Sommerleigh Pollonais, Horror Head Writer
Plot: Set in 1971, the story of The First Omen follows novitiate Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) who travels to Italy to work at a Catholic orphanage in preparation for her vows. Things take a turn for the devilish when Maggie meets a young woman named Carlita (Nicole Sorace) who also lives at the orphanage but is apparently kept away from the other children due to her "mental illness". Maggie is eventually approached by Father Brennan (the perfectly cast Ralph Ineson looking like he time-travelled straight from the 70s) who tells Maggie the church is hiding a dark secret that could destroy her and the very world as they know it.
Review: A prequel that's actually more than just a lazy cash grab?! I'm honest enough to admit I rolled my eyes when The First Omen was announced, especially considering the subpar movies of late that tried to ride the coattails of their iconic predecessors *cough* The Exorcist: Believer* cough*. But I have never been happier to be wrong.
What the hell?!
While it's not perfect, this prequel puts the work in with its gorgeous cinematography that effortlessly blends with the original movie. So well in fact you could easily watch this and The Omen back-to-back and not miss a beat. Nell Tiger Free (most well-known from M. Night Shyamalan's psychological horror TV series Servant) slays in this role as she goes from naïve and vulnerable to terrified to tough-as-nails in a situation that would've left me rolled up like a ball in the corner of the room as I begged for my Mommy.
Her performance isn't the only one that leaves you riveted though. Ralph Ineson's gravelly voice makes his line deliveries even more chilling, Maria Cabellero as roommate and fellow novitiate Luz is captivating, making it very easy to understand why the inexperienced Maggie would be "seduced" by her friendship, and Ishtar Currie-Wilson gave me the heebie-jeebies every time she popped up on screen as the disturbed Sister Anjelica.
No offense Sister, but could I talk to another nun?
Solid acting, wicked score and a chilling atmosphere, the only complaints I really had was the pacing stumbled a bit in the final act and there are some changes here to the story that, while welcomed, (I'll always give points for originality) did cause some inconsistencies and plot holes, especially in the existing franchise.
Overall, I absolutely loved The First Omen. I've mentioned before how The Omen was the one horror movie that scared me so badly, I refused to watch it again for literal decades. I've grown to appreciate its place as an icon of supernatural horror and hopefully, unlike the updated Halloween films, the new movies added to this franchise continues to be as good as this one was.
Sommer's Score: 8 out of 10
Have you seen The First Omen? How would you rate it? And you can check out more ominous horror articles from Robot Mango Reviews below:
SUPERNATURAL HORROR CLASSIC 'THE OMEN' GETS UNDER YOUR SKIN
SYDNEY SWEENEY SHINES IN GENERIC, GIALLO-INSPIRED 'IMMACULATE'
THE FREAKY OCCURRENCES AROUND 'THE OMEN': CURSED FILMS EPISODE REVIEW
TOP 5 HORROR/THRILLER PREQUELS THAT ACTUALLY WORK
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I'll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More
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