sinned, surely you end up just respawning in Heaven, no? This tends to ruin the idea of the nun and holy setting for such films for me.
And this is where the tropes ruin such films. The story would've been much better in a regular household setting much like the original titles. Where there is no massive influence of God and the idea of spirituality. To which the events are much more believable and unexpected. So The First Omen already starts off with a poor start, and it's purely narratively that the film disappoints. The performances and directing are rather solid. I really enjoyed certain moments in the cinematography and the use of sound to convey the unholy aspects. The choir sounds that overwhelm as the antichrist influence is present. The use of lighting and perspective around the characters as they react to situations, even the angles that give us a view from above that make things seem more much observed, orchestrated like some being is watching and ensuring the chess pieces move correctly. The atmosphere is certainly there, but the writing and events are just all over the place. Riots and protests in Italy which just do nothing. The partying nuns which just exists to pull the film slightly out of the stereotype of films that have all tried the same story.
This film didn't do it for me. It wasn't bad, but its potential was lost. The film did very little with the two hours it had, and in parts it felt all too stretched out for no reason. Nothing was gained from such a runtime, and I just started to feel tired midway.
