Rome was abuzz with civil rights protests in 1971 when Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) arrived to take her vows and devote her life to God and the works of the Vizzardeli Orphanage.  While taking the tour of the grounds with the Abbess, Sister Silvia (Sônia Braga), Margaret meets Carlita (Nicole Sorace), a young ward of the orphanage and noted problem child who often has to spend time in solitary in “the bad room.”  Margaret, with a bit of a bad streak in herself from her younger years, immediately takes to Carlita seeking to help the child that many would sooner ignore.  As she bonds with the girl, she uncovers a dark secret; Carlita is not being separated from the other children because she is bad, she is being shielded by the church for her prophesied role in bringing about the Antichrist.  

Arkasha Stevenson directs The First Omen for Twentieth Century Studios, a direct prequel to Richard Donner’s The Omen (1976) and Disney’s first full step into horror.  She wrote the script along with Tim Smith and Keith Thomas and safe for a few name drops and the final sequence, the film by and large does not feel like pure fan service to the legacy franchise.  At 120 minutes, it is notable that the film does not rely on just jump scares or gore, though it is not devoid of both. Rather, Stevenson’s take follows a far more investigative and conspiratorial arc, working more in the tradition of dangerous suspicion than modern crash-and-bang filmmaking. 

The film opens in the confessional as Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson) interrogates Father Harris (Charles Dance) about a photograph of a baby who was admitted to Vizzardeli and whose birth and lineage are questionable.  Harris, not standing for these veiled accusations, leaves the church right as the ropes hoisting a stained-glass window up the scaffolding of the front of the building loosens, dropping the window on the priest below, killing the man.  It is a strange scene more so than a bold opening that goes on to fit thematically into what is to come but the shot construction, pacing, and overall tone does seem a little off making for a rocky and questionable start. 

Quickly, Free takes the reins of the story and has to navigate not only the tonal shift but also a real glut of exposition to set the stage for the film; the social and political climate of the city, the waning influence of the church, as well as the daily life of the nuns at the orphanage.  It is a difficult task, and Stevenson gives audiences some room for concern as the frights in the first act are all time-tested and well-worn tropes, but as the story tilts into its second act, The First Omen finds its own voice and begins to blaze ahead in new and creative ways that still manage to surprise audiences who are watching the film in the moment.  Once allowed to stretch and engage with the story that Stevenson et al. are looking to tell, Free really excels in the role with a performance that seems inspired by icons such as the obvious Mia Farrow, but there is also a lot of Isabelle Adjani in the performance, the latter of which’s work in Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession (1981) seems to have also inspired some style choices as well, notably a shot where Margaret’s black hair is twisted and tangles like a mess of tentacles. As the film progresses and takes on a more visceral approach to horror, audiences will then be reminded of Samantha Eggar’s work in The Brood (1979), David Cronenberg‘s take on pregnancy horror.

For much of the middle act, though, the film walks the careful line of alienating Margaret so that she does not know who to trust while also following the tender growth of trust between the disoriented woman and the troubled Carlita.  Sorace is also afforded a more robust role than simply standard issue creepy kid as her introduction and her story of abuse under the care of the orphanage is quite tragic.  She is at the heart of the conspiracy of the film, the latest product of a breeding scheme to bring about the Antichrist who’s coming will be used by the institution to instill fear into the hearts of the ungodly and drive them back to the failing churches.  Everything, of course, leads to Damian from the original film but for much of The First Omen, it is an investigation into structural and systemic abuse and the power struggle between religion, politics, and the masses.  Carlita, and to a lesser extent, Margaret, are tragic martyrs for the masses, pawns in a larger game, and if this film was divorced from the franchise it could have gone in a very bold direction and not include anything supernatural, but alas, it eventually falls in line. 

Thankfully, the horror elements are rather creative and utilize the setting of the film quite well.  Many are built around the jump scare template so the more hesitant in the audiences have time to brace themselves and the more versed in horror may not find too much new in regards to the buildups, but everything on screen fits well into the texture of the film.  Stevenson does not cheat the concept to get in something strange and wild simply for shock value. Instead, everything she presents has been carefully assembled beforehand so that when the film does get crazy, it does not betray itself.  In the third act, though, The First Omen sheds its skin as a conspiracy film and takes a bloodier, gorier route which, fits the trajectory of the narrative, but it feels far more broad than what came before it.  It is surgical horror, and while Margaret is put through the wringer here, it does not feel exploitative.  Every scalpel cut is made with a purpose and in the context of the film, what she undergoes is not gratuitous torture that solely is present to objectify her or debase her for the ravenous onlookers.  To be certain, her character is very much treated like the object that she is within the church’s scheme at the heart of the film, but for audiences, we are more horrified than fascinated as some of the more gore-porn films of the same era this film is emulating would have sought to do with her. These sequences are designed to wince, not just becuase of what we are seeing is bloody and gross, but because it crosses an innate moral and ethical line. That is the horror. 

For her feature debut, Stevenson approaches the material with unblinking confidence, and it is invigorating to see another confident, female perspective behind the camera in such a male-dominated genre, especially one that often intersects with stories centered around body autonomy, agency, and reproductive rights.  Having teased out the original concept of The Omen as far as audiences were willing to go along with it, returning to the source and backtracking was the only way forward with the franchise and this prequel should be able to satisfy both newcomers and devotes of Donner’s alike. As far as the franchise goes, having come full circle, it is hard to image what new ground it can tread, but thankfully, Stevenson emerges as a new voice in horror, suspense, and thriller, or whatever kinds of stories she sets her mind to next. With such thoughtfulness put into all aspects of the film, it is exciting to see what she will go on to create and how she will continue to upend stale stories and make them her own.