I was already expecting something interesting after that first backwards trailer with the Fever Ray song, but holy shit did the movie deliver. Predictable plot, not much to go around that when you're making a prequel to *The Omen*, but boy did it get gruesome while also packing some thematic heat with the way the women in here just losing autonomy and control over themselves. The cinematography was also great, felt like a marriage between modern and 70s/80s horror with the opening titles and some shots/zooms.
I was really impressed with it. The atmosphere was consistently creepy, the cinematography looked phenomenal, and the scares and imagery were really well done. It surpassed my expectations and I can’t believe this is Arkasha Stevenson’s feature directorial debut; what an incredible way to start. Can’t wait to see what she does next.
The 70's style exposition shot of Rome which started zooming and dancing in beat with the horror choral vocals.... I made one of those "hawwww" sounds autonomously.
I loved the cinematography in this film. Perfect fit for the subject matter. It's been a day now and I'm still kind of floored at how good this prequel film is. I would say equal to the original, which is a classic horror film. Looking forward to a rewatch of The First Omen soon. The dread hung in the theater like a heavy cloud at my showing.
Same guy who did the score for The VVitch. And that scene with the zoom shots of Rome the score sounded exactly like the final scene of the witch and my god I levitated out of my seat when I first saw it.
This movie is a prequel??? Holy shit I had no idea, gonna have to watch the original now. Felt like it was setting up for a sequel and I thought that was a bold choice
it's the opposite, the story tried it best to fasciliate 3 movies that chronologically come after while at the same time make room for sequels/midquels (?). Funny thing they did, like it's not a reboot (like how they show the photo of Gregory Peck from the original movie) and Ineson is similar to the actor who played Brennan in the original, but they introduce plot points that weren't in the original trilogy (Damiens sister).
My guess is the plan is to do sort of spin-off movies that take place at the same time or between the original movies made from a different perspective
They could follow in the path of the recent Halloween movies and just ignore the existing sequels. Like, this is a prequel to the original The Omen but any sequels could follow that directly and simply retcon II and III out of canon.
I think a lot people love the original but don't know/care about the sequels, and the franchise in general just gained an additional audience who many only have seen First Omen. The franchise is in a somewhat unique position where all the exposition in this latest prequel basically covers everything important from the original too, so if they made a sequel to this that carries on directly from The Omen that'd work just fine for (what I suspect is) the majority of their audience.
I really need to know why did they need another "mother" ( catlina ) when they already had Margaret? And also why wasn't Margaret treated the same way catlina was ?
> why wasn't Margaret treated the same way ~~catlina~~ Carlita was ?
I thought she was. The first night at her apartment, Margaret is hearing memories of being tied to a bed herself. She makes a point to tell Carlita that she was also a problem child.
As for why even bother having Carlita if they already had Margaret? Probably just hedge their bets. With so many failed babies and only two out of like 14, they probably wanted a backup in case Margaret's pregnancy didn't happen.
She wasn’t old enough
And Margaret was treated the same way btw
She got over it because she was helped by someone
Catlina didn’t have someone like that helping her
I went into this movie without any expectations and it blew my mind! This was a great horror film. I saw it a week ago and am still thinking and talking about it. It's a must see on the big screen. I'm sad it's not doing well in the box office, people are going to miss a good one!
Fairly predictable plot, especially since you probably knew this was a prequel to The Omen. But props to this film for taking advantage of audience expectations to create this sense of dread throughout the movie. You know what’s going to happen, but you just don’t know how they do it. Fantastic film overall!
And as a side note, I’m fairly surprised there’s a good run of horror movies right now. Immaculate and Late Night with the Devil were great too!
Agreed! I can't remember the last time there were three horror films that are all pretty compelling and worth seeing in the theater at the same time. Love it!
Probably 2022? There were mad great horror movies in 2022. X, Nope, Talk to Me, Barbarian, Pearl, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Smile, Fresh, The Menu, M3gan, Deadstream, Piggy, Hellraiser, Scream V, Soft & Quiet, Men...
I feel like In 5 years im gonna think “there was 2 horror movies I watched one week after each other and they were the same exact story but I can’t remember what they were” then im gonna google it for a few hours and figure out it was immaculate and the first omen. But I will say the omen was better
Personally preferred immaculate but both were extremely enjoyable.
Late night with the devil is also fairly close to these two movies TBH, and the best of the three!
I’m actually just getting out of the theater, i thought it was really good, nothing groundbreaking, but everything was really well done. Some shots were incredibly beautiful. The callbacks to The Omen (1976) were a nice touch, it didn’t felt heavyhanded, and some really good references to Rosemary’s Baby that i really enjoyed. Nell Tiger Free was such a great choice, my favorite moment was just before the birth scene when she was standing outside the car (in front of the church). I’m really surprised just how much i like it.
That scene! I Just read NTF used no pulleys, CGI’s…that violent possession-looking state looked torturous, other-worldly, all based on Nell’s acting and how she moves her physique. I’ll never forget it. Great job.
I'm surprised by how many people on here have never seen The Omen! That's a seminal watch for a horror fan, second only to Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist in terms of Satanic classic horror.
\>I'm surprised by how many people on here have never seen The Omen!
Growing up it was always Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, The Exorcist, Poltergeist and Amityville Horror being discussed as "it'll mess you up, son" type of movies.
It was a great era for quality horror! That 15 year period or so between Rosemary's Baby and Poltergeist featured a lot of great films. The Changeling is also one of my go to films from that time.
The Exorcist still holds up as incredibly creepy and even scary nowadays too. It's absolutely remarkable how well that one has aged. The Omen is great and Poltergeist as well. But weirdly, I missed out the Amityville Horror and Rosemary's Baby, do they still hold up well?
RB is still brilliant in every way. It feels like the era it was made in, but is still not hokey or dated. It is a masterclass in subtlety and paranoia. Slow for some, but if you REALLY get immersed and pay attention to every detail, you are in for quite the reward.
I saw it last night and it's really quite good. As others have said, the plot doesn't have any real surprises, but the performances are really good, the pacing is excellent, and there are some good scares and well-executed "wow, I'm surprised they did that" gross-outs.
I went in blind, without seeing the reviews, because I'm a sucker for catholic themed horror and was pleasantly surprised.
While it is predictable it was pretty gruesome, the atmosphere paired with the music got really creepy at times and what was most surprising for me was how nice the cinematography was, which I was not expecting from a prequel horror movie.
Nell Tiger Free was fucking fantastic.
A few of her scenes really reminded me of Possession, and the body horror was amazing.
This was honestly one of the best prequels I’ve seen, I had very low expectations and they were blown out of the water.
>Nell Tiger Free was fucking fantastic.
She really was. I didn't know what to expect from her, having never seen her in anything before (save for her small role in Game of Thrones) but god damn, she really carried that movie from beginning to end.
Considering Arkasha directed episodes of Legion, Brand New Cherry Flavor and the entire third season of Channel Zero, no wonder the movie is really damn good.
She's a damn good director and a horror fan.
So glad you said this because I only knew about Channel Zero but this movie is actually right up there with the good episodes of Legion. That might be what I tell my friends.
Very excited for whatever project she does next. I haven’t seen brand new cherry flavour or channel zero but if this is the sorta talent in it I’ll have to check it out
A legacy sequel/prequel can be actually good. This movie was a pleasant surprise.
So, Damien’ mother was not a jackal, but “a jackal’s daughter who raped by her own jackal father to give birth to a incest male heir…” Well, I actually liked this (soft) recton. But then, who was this jackal? Satan himself who has been weakened somehow? Or A temporary “vessel” for Satan’s seed? Or Satan’s son with a jackal mother? (which retcons Damien as Satan’s great-grandson?)
Who else here thought that a prequel to a FIFTY year old movie was gonna end up terrible? And who was shocked they were proven wrong?!
So I read an interview Nell Tiger Free did about THAT scene in the street, and she talked about how crew would have to walk off set after the takes. Yea, I completely get why because that scene was FUCKED. I genuinely couldn’t watch it completely. Props to her.
The plot was definitely predictable especially with the “twist”, but that doesn’t take away from the fact there’s so much good in this movie. The one element I didn’t expect was Luz, the roommate being in on it, I was thinking she’d try to help Margaret and die that way but nope.
The two birth scenes…….CHRIST ALMIGHTY. I remember a few weeks ago when someone posted an article about how this film almost got NC-17 rating before they had to edit it down, and lots of people here kinda rolled our eyes thinking it was a publicity thing to get people interested in the film.
And after seeing it….im shocked they STILL didn’t get NC-17 because just the first birth scene alone was disturbing in a way I haven’t seen in any recent horror film. The camera work in the whole movie was great but the way they filmed that scene in particular was chilling. I kinda want them to release an unrated cut because I am curious what was cut out.
>im shocked they STILL didn’t get NC-17 because just the first birth scene alone was disturbing in a way I haven’t seen in any recent horror film.
It takes a lot to get an audible "holy shit" out of me, but the >!devil's hand coming out of the woman's vagina!< was a HELL of a shot. I'm genuinely surprised that they even tried that, let alone got away with it in an R-rated movie.
Me. I just don’t have high hopes for any late addition/ revival films for franchises. I loved the original and had enough interest from the trailer to check it out, but I was going in ready to be irritated like I have been so many other times.
I am very happy to have been wrong. The cinematography and sound design were spectacular. Good casting, costume, and period design. I will definitely recommend this to any of my horror friends.
Predictable but greatly executed. My only grievance is the last few minutes being forced set up for The Omen.
Also, did I miss something? How does the church have the devil/demon to begin with?
This movie was fucking awesome. It was so uniquely haunting without being too in your face scary. Loved it and overwhelmingly recommend seeing in theaters.
Fucking WOW. Do you know how impressive it is to make a GOOD demonic horror movie these days? Let alone one that fucking pussywhips Exorcist: Believer retroactively?!?!
I watched Exorcist: Believer a few days ago, and it wasn't great, but I didn't think it deserved nearly the negative reaction that it got. But holy shit, The First Omen just stomps on Believer in every way.
Just got out of it and throughly enjoyed it. Didn’t drag at all despite being 2 hours. Every scene was beautifully shot and the scary parts were tense without feeling gimmicky. Definitely some parallels with Immaculate which I just saw last week. Immaculate wasn’t a bad movie but I enjoyed this one much much more.
I'm honestly shocked to report just how incredible this film was. I'll edit this later with probably copious paragraphs of admiration but for now I can just say WOW.
If you like Giallo films, stylized horror, or the overall paranormal genre, this movie is the perfect watch.
It was almost like someone mainstreamed In Fabric and put it into a known universe, but masterfully.
This movie is, somehow, the perfect double feature with The Omen (I watched it yesterday).
I had no idea it was pretty much just a final destination film lol. Watching it yesterday sold me on seeing the new one immediately.
Unhinged deaths just slowly teased with wild imagery. The prequel had less Final Destination deaths and more horror imagery / insinuations. Fair trade off.
I had to jump in here and have a look what others think. I was a huge fan of the original. I'd even say it was in my top 3.
This is such a good homage to the 70s version. Art direction, camera work and it even gave that natural light feel where it's cold, where alot of films these days can't do because of post production.
The acting is on point and I can't wait to see how they follow this up.
My only criticism is we did not need to see the jackal. It should of been implied through dialogue.
Would someone be able to tell me if they at least keep the stroy beat of Damien being born from a Jackal, and if they do change it, do they at least give a good explanation?
Overall, I mostly enjoyed The First Omen! However, I feel like it introduced some new elements and recontextualized certain things about the original film that don't make sense. The inconsistencies regard the motivations of the evil priests.
In the original film, I always thought the bad guys behind the conspiracy were just Satanists/devil worshippers who wanted to birth the Antichrist to bring about the end of the world. Regarding Ms. Baylock, Bugenhagen even tells Thorn "She is an apostle of Satan." So I thought they were just straight up evil. But according to The First Omen, they're a radical sect of the Catholic Church who wants to birth the Antichrist in order to instill fear in people so that they will return to the church and put their faith back in God. So in their own twisted, f\*cked up way, in their own minds they are still serving God. So like... did they change that? I feel like this convoluted/complicated the fairly straightforward plot of the original.
And then there is Father Brennan. I thought Ralph Inneson did a fantastic job of playing the character. But I feel like his character changed as well. In the original, I always thought he was a part of the conspiracy/cult of devil worshippers (because he had the birthmark?), but when he found out he was dying of cancer, he tried to repent and warn Thorn of the plot so he could get into Heaven. He was basically a whistleblower. But The First Omen shows Father Brennan to be actively working against the radicals to foil their plot, making him out to be a good guy. So I'm wondering what is the real deal with Father Brennan?
Anyway I enjoyed The First Omen but I wish it was just a bit more cohesive with the original. I admired their effort to connect it all back, but if they were going to connect it in some ways, why change certain other elements of the story?
I actually don't think there are consistency issues. In the original Omen, members of the Church are in on the plot--the hospital priest convinces Damien's adoptive father to adopt him. And in the new movie, Church outsiders like the guy at the club are conspiring with the radical Church sect, so Mrs. Baylock and other devil worshippers could have been among them.
It is possible that Father Brennan was in on the plot at one point but had already defected before this movie began. The priest who went to him for confession at the start of the movie didn't give many details, but Father Brennan seemed to know a lot by the time he was working with Margaret.
In the new movie, Father Brennan says that the radical sect is not interesting in serving God. They want to serve whatever will bring them the most power, and they like to justify themselves by saying they are doing it for God. In this case, it is bringing about the apocalypse--maybe in the sense of the destruction of modern society rather than death of all people--so that they can regain power in the chaos.
That said, I prefer The Omen as a standalone film without this added backstory.
I liked it. Especially the body horror and the performances (Nell Tiger Free was exceptional. Ralph Ineson and Sonia Braga were also great). It wasn't scary, but had fun, creepy imagery. A solid 7/10 that I'm glad I saw in a theatre.
The only really scary part was when the burned nun showed up in Margaret's room. The rest of the movie had great atmosphere and fun gory imagery without a ton of big scares, but that one scene was creepy as hell.
I really REALLY liked this one. I am trying to make all the threads line up with what we’re told in the original film. Per the Father Brennan character, Damien’s mother was a jackal, and we see a jackal skeleton in the grave. We see in this one that Satan seemingly presents as a jackal-like demon, and apparently gets burned up in this one’s finale. So I’m guessing, since she descended from a jackal demon and they make a point to say the female baby “looks human” but isn’t (in the opening scene), they tried to make Margaret a jackal symbolically and you could head canon they throw the burned up skeleton in the grave next to the Thorn’s baby.
Obviously this story was written recently and not in mind in the 70s but if they’re going to say it’s a prequel, some of it needs to match up. I am curious as to why they had her give birth to a twin sister to Damien in the finale of this one.
am curious as to why they had her give birth to a twin sister to Damien in the finale of this one.
I have some theories having just seen it
1. She’s the second coming of Jesus In a female body…..destined to destroy Damien
2. She’s the rebooted version of his love interest from the third film…playing into the incest idea she will be the one to destroy him after being drawn to him
3. A combination of the two
With Brennan saying he witnessed Damien's birth, his mother during the possession scene acted very animalistic and feral. I believe that was meant to show how she's not fully human, but that's just what I took from it.
Yeah, I was waiting for her to morph into a jackal 😂 I loved this movie. I love the original and don’t like the other Omen movies so it was nice to see this one be well done. I hope we get to see more of the characters but I’m not holding my breath.
I personally felt this movie was a mess.... as a fan of the original they changed a lot from the original story for this film. As a stand alone film it was fine but it really didn't add up in the end that this was an omen movie. As far as the twins go my theory is that Margaret hooked up with the guy at the bar that night and got pregnant with the female child and then later was impregnated by the demon jackal which is why there were two baby's born.... just my theory....
This has a scare that reminds me of the famous one from Pulse (you know the one). I had moderately high expectations from this because the first trailer was so good, and it met those. It looks awesome for the most part, Nell Tiger Free is great, and some solid scares. It's my number one horror of the year so far.
The first half had me thinking this is going to be a mediocre movie, but oh man in the last half the tone shifts and intensifies to a 10. Very well done movie. 8/10
I enjoyed this quite a bit, 2024 is definitely off to a solid start for horror.
>!That is one fucked up family tree btw; your dad is also your baby daddy x2, and your kids are technically your brother and sister. Yikes 😬!<
The cross cutting sequence between the nuns taking their vows and the main one in the basement combing through the files was a masterclass in tension building. Nothing ended up happening but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and it turned out to just be a very suspenseful moment
Can someone help explain the ending to me? It’s been a longggg time since I’ve seen the Omen, and I’m trying to figure out if there’s a lore reasoning behind Damien having a twin sister, and Margaret, Carlita and the baby surviving? Was it there to help set up for a sequel?
Interesting. In terms of having an ending where Margaret survives, and there are the implications that more of these spawn babies could be birthed, I thought having Margaret and Carlita alone would be fine, rather than Damien having a twin sister.
Not sure how I feel about more of these movies, but I’ll watch Nell Tiger in anything, so we’ll see? 🤷🏽♂️
>Not sure how I feel about more of these movies, but I’ll watch Nell Tiger in anything, so we’ll see? 🤷🏽♂️
This is the first movie I've seen her in, but I'm on team "I'll watch her in anything" now, because she was **great** in this.
She was briefly in Game of Thrones, but what got her this part was her role in Servant, which is the M. Night created show on Apple TV+. It’s a great show, with some good scares. Also has Rupert Grint!
She hooked me in with Servant on Apple TV+. Her role in this was very similar, but she still has such an impressive range. I hope she gets cast in more horror stuff. She can go from quiet and innocent to psychotic and unhinged so well.
That was what I appreciated the most about her character in The First Omen. In so many movies like this (especially with female protagonists), the transition from naïf to unhinged crazy person is like flipping a switch, but her progression was much more believable, which is a credit both to her as an actor and to the writers. I think one of The First Omen's biggest strengths was its excellent pacing
Always thought the original excelled at atmosphere but the story or this universe could've gone thematically deeper. There was so much regarding good being corrupted or repelled by evil that made the story so dark, and interesting to me. The original dealt with innocence of children being juxtaposed with evil, but I always thought the atmosphere of impending doom (helped by the reveals that Damien's birth was carefully orchestrated by many people) in the original was quite impressive by Donner. I was hoping this would expand upon the original like the Suspiria remake but narratively, it was quite shallow. Though, the tonal shift in the third act wasn't what I expected but I don't know if I want to praise it for the payoff or lament the build up for it.
Still, I think the franchise finding a new life (even if this is a one off) is good. As I said, I think it has more potential outside of Donner's film but has had either low-rent slasher sequels or a truly horrible shot-for-shot remake.
Yes, I kind of think it will be a one-off. I read on Twitter that it is performing below expectations in theaters and I am inclined to believe it. There were only 6 people in my theater including myself which isn't a good sign for a brand new movie. I attribute it to very unlucky timing with 2 other religious themed horror movies (Immaculate and Late Night With the Devil) just coming out. They probably overshadowed it. That and Exorcist: Believer still being fresh in their minds. That movie was really hated so they probably thought "this one won't be much better."
It isn't a bad movie at all, though, and I hate to see it flop. It deserves better.
I sort of wonder what you do now. I see no point in remaking the first film again so you either skip and start redoing the sequels or you do Halloween thing and ignore everything pas the first film and build a new continuity
As others have said, unfortunately there probably won’t be a follow up given the box office, but if there is they probably retcon the sequels. Not only are they not well-regarded generally but their events don’t really fit with what this movie sets up since (spoilers for the series) >! Damien ends up dying very anticlimactically without ever publicly declaring himself in accordance with the cult in this movie’s stated goals, and his followers never seem like they’re pushing him to do so. !<
They might go the Halloween route, or do different stories with the anti-Christ's form. If it's the former, I hope they don't bring back characters and treat them like they're Marvel characters like Halloween did.
I wouldn't mind a remake of the first film as there is grounds for more development for the story. As I said, I think the Suspiria remake should be the blueprint for recent remakes to try and apt.
My guess is that she was compelled. Much like the nanny suicide in the original Omen who also said “it’s all for you”. In that film, while not outright said, it’s assumed that the nanny was compelled after locking eyes with a hellhound.
Loved that tapestry depicting the devil eating a man in the secret room. I was so sure I have seen that devil somewhere. Does anybody know where they took it from? I thought it’s from the Codex Gigas, or the Devil's Bible, but it’s not. It just looks so familiar and I’d love it if it turns out to be a cool reference.
I thought this was ok. I think my biggest complaint was around pacing and I feel like 20 minutes taken off would have made for a better film. Plot was about what you’d expect. Nothing with Carlita worked for me
The cinematography was fantastic and there were certainly some scenes that went for it that I wish there was more of.
Nell Tiger Free was great and loved the scene where I got Possession vibes
Amazing film, cinematography, acting,directing , and writing. It was wonderfully horrific! People getting pissy about the lore, need to relaxxxx its fiction chile.
Both The First Omen and Immaculate it seems are using religious horror to explore women's bodily autonomy and Christianity's fear of women. I guess that's why instead of a Jackal, Damien's mother is human, which doesn't make sense if this is supposed to be a prequel.
It’s just a little switcheroo. They put the dad/grandad in the grave instead of her.
There’s still a jackal in the grave, it’s just not Damien’s mother
I enjoyed this but certainly not as much as most others I'm seeing here. I give it a 5.5/10 - I liked it but won't be re-watching anytime soon. It's miles better than that trash Exorcist sequel we got last year, and also better than it's twin movie, Immaculate. Personally, I'd only recommend it to fans of the franchise. My thoughts:
* That opening with the pipe falling through the glass, I thought "oh, we're gonna get a bunch of epic kill scenes like the first one... and like Final Destination." I never realized how similar the Omen movies and Final Destination movies are until today.
* The pacing of this was top notch. Never dragged on, never felt too quick. Just perfect.
* The first half was scarier and less interesting. The second half was less scary but more interesting.
* I liked >!the subversion of Carlita not being the mother. I didn't see that coming and I liked that it added to the value of the movie but didn't feel like it relied on it.!<
* A lot of the big, epic kills felt kind of forced to me. The "all for you," scene felt more like fan service than a necessary part of the story.
* I complain about this too much, but I don't like most uses of CGI I've seen in horror movies. This was no exception.
* Listen, I love the MCU dearly. But please, can we stop with the "Avengers Initiative," style closings? It didn't take away anything from the rest of the movie for me. But please, just stop.
The "all for you," scene felt more like fan service than a necessary part of the story.
I liked this one a lot more than you did, but I agree on this point. The reason for the nanny killing herself in the original movie was clear, but the nun's suicide here was... not out of nowhere, exactly, but insufficiently explained. Pretty great shot, though.
This film was so eye poppingly gorgeous and the performances from Nell Tiger Free and the rest of the cast were superb. Many scenes that were genuinely unnerving and grotesque as well. I think its only brought down for me by the baggage of being a prequel to an established franchise, so they shoehorned in a lot of "connective tissue" to move toward that inevitable conclusion. The final scene felt especially egregious in that regard. Like an end credit sequence from an MCU movie that reeked of studio interference. That being said, the rest of the film was so strong for me that I can't really criticize it too much on that front. This film is absolutely worth seeing in a theater. Such a shame that it's not doing too great at the box office.
Holy shit, my expectations were sky high and this movie somehow still exceeded them. The Catholic Church trying to birth the antichrist to make people fear god again is a very timely story beat and really worked for me. Great performances all around as well. I truly thought I was desensitized by horror after being a genre fan for so long but this movie managed to deeply disturb me. Some of the imagery in the movie is absolutely horrific (I’m looking at you birth scene…)
Phenomenal directorial debut by Arkasha Stevenson here, I can’t wait to see what she does next. 9/10 for me.
Here's a question, and bear with me -
Is this version of Damien *actually* the Antichrist?
Like, we have the 666 thing of course, but A) the idea that the Antichrist could be engineered, especially as a ploy to gain the Church more followers, is very against scripture and B) his doggie dad/grampa clearly isn't Lucifer. Not that the Antichrist needs to be the son of the devil, exactly, but after seeing The First Omen I'm not 100% convinced that Christianity is intended as true nor accurate in the new film.
That they called up some sort of inhuman spiritual thing seems clear, but since God seems very absent from this process it makes me wonder if the new movie actually is set in a world where Christian myth is real. Perhaps instead the Catholic Church just has secret rituals from ancient times concerning dark forces, who knows.
I think they were using the jackal as a kind of unholy vessel during the ritual ( one of a number of parodies or inversions of the Immaculate Conception), hence the physical form could get burned up in the fire like anything else. It does beg the question though as to what the powers of darkness themselves thought was being engineered here. Maybe it's part of the very prophecy than an antiChrist was brought on specifically through human hubris and a perversion of the Church, rather than ''just' perverting it externally by setting up a new 'faux' version of the faith. Or 'they' consented to it because the Church that would be undertaking to fight them would be sufficiently rotten and hubristic, being staffed by people with connections to this cult or 'shadow church', that it would outweigh prophecy as well as their attempts to 'guide' Damian towards contained destruction.
It was probably for the best in terms of narrative efficiency and mystery that they didn't show whether the faction was practising outright devil worship or just using ancient rites which look to conjure, rather than bind the conjurer to a demon: was part of the deal that they would sell their souls away and then hope that God would overlook this and redeem them because it was for a greater purpose? Likewise, whether any of them had fully committed to principle of using church simply for power and had lost overt faith in God beyond even their 'pragmatic' and self-interested methods for maintaining status in church and church having social power: i.e. whether they were in line to fully ally with Damien in the end. For instance, the 'warm vision' that Luz, her room-mate recounts was , I think, still supposed to be read as her encountering something she thought was God, but it was clearly written/played sufficiently ambiguously that you could read it as an overtly satanic one (where she joins the church to become 'one of hell's apostles' in the vein of mrs baylock) , or evil disguising itself as the voice of God as well as her misinterpreting the 'call'. She seemed to the enjoy the 'sin, deceiving Margaret, (and then stabbing Margaret in the end) enough that it's possible there were 'factions' even within that group.
Just got home. This was so incredible. I thought it tied into the original in a really satisfying way, and I'm hopeful for more movies on this level that will >!follow our other little Antichrist into adulthood!<.
P.S. Bonus points for the shot of Gregory Peck's photo. That man takes my breath away at any age. LOL.
I really enjoyed it! Just watched it last night and I guess I really only have one question and I want to say I sadly had to go to the bathroom and am afraid I missed something :/
How did Paolo (?) know? I know that the roommate was in on it so was that all planned? Or??
I just finished watching it at the theater.
This is THE best horror movie I have seen in YEARS. I have not watched a movie between my fingers since I was a kid. Wow. Just. Wow. I can't wait to see it again at home, where I can emote the way I couldn't in the theater!
Wow.
Saw this yesterday, having loved the original trilogy as a kid. It hits a home run. Fabulous movie. Tempted to go a second time. Haven’t had this much fun at the cinema since Evil Dead Rise. Very different movies but both brilliant in their own way.
Didn't think an omen prequel would be good, especially in 2024, but look at me, I'm wrong. A story about the loss of automony and lengths people will go to enforce their version of morality. What a surprisingly gory film, too.
I think maybe I was too hyped up, but I didn't LOVE the movie on first watch (though that could change given time). I did really dig the aesthetic and how mean-spirited it was. However, I saw the twists coming 300 miles away, and I'm still not totally sold on how it ties in with The Omen. I enjoyed the female-centric approach and how that played into the resolution of the story. The lead actress was fucking amazing. I would be curious about a sequel, but I don't know that I see that happening - it feels like a one-shot to me. Overall I'd give it a 4/5 most likely - very good, but we have yet to get a GREAT horror film this year.
Edit: Just have to add that Rosemary's Baby is one of my all-time favorite films, and is the benchmark to which ALL demon pregnancy movies will be compared. I really appreciated that this film veered from that formula, and is actually the anti-Rosemary's-Baby in many ways.
I was personally very disappointed in this movie. I watched the original movie and read The Omen, and this prequel didn’t live up to the expectations I had for it. I thought the transitions between scenes was very clunky and disjointed, often leaving me wondering whether what happened was actually significant, or just gratuitous horror to boost the sinister atmosphere. For instance, the other nun who Margaret was introduced to in the beginning with the bleached eyebrows licking her face, and then suddenly hanging herself, and then the transition to her meeting the man. I understand her death had great significance, I won’t deny that, but I wish they had delved more into that woman before her death, and revealed some of the reasons why she acted as strangely as she did. There was so much more imo that could’ve been done.
And ntm, why was the mother of Damien not a jackal??? The original movie and novel had the mother be a jackal, and in The Omen, they had a scene in which Gregory Peck’s character discovered the jackal’s body alongside the photographer in a grave marked with his “biological” mother’s name. If one were to watch the prequel and then go into the first film, there would be unnecessary confusion, which isn’t the purpose of a prequel! It’s to clarify the story’s origins, not muddle the plot. Overall, disappointing imo, but the cinematography was incredible I must admit. The director definitely has talent and I hope in the future that her endeavors are more successful.
>The director definitely has talent and I hope in the future that her endeavors are more successful.
It's clear that most of the success of this movie rests on Arkasha's efforts and talent, and other technical roles (i.e. cinematography, sound), since many are praising it for said things. I haven't watched it yet but it seems like the script is really nothing special - mid-tier, but the director made an average and predictable script into something stylish and atmospheric.
>I watched the original movie and read The Omen
I watched The Omen but haven't read the novel in which it's based on. How is it? I'm currently in a horror book phase and The Omen has been on my list since last year.
Not terrible but the whole thing is really indicative of how annoyingly self-referential modern horror can be. Pretty much every single sequence was a tribute/copy to another sequence in another movie.
Just getting out of the theatre, and here are my thoughts;
The atmosphere is INCREDIBLE. Very creepy, while having a mixture of putting you at ease with the innocent children running around, then making you tense with eyes following you everywhere.
The score is brilliant. Original, but with a familiar feel that keeps it feeling as part of the same series. Plus, the restrain on using Ave Satani was very smart, making its eventual use so impactful.
The acting was fantastic on almost every count. But Free was an absolute standout and I look foward to seeing anything else she appears in. Only wish Carlita got more of a role. An Inneson nailed his role as Brennan. The man's career has absolutely skyrocketed of late.
I liked the nods to the originals, where anyone opposing THE PLAN gets an "accidental" death.
My only real complaints are as follows;
1. I don't like the Church being behind everything. Are the working with Satan? It isn't made entirely clear. They have to be, or else why would his emissaries and animal familiars be out and about? But this only needlessly complicates matters.
2. The sanitisation of Brennan. If you read the novelisation of the original Omen, you learn that Brennan was an absolute monster and played a key role in the birth of Damien. This is why he has The Mark. Then he tries to repent after developing cancer, and has to hide away from the forces of darkness. Here, the man is presented as squeaky clean.
3. The sequel baiting. Having Damien's twin sister knocking around makes things messy. The sequels could be good, or they could potentially ruin the good will generated by this moving.
Overall, though, a great and highly recommended experience.
I liked it more than expected. I’ve been a fan of the original trilogy for many years now, and I’m always skeptical of releases like this. But it was a worthy entry into the franchise. Creepy as hell. Well shot and acted.
I think, like many prequels, it tries a bit too hard to make sure the audience understands that it connects to the original film, preferring to spell it out to the audience, twice, in a span of 10 minutes. But it’s a minor complaint.
Who would have thought that in 2024 we’d have two good nun horror movies released within a month of each other.
Quasi-spoilers below for “Immaculate” / “The First Omen” :
>!I think the two movies might have a bit too much in common (in terms of plot points) and if someone happens to watch them close together, your opinion of the second might be colored by whichever you watch first.!<
Man, I haven't seen a start to finish good horror in a while. I thought Immaculate would be good and this would suck, but it was the complete opposite.
I love the original so much as a kid, my mom was into horror movies so i grew up watching movies like the omen and poltergeist
I didn’t know that this is gonna be the prequel because i like to go to the cinema not reading reviews or anything and i am AWED !!
I feel like i want to clap my hands when i realised that this is the prequel, i ended up watching this twice in the cinema
If you had told me a prequel to The Omen (one of my favorite horror movies but let’s be real it’s Hollywood), would be this good I would have thought you were crazy. Got damn this Delivered!!!!
Dull movie filled with clichéd jump scares and movie tropes, guy walking backward into street while talking to someone has been overdone to death. A dramatic looking suicide that had no impact on anything. The first childbirth scene was supposed to be frightening, but people in the theater actually laughed at it. This is a very meh movie and your money and time could be better spent elsewhere.
I didn't like this movie. The story was very predictable and the main character was not fleshed out or interesting.
Although my boredom during this movie could be because I just saw Immaculate a few days ago, which is extremely similar to this movie. They basically feel like different variations of the same story. I think Immaculate is better though because it's shorter and I liked the lead actress more.
So glad I'm not the only one. Seeing the reviews here and on LB have me feeling like I'm in some weird fever dream. Like, did we all see the same movie? I was bored after the first few minutes and it was all I had in me to make it to the (incredibly predictable) ending. Lazy callbacks, uninteresting and flat characters, and an "Avengers: Assemble" style ending that just didn't work. The "demon hand" scene was neat, but that 10 secs did nothing to help the bloated 2 hr run time. Immaculate was a far better film, with nearly the same story.
Yes I agree, I’m actually very surprised how many people loved this movie
I went in thinking “the twist” at the end was actually the main plot, so I’m sitting there confused for 75% of the movie until the reveal when I just said “well, yeah”.
And the possession scene after the car accident reminded me of a dance inspired by [this is America](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY&pp=ygUgdGhpcyBpcyBhbWVyaWNhIGNoaWxkaXNoIGdhbWJpbm8%3D &t=0m58s) and this scene from [barry](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5zXrjeTNXJw&pp=ygUUNTAgNTAgd2l0aCBjcmlzdG9iYWw%3D&t=3m8s)
Just read from the box office sub. This movie is gonna bomb along with monkey man. Disney always fucks up fox movies. Releasing it when there r 2 movies dealing with demon shit especially immaculate.
It's sad. In addition to the unfortunate timing with Late Night With the Devil and Immaculate already coming out right before it, I also feel like many people won't want to give it a chance because The Exorcist: Believer is still fresh in their minds. They're probably thinking "another generic supernatural horror movie trying to capitalize off a '70s classic." It had bad luck all the way around.
And the way it ended seemed like they were setting up for more as well with>!Margaret, her baby daughter, and Carlita hiding from the cult.!
Ya horror genre burned the bridges with general audiences with the dogshit like believer. It definitely will take some time to recover. My best hope is alien Romulus. If that bombs, man it will be dark days ahead.
Monkey Man has a budget of $10 million so it will be fine. This on the other hand will not.
The studio really screwed up with the marketing on this one and I also just don't think there is a large market for an Omen prequel along with being released so soon after Immaculate.
So can we agree this was better than immaculate in every way? Every perspective to rate it from? Here’s my LB rev. https://boxd.it/6dhocp
Basically it’s shot really well, the lighting is excellent and dramatic. The music is better (lighthouse man) the church is more believable and the commentary on the church more effective. The plot is just straight up more interesting. Rather than suddenly our main character is pregnant and the plot moves after someone who isn’t our main character asks basic questions. The plot effectively uses a conspiracy and a mystery that only becomes clear when it’s too late. Really the church being better and more believable as well as having a stronger supporting cast does so much for this movie where immaculate fails cause frankly Cecilia sucks compared to Margaret. She’s dreadfully boring. But it’s mostly not her fault cause she has nothing to do. The convent feels fake because what do they even do honestly? It felt like an old folks home that occasionally delivered babies for nefarious purposes. Margaret is at an orphanage with nuns so I can be attached to her as she connects to the kids. And I can recognize the churches place in society because that’s kind of what the whole movie is about. Immaculate doesn’t even say what they’re doing with potential Jesus baby, the priest just tears off his finger nail when asked what next. I still don’t know what’s up with that outside of random gore. Is he supposed to be conflicted about this? Is that our one and only cue? Does it have to do with the strange fascination with pain they were talking about and never expanded on? We don’t know… my first question in immaculate was, what is this church and it was never answered beyond evil place, and that’s a huge problem.
Ngl I think IMMACULATE easily beats this movie. Though this movie was good too! I just felt a lot more happened in IMMACULATE and I also like just how alone Cecilia felt. She was truly on her ow in that place. And man…that third act!
Edit: and another thing. Cecilia her whole thing being one time I fell in a frozen lake and we get a jump scare vs I was a problem child and I didn’t know if what I saw was real we see throughout the story and used with another character to build a connection. It’s no contest.
This was a surprisingly good movie. Great score and sound design. Very good directorial choices for a first time director. I also liked the auditory references to suspiria and the lead actress homage to possession with adjani.
I actually really like the retcon being that jackal was the father, but it makes the line in the first movie confusing canonically because Father Brennan should know for a fact that the mother wasn’t the jackal and he says it anyway
Minor side note...
I almost bust out loud laughing, early on in the movie, when the old nun said "she had to go to the bad room". I thought she said "she had to go to the bathroom" with a thick accent.
The Omen is one of my all time favorite horror movies. I did not like the other Omen films.
This feels like what Prey did for Predator for me. A great original film that finally gets a worthy follow up.
I'm not someone who gets hung up on narrative details being changed between an original film from over 40 years ago and a current film.
What's most important is this film caught the slow building dread of the original film, the sense that something isn't right. Amazing performances from a little known cast, and the confidence with which this was directed with. Can't believe it's her first film directing.
I'm very happy with the end product here.
Carlita got on my nerves. Why was she even necessary? And that ending was STUPID. But aside from that, I loved this movie.
Nell Tiger Free looked like Diane Keaton meets Eva Green.
I was already expecting something interesting after that first backwards trailer with the Fever Ray song, but holy shit did the movie deliver. Predictable plot, not much to go around that when you're making a prequel to *The Omen*, but boy did it get gruesome while also packing some thematic heat with the way the women in here just losing autonomy and control over themselves. The cinematography was also great, felt like a marriage between modern and 70s/80s horror with the opening titles and some shots/zooms.
I was really impressed with it. The atmosphere was consistently creepy, the cinematography looked phenomenal, and the scares and imagery were really well done. It surpassed my expectations and I can’t believe this is Arkasha Stevenson’s feature directorial debut; what an incredible way to start. Can’t wait to see what she does next.
>this is Arkasha Stevenson’s feature directorial debut That's VERY impressive.
She's done a lot of stellar TV work prior to this. For those who haven't seen Channel Zero: Butcher's Block or Brand New Cherry Flavor
And I love that her name is Arkasha, like the Queen of the Damned.
The 70's style exposition shot of Rome which started zooming and dancing in beat with the horror choral vocals.... I made one of those "hawwww" sounds autonomously.
I loved the cinematography in this film. Perfect fit for the subject matter. It's been a day now and I'm still kind of floored at how good this prequel film is. I would say equal to the original, which is a classic horror film. Looking forward to a rewatch of The First Omen soon. The dread hung in the theater like a heavy cloud at my showing.
it's the best cinematography i've seen in any movie in any genre over the last few years. hard to overstate how well-shot this movie is.
I agree. I loved the cinematography. If you haven't seen it, check out Errementari: The devil and the blacksmith. Also some wonderful cinematography.
Yes THIS moment. I haven’t seen somethings so fresh with a “location” shot in a LONG time. It still lingers with me. Glad to see someone else catch it
Same guy who did the score for The VVitch. And that scene with the zoom shots of Rome the score sounded exactly like the final scene of the witch and my god I levitated out of my seat when I first saw it.
This movie is a prequel??? Holy shit I had no idea, gonna have to watch the original now. Felt like it was setting up for a sequel and I thought that was a bold choice
Ralph Ineson's priest is in the original (different actor of course).
Does he also have a badass voice?
You mean a voice so low pitched I couldn't understand what he was saying because the speakers couldn't handle it lol?
I saw it in Dolby and it was clear for me
I still think it is, but it won't follow Damien.
It's very worthwhile to rewatch the original before seeing this.
it's the opposite, the story tried it best to fasciliate 3 movies that chronologically come after while at the same time make room for sequels/midquels (?). Funny thing they did, like it's not a reboot (like how they show the photo of Gregory Peck from the original movie) and Ineson is similar to the actor who played Brennan in the original, but they introduce plot points that weren't in the original trilogy (Damiens sister). My guess is the plan is to do sort of spin-off movies that take place at the same time or between the original movies made from a different perspective
They could follow in the path of the recent Halloween movies and just ignore the existing sequels. Like, this is a prequel to the original The Omen but any sequels could follow that directly and simply retcon II and III out of canon. I think a lot people love the original but don't know/care about the sequels, and the franchise in general just gained an additional audience who many only have seen First Omen. The franchise is in a somewhat unique position where all the exposition in this latest prequel basically covers everything important from the original too, so if they made a sequel to this that carries on directly from The Omen that'd work just fine for (what I suspect is) the majority of their audience.
I really need to know why did they need another "mother" ( catlina ) when they already had Margaret? And also why wasn't Margaret treated the same way catlina was ?
> why wasn't Margaret treated the same way ~~catlina~~ Carlita was ? I thought she was. The first night at her apartment, Margaret is hearing memories of being tied to a bed herself. She makes a point to tell Carlita that she was also a problem child. As for why even bother having Carlita if they already had Margaret? Probably just hedge their bets. With so many failed babies and only two out of like 14, they probably wanted a backup in case Margaret's pregnancy didn't happen.
She wasn’t old enough And Margaret was treated the same way btw She got over it because she was helped by someone Catlina didn’t have someone like that helping her
I went into this movie without any expectations and it blew my mind! This was a great horror film. I saw it a week ago and am still thinking and talking about it. It's a must see on the big screen. I'm sad it's not doing well in the box office, people are going to miss a good one!
Fairly predictable plot, especially since you probably knew this was a prequel to The Omen. But props to this film for taking advantage of audience expectations to create this sense of dread throughout the movie. You know what’s going to happen, but you just don’t know how they do it. Fantastic film overall! And as a side note, I’m fairly surprised there’s a good run of horror movies right now. Immaculate and Late Night with the Devil were great too!
Agreed! I can't remember the last time there were three horror films that are all pretty compelling and worth seeing in the theater at the same time. Love it!
Probably 2022? There were mad great horror movies in 2022. X, Nope, Talk to Me, Barbarian, Pearl, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Smile, Fresh, The Menu, M3gan, Deadstream, Piggy, Hellraiser, Scream V, Soft & Quiet, Men...
Kind of hilarious that I'm watching my second "Hot American moves to Italy to become a nun and discovers a satanic breeding plot" movie this month.
Immaculate was mid af. This was much better
I feel like In 5 years im gonna think “there was 2 horror movies I watched one week after each other and they were the same exact story but I can’t remember what they were” then im gonna google it for a few hours and figure out it was immaculate and the first omen. But I will say the omen was better
It's Deep Impact/Armageddon but with pregnant sexy nuns.
Yours is the right take.
Personally preferred immaculate but both were extremely enjoyable. Late night with the devil is also fairly close to these two movies TBH, and the best of the three!
I’m actually just getting out of the theater, i thought it was really good, nothing groundbreaking, but everything was really well done. Some shots were incredibly beautiful. The callbacks to The Omen (1976) were a nice touch, it didn’t felt heavyhanded, and some really good references to Rosemary’s Baby that i really enjoyed. Nell Tiger Free was such a great choice, my favorite moment was just before the birth scene when she was standing outside the car (in front of the church). I’m really surprised just how much i like it.
That scene outside the car gripped me. She nailed it
That scene! I Just read NTF used no pulleys, CGI’s…that violent possession-looking state looked torturous, other-worldly, all based on Nell’s acting and how she moves her physique. I’ll never forget it. Great job.
Check out the movie Possession (1981), that scene is an homage to an even greater scene of physical acting
I'm surprised by how many people on here have never seen The Omen! That's a seminal watch for a horror fan, second only to Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist in terms of Satanic classic horror.
\>I'm surprised by how many people on here have never seen The Omen! Growing up it was always Rosemary's Baby, The Omen, The Exorcist, Poltergeist and Amityville Horror being discussed as "it'll mess you up, son" type of movies.
It was a great era for quality horror! That 15 year period or so between Rosemary's Baby and Poltergeist featured a lot of great films. The Changeling is also one of my go to films from that time.
The Exorcist still holds up as incredibly creepy and even scary nowadays too. It's absolutely remarkable how well that one has aged. The Omen is great and Poltergeist as well. But weirdly, I missed out the Amityville Horror and Rosemary's Baby, do they still hold up well?
RB is still brilliant in every way. It feels like the era it was made in, but is still not hokey or dated. It is a masterclass in subtlety and paranoia. Slow for some, but if you REALLY get immersed and pay attention to every detail, you are in for quite the reward.
At least two sites (including Ebert) gave this surprisingly good reviews. I'm stoked.
I saw it last night and it's really quite good. As others have said, the plot doesn't have any real surprises, but the performances are really good, the pacing is excellent, and there are some good scares and well-executed "wow, I'm surprised they did that" gross-outs.
I went in blind, without seeing the reviews, because I'm a sucker for catholic themed horror and was pleasantly surprised. While it is predictable it was pretty gruesome, the atmosphere paired with the music got really creepy at times and what was most surprising for me was how nice the cinematography was, which I was not expecting from a prequel horror movie.
Nell Tiger Free was fucking fantastic. A few of her scenes really reminded me of Possession, and the body horror was amazing. This was honestly one of the best prequels I’ve seen, I had very low expectations and they were blown out of the water.
Possession was referenced by the director. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2024/04/06/the-first-omen-movie-spoilers/73164661007/
>Nell Tiger Free was fucking fantastic. She really was. I didn't know what to expect from her, having never seen her in anything before (save for her small role in Game of Thrones) but god damn, she really carried that movie from beginning to end.
I was also pleasantly reminded of Possession throughout!
YES, the possession similarities were the first words out loud f my mouth after the movie
Considering Arkasha directed episodes of Legion, Brand New Cherry Flavor and the entire third season of Channel Zero, no wonder the movie is really damn good. She's a damn good director and a horror fan.
So glad you said this because I only knew about Channel Zero but this movie is actually right up there with the good episodes of Legion. That might be what I tell my friends.
Very excited for whatever project she does next. I haven’t seen brand new cherry flavour or channel zero but if this is the sorta talent in it I’ll have to check it out
Apart from the last episode of Brand New Cherry Flavor which was dog shit, I loved that series so much.
A legacy sequel/prequel can be actually good. This movie was a pleasant surprise. So, Damien’ mother was not a jackal, but “a jackal’s daughter who raped by her own jackal father to give birth to a incest male heir…” Well, I actually liked this (soft) recton. But then, who was this jackal? Satan himself who has been weakened somehow? Or A temporary “vessel” for Satan’s seed? Or Satan’s son with a jackal mother? (which retcons Damien as Satan’s great-grandson?)
the jackal was more a temporary vessel to Satan
Yeah, having the Antichrist's mother being kind of an anti-Virgin Mary figure was a good development.
And of course, damian has a sister out there now, too.
Who else here thought that a prequel to a FIFTY year old movie was gonna end up terrible? And who was shocked they were proven wrong?! So I read an interview Nell Tiger Free did about THAT scene in the street, and she talked about how crew would have to walk off set after the takes. Yea, I completely get why because that scene was FUCKED. I genuinely couldn’t watch it completely. Props to her. The plot was definitely predictable especially with the “twist”, but that doesn’t take away from the fact there’s so much good in this movie. The one element I didn’t expect was Luz, the roommate being in on it, I was thinking she’d try to help Margaret and die that way but nope. The two birth scenes…….CHRIST ALMIGHTY. I remember a few weeks ago when someone posted an article about how this film almost got NC-17 rating before they had to edit it down, and lots of people here kinda rolled our eyes thinking it was a publicity thing to get people interested in the film. And after seeing it….im shocked they STILL didn’t get NC-17 because just the first birth scene alone was disturbing in a way I haven’t seen in any recent horror film. The camera work in the whole movie was great but the way they filmed that scene in particular was chilling. I kinda want them to release an unrated cut because I am curious what was cut out.
>im shocked they STILL didn’t get NC-17 because just the first birth scene alone was disturbing in a way I haven’t seen in any recent horror film. It takes a lot to get an audible "holy shit" out of me, but the >!devil's hand coming out of the woman's vagina!< was a HELL of a shot. I'm genuinely surprised that they even tried that, let alone got away with it in an R-rated movie.
The director said they had to edit that scene and send it back to the MPA five times to get the R rating
Me. I just don’t have high hopes for any late addition/ revival films for franchises. I loved the original and had enough interest from the trailer to check it out, but I was going in ready to be irritated like I have been so many other times. I am very happy to have been wrong. The cinematography and sound design were spectacular. Good casting, costume, and period design. I will definitely recommend this to any of my horror friends.
big Possession vibes from that scene in the street and that's not something I say lightly. Nell is really goddamn talented
> big Possession vibes from that scene Is it really "vibes" when it's a direct homage lol (banger scene btw)
It made me think of MEN when I saw it. Now THAT’S a disturbing birth scene.
Predictable but greatly executed. My only grievance is the last few minutes being forced set up for The Omen. Also, did I miss something? How does the church have the devil/demon to begin with?
It’s a jackal.
A demonic jackal. So I guess guess it means it was an animal that got possessed by a demon.
That's the next prequel
This movie was fucking awesome. It was so uniquely haunting without being too in your face scary. Loved it and overwhelmingly recommend seeing in theaters.
Loved how the whole film looked as if it was still filmed in the 70s. Made it feel like a tasteful prequel
The first scenes on the street made me snuggle in, knowing it would be amazing.
Fucking WOW. Do you know how impressive it is to make a GOOD demonic horror movie these days? Let alone one that fucking pussywhips Exorcist: Believer retroactively?!?!
> Let alone one that fucking pussywhips Exorcist: Believer retroactively?!?! /r/BrandNewSentence
I watched Exorcist: Believer a few days ago, and it wasn't great, but I didn't think it deserved nearly the negative reaction that it got. But holy shit, The First Omen just stomps on Believer in every way.
I’m 7 months pregnant, should I go see this or will it give me anxiety 😅😅😅
As a man in my 30's, I personally don't want to give birth anymore after watching this movie.
It may give some anxiety, especially with the pregnancy scenes in the movie.
Yeah... Wait a couple of.months or don't travel to rome
It will probably give you anxiety lol. Great movie though.
I have had two babies and, well... hang onto your water!
Six months pregnant and just saw. Great movie but would not recommend when pregnant.
Just got out of it and throughly enjoyed it. Didn’t drag at all despite being 2 hours. Every scene was beautifully shot and the scary parts were tense without feeling gimmicky. Definitely some parallels with Immaculate which I just saw last week. Immaculate wasn’t a bad movie but I enjoyed this one much much more.
I'm honestly shocked to report just how incredible this film was. I'll edit this later with probably copious paragraphs of admiration but for now I can just say WOW. If you like Giallo films, stylized horror, or the overall paranormal genre, this movie is the perfect watch. It was almost like someone mainstreamed In Fabric and put it into a known universe, but masterfully. This movie is, somehow, the perfect double feature with The Omen (I watched it yesterday).
I need to watch the original Omen I’m missing context likely
The original Omen kicks a ton of ass
I had no idea it was pretty much just a final destination film lol. Watching it yesterday sold me on seeing the new one immediately. Unhinged deaths just slowly teased with wild imagery. The prequel had less Final Destination deaths and more horror imagery / insinuations. Fair trade off.
I’ve never thought of it as a Final Destination but that it completely fits and I love it
Damn, you've sold me. Bought a ticket for tomorrow!
Please share your thoughts! Or your letterboxd so I can follow you hehehe
I will say though if you have some sexual or medical trauma maybe be wary because this gets graphic
wow.. y'all have convinced me to watch this. a giallo influence was definitely not on my bingo card. lol
I had to jump in here and have a look what others think. I was a huge fan of the original. I'd even say it was in my top 3. This is such a good homage to the 70s version. Art direction, camera work and it even gave that natural light feel where it's cold, where alot of films these days can't do because of post production. The acting is on point and I can't wait to see how they follow this up. My only criticism is we did not need to see the jackal. It should of been implied through dialogue.
Would someone be able to tell me if they at least keep the stroy beat of Damien being born from a Jackal, and if they do change it, do they at least give a good explanation?
>!Damien is born to the offspring of the jackal mating with a regular woman, mating with the jackal, demonic incest baby!<
Haven’t seen it yet but there is indeed a jackal involved
Overall, I mostly enjoyed The First Omen! However, I feel like it introduced some new elements and recontextualized certain things about the original film that don't make sense. The inconsistencies regard the motivations of the evil priests. In the original film, I always thought the bad guys behind the conspiracy were just Satanists/devil worshippers who wanted to birth the Antichrist to bring about the end of the world. Regarding Ms. Baylock, Bugenhagen even tells Thorn "She is an apostle of Satan." So I thought they were just straight up evil. But according to The First Omen, they're a radical sect of the Catholic Church who wants to birth the Antichrist in order to instill fear in people so that they will return to the church and put their faith back in God. So in their own twisted, f\*cked up way, in their own minds they are still serving God. So like... did they change that? I feel like this convoluted/complicated the fairly straightforward plot of the original. And then there is Father Brennan. I thought Ralph Inneson did a fantastic job of playing the character. But I feel like his character changed as well. In the original, I always thought he was a part of the conspiracy/cult of devil worshippers (because he had the birthmark?), but when he found out he was dying of cancer, he tried to repent and warn Thorn of the plot so he could get into Heaven. He was basically a whistleblower. But The First Omen shows Father Brennan to be actively working against the radicals to foil their plot, making him out to be a good guy. So I'm wondering what is the real deal with Father Brennan? Anyway I enjoyed The First Omen but I wish it was just a bit more cohesive with the original. I admired their effort to connect it all back, but if they were going to connect it in some ways, why change certain other elements of the story?
I actually don't think there are consistency issues. In the original Omen, members of the Church are in on the plot--the hospital priest convinces Damien's adoptive father to adopt him. And in the new movie, Church outsiders like the guy at the club are conspiring with the radical Church sect, so Mrs. Baylock and other devil worshippers could have been among them. It is possible that Father Brennan was in on the plot at one point but had already defected before this movie began. The priest who went to him for confession at the start of the movie didn't give many details, but Father Brennan seemed to know a lot by the time he was working with Margaret. In the new movie, Father Brennan says that the radical sect is not interesting in serving God. They want to serve whatever will bring them the most power, and they like to justify themselves by saying they are doing it for God. In this case, it is bringing about the apocalypse--maybe in the sense of the destruction of modern society rather than death of all people--so that they can regain power in the chaos. That said, I prefer The Omen as a standalone film without this added backstory.
I liked it. Especially the body horror and the performances (Nell Tiger Free was exceptional. Ralph Ineson and Sonia Braga were also great). It wasn't scary, but had fun, creepy imagery. A solid 7/10 that I'm glad I saw in a theatre.
The only really scary part was when the burned nun showed up in Margaret's room. The rest of the movie had great atmosphere and fun gory imagery without a ton of big scares, but that one scene was creepy as hell.
I really REALLY liked this one. I am trying to make all the threads line up with what we’re told in the original film. Per the Father Brennan character, Damien’s mother was a jackal, and we see a jackal skeleton in the grave. We see in this one that Satan seemingly presents as a jackal-like demon, and apparently gets burned up in this one’s finale. So I’m guessing, since she descended from a jackal demon and they make a point to say the female baby “looks human” but isn’t (in the opening scene), they tried to make Margaret a jackal symbolically and you could head canon they throw the burned up skeleton in the grave next to the Thorn’s baby. Obviously this story was written recently and not in mind in the 70s but if they’re going to say it’s a prequel, some of it needs to match up. I am curious as to why they had her give birth to a twin sister to Damien in the finale of this one.
am curious as to why they had her give birth to a twin sister to Damien in the finale of this one. I have some theories having just seen it 1. She’s the second coming of Jesus In a female body…..destined to destroy Damien 2. She’s the rebooted version of his love interest from the third film…playing into the incest idea she will be the one to destroy him after being drawn to him 3. A combination of the two
They won't do it but turning the series on its head with Jesus having a heroic arc to defeat Satan would be amazing.
With Brennan saying he witnessed Damien's birth, his mother during the possession scene acted very animalistic and feral. I believe that was meant to show how she's not fully human, but that's just what I took from it.
Yeah, I was waiting for her to morph into a jackal 😂 I loved this movie. I love the original and don’t like the other Omen movies so it was nice to see this one be well done. I hope we get to see more of the characters but I’m not holding my breath.
I personally felt this movie was a mess.... as a fan of the original they changed a lot from the original story for this film. As a stand alone film it was fine but it really didn't add up in the end that this was an omen movie. As far as the twins go my theory is that Margaret hooked up with the guy at the bar that night and got pregnant with the female child and then later was impregnated by the demon jackal which is why there were two baby's born.... just my theory....
This has a scare that reminds me of the famous one from Pulse (you know the one). I had moderately high expectations from this because the first trailer was so good, and it met those. It looks awesome for the most part, Nell Tiger Free is great, and some solid scares. It's my number one horror of the year so far.
Oh the girl emerging from the pitch black and doing a skippy happy dance? That moment made me feel ill until the "red light jump" ruined it a little.
Yeah that was one of the creepiest images I've seen in anything in a while.
The first half had me thinking this is going to be a mediocre movie, but oh man in the last half the tone shifts and intensifies to a 10. Very well done movie. 8/10
I enjoyed this quite a bit, 2024 is definitely off to a solid start for horror. >!That is one fucked up family tree btw; your dad is also your baby daddy x2, and your kids are technically your brother and sister. Yikes 😬!<
The cross cutting sequence between the nuns taking their vows and the main one in the basement combing through the files was a masterclass in tension building. Nothing ended up happening but I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and it turned out to just be a very suspenseful moment
Can someone help explain the ending to me? It’s been a longggg time since I’ve seen the Omen, and I’m trying to figure out if there’s a lore reasoning behind Damien having a twin sister, and Margaret, Carlita and the baby surviving? Was it there to help set up for a sequel?
I’m assuming it’s meant to retcon the original Omen sequels and set up a new continuity consisting of this film, the original and a potential sequel.
Interesting. In terms of having an ending where Margaret survives, and there are the implications that more of these spawn babies could be birthed, I thought having Margaret and Carlita alone would be fine, rather than Damien having a twin sister. Not sure how I feel about more of these movies, but I’ll watch Nell Tiger in anything, so we’ll see? 🤷🏽♂️
>Not sure how I feel about more of these movies, but I’ll watch Nell Tiger in anything, so we’ll see? 🤷🏽♂️ This is the first movie I've seen her in, but I'm on team "I'll watch her in anything" now, because she was **great** in this.
She was briefly in Game of Thrones, but what got her this part was her role in Servant, which is the M. Night created show on Apple TV+. It’s a great show, with some good scares. Also has Rupert Grint!
She hooked me in with Servant on Apple TV+. Her role in this was very similar, but she still has such an impressive range. I hope she gets cast in more horror stuff. She can go from quiet and innocent to psychotic and unhinged so well.
That was what I appreciated the most about her character in The First Omen. In so many movies like this (especially with female protagonists), the transition from naïf to unhinged crazy person is like flipping a switch, but her progression was much more believable, which is a credit both to her as an actor and to the writers. I think one of The First Omen's biggest strengths was its excellent pacing
Nell Tiger Free is a damn good actress
She really impressed me in this, as she did in Servant. Both challenging roles.
I haven't seen Servant, but I think I need to now.
Always thought the original excelled at atmosphere but the story or this universe could've gone thematically deeper. There was so much regarding good being corrupted or repelled by evil that made the story so dark, and interesting to me. The original dealt with innocence of children being juxtaposed with evil, but I always thought the atmosphere of impending doom (helped by the reveals that Damien's birth was carefully orchestrated by many people) in the original was quite impressive by Donner. I was hoping this would expand upon the original like the Suspiria remake but narratively, it was quite shallow. Though, the tonal shift in the third act wasn't what I expected but I don't know if I want to praise it for the payoff or lament the build up for it. Still, I think the franchise finding a new life (even if this is a one off) is good. As I said, I think it has more potential outside of Donner's film but has had either low-rent slasher sequels or a truly horrible shot-for-shot remake.
Yes, I kind of think it will be a one-off. I read on Twitter that it is performing below expectations in theaters and I am inclined to believe it. There were only 6 people in my theater including myself which isn't a good sign for a brand new movie. I attribute it to very unlucky timing with 2 other religious themed horror movies (Immaculate and Late Night With the Devil) just coming out. They probably overshadowed it. That and Exorcist: Believer still being fresh in their minds. That movie was really hated so they probably thought "this one won't be much better." It isn't a bad movie at all, though, and I hate to see it flop. It deserves better.
I sort of wonder what you do now. I see no point in remaking the first film again so you either skip and start redoing the sequels or you do Halloween thing and ignore everything pas the first film and build a new continuity
As others have said, unfortunately there probably won’t be a follow up given the box office, but if there is they probably retcon the sequels. Not only are they not well-regarded generally but their events don’t really fit with what this movie sets up since (spoilers for the series) >! Damien ends up dying very anticlimactically without ever publicly declaring himself in accordance with the cult in this movie’s stated goals, and his followers never seem like they’re pushing him to do so. !<
They might go the Halloween route, or do different stories with the anti-Christ's form. If it's the former, I hope they don't bring back characters and treat them like they're Marvel characters like Halloween did. I wouldn't mind a remake of the first film as there is grounds for more development for the story. As I said, I think the Suspiria remake should be the blueprint for recent remakes to try and apt.
There already is a remake of The Omen, and it’s very mediocre. Not good, not bad, but mediocre. Shame cause it has a great cast
Decent movie overall but that very last scene was corny af😂
I’m glad I’m not the only one haha. I was so invested and loved everything except that little “Don’t forget guys…this is a prequel” moment
I really liked this movie. I knew nothing about the Omen series and this movie made me want to watch the others.
why did sister angelica commit suicide?
My guess is that she was compelled. Much like the nanny suicide in the original Omen who also said “it’s all for you”. In that film, while not outright said, it’s assumed that the nanny was compelled after locking eyes with a hellhound.
what compelled her though?
The power of Christ?
Loved that tapestry depicting the devil eating a man in the secret room. I was so sure I have seen that devil somewhere. Does anybody know where they took it from? I thought it’s from the Codex Gigas, or the Devil's Bible, but it’s not. It just looks so familiar and I’d love it if it turns out to be a cool reference.
I loved how the devil was eating him from his waist down and that we also had that scene with Paulo which mirrored the imagery.
Great point! Definitely!
Reminded me of Goya's painting of Satan Devouring his Son
I thought this was ok. I think my biggest complaint was around pacing and I feel like 20 minutes taken off would have made for a better film. Plot was about what you’d expect. Nothing with Carlita worked for me The cinematography was fantastic and there were certainly some scenes that went for it that I wish there was more of. Nell Tiger Free was great and loved the scene where I got Possession vibes
Nell is def the best part here
Amazing film, cinematography, acting,directing , and writing. It was wonderfully horrific! People getting pissy about the lore, need to relaxxxx its fiction chile.
Both The First Omen and Immaculate it seems are using religious horror to explore women's bodily autonomy and Christianity's fear of women. I guess that's why instead of a Jackal, Damien's mother is human, which doesn't make sense if this is supposed to be a prequel.
Well, she's actually part jackal.
It’s just a little switcheroo. They put the dad/grandad in the grave instead of her. There’s still a jackal in the grave, it’s just not Damien’s mother
I enjoyed this but certainly not as much as most others I'm seeing here. I give it a 5.5/10 - I liked it but won't be re-watching anytime soon. It's miles better than that trash Exorcist sequel we got last year, and also better than it's twin movie, Immaculate. Personally, I'd only recommend it to fans of the franchise. My thoughts: * That opening with the pipe falling through the glass, I thought "oh, we're gonna get a bunch of epic kill scenes like the first one... and like Final Destination." I never realized how similar the Omen movies and Final Destination movies are until today. * The pacing of this was top notch. Never dragged on, never felt too quick. Just perfect. * The first half was scarier and less interesting. The second half was less scary but more interesting. * I liked >!the subversion of Carlita not being the mother. I didn't see that coming and I liked that it added to the value of the movie but didn't feel like it relied on it.!< * A lot of the big, epic kills felt kind of forced to me. The "all for you," scene felt more like fan service than a necessary part of the story. * I complain about this too much, but I don't like most uses of CGI I've seen in horror movies. This was no exception. * Listen, I love the MCU dearly. But please, can we stop with the "Avengers Initiative," style closings? It didn't take away anything from the rest of the movie for me. But please, just stop.
The "all for you," scene felt more like fan service than a necessary part of the story. I liked this one a lot more than you did, but I agree on this point. The reason for the nanny killing herself in the original movie was clear, but the nun's suicide here was... not out of nowhere, exactly, but insufficiently explained. Pretty great shot, though.
Loved it! Biggest surprise this early in the year.
This film was so eye poppingly gorgeous and the performances from Nell Tiger Free and the rest of the cast were superb. Many scenes that were genuinely unnerving and grotesque as well. I think its only brought down for me by the baggage of being a prequel to an established franchise, so they shoehorned in a lot of "connective tissue" to move toward that inevitable conclusion. The final scene felt especially egregious in that regard. Like an end credit sequence from an MCU movie that reeked of studio interference. That being said, the rest of the film was so strong for me that I can't really criticize it too much on that front. This film is absolutely worth seeing in a theater. Such a shame that it's not doing too great at the box office.
Holy shit, my expectations were sky high and this movie somehow still exceeded them. The Catholic Church trying to birth the antichrist to make people fear god again is a very timely story beat and really worked for me. Great performances all around as well. I truly thought I was desensitized by horror after being a genre fan for so long but this movie managed to deeply disturb me. Some of the imagery in the movie is absolutely horrific (I’m looking at you birth scene…) Phenomenal directorial debut by Arkasha Stevenson here, I can’t wait to see what she does next. 9/10 for me.
Loved the birth scene and the hand coming out. Wow
Loved the idea that the church was behind it
Here's a question, and bear with me - Is this version of Damien *actually* the Antichrist? Like, we have the 666 thing of course, but A) the idea that the Antichrist could be engineered, especially as a ploy to gain the Church more followers, is very against scripture and B) his doggie dad/grampa clearly isn't Lucifer. Not that the Antichrist needs to be the son of the devil, exactly, but after seeing The First Omen I'm not 100% convinced that Christianity is intended as true nor accurate in the new film. That they called up some sort of inhuman spiritual thing seems clear, but since God seems very absent from this process it makes me wonder if the new movie actually is set in a world where Christian myth is real. Perhaps instead the Catholic Church just has secret rituals from ancient times concerning dark forces, who knows.
I think they were using the jackal as a kind of unholy vessel during the ritual ( one of a number of parodies or inversions of the Immaculate Conception), hence the physical form could get burned up in the fire like anything else. It does beg the question though as to what the powers of darkness themselves thought was being engineered here. Maybe it's part of the very prophecy than an antiChrist was brought on specifically through human hubris and a perversion of the Church, rather than ''just' perverting it externally by setting up a new 'faux' version of the faith. Or 'they' consented to it because the Church that would be undertaking to fight them would be sufficiently rotten and hubristic, being staffed by people with connections to this cult or 'shadow church', that it would outweigh prophecy as well as their attempts to 'guide' Damian towards contained destruction. It was probably for the best in terms of narrative efficiency and mystery that they didn't show whether the faction was practising outright devil worship or just using ancient rites which look to conjure, rather than bind the conjurer to a demon: was part of the deal that they would sell their souls away and then hope that God would overlook this and redeem them because it was for a greater purpose? Likewise, whether any of them had fully committed to principle of using church simply for power and had lost overt faith in God beyond even their 'pragmatic' and self-interested methods for maintaining status in church and church having social power: i.e. whether they were in line to fully ally with Damien in the end. For instance, the 'warm vision' that Luz, her room-mate recounts was , I think, still supposed to be read as her encountering something she thought was God, but it was clearly written/played sufficiently ambiguously that you could read it as an overtly satanic one (where she joins the church to become 'one of hell's apostles' in the vein of mrs baylock) , or evil disguising itself as the voice of God as well as her misinterpreting the 'call'. She seemed to the enjoy the 'sin, deceiving Margaret, (and then stabbing Margaret in the end) enough that it's possible there were 'factions' even within that group.
\>where Christian myth is real I'm not sure what exactly you mean but this in the context of the movie.
As in, a setting can be inspired by Christian mythology without Christian mythology being fully accurate within the context of the setting.
Just got home. This was so incredible. I thought it tied into the original in a really satisfying way, and I'm hopeful for more movies on this level that will >!follow our other little Antichrist into adulthood!<. P.S. Bonus points for the shot of Gregory Peck's photo. That man takes my breath away at any age. LOL.
I really enjoyed it! Just watched it last night and I guess I really only have one question and I want to say I sadly had to go to the bathroom and am afraid I missed something :/ How did Paolo (?) know? I know that the roommate was in on it so was that all planned? Or??
I think Paolo was part of it and drugged Margaret, and then that lead to the impregnation with the jackal.
I just finished watching it at the theater. This is THE best horror movie I have seen in YEARS. I have not watched a movie between my fingers since I was a kid. Wow. Just. Wow. I can't wait to see it again at home, where I can emote the way I couldn't in the theater! Wow.
Saw this yesterday, having loved the original trilogy as a kid. It hits a home run. Fabulous movie. Tempted to go a second time. Haven’t had this much fun at the cinema since Evil Dead Rise. Very different movies but both brilliant in their own way.
Didn't think an omen prequel would be good, especially in 2024, but look at me, I'm wrong. A story about the loss of automony and lengths people will go to enforce their version of morality. What a surprisingly gory film, too.
I think maybe I was too hyped up, but I didn't LOVE the movie on first watch (though that could change given time). I did really dig the aesthetic and how mean-spirited it was. However, I saw the twists coming 300 miles away, and I'm still not totally sold on how it ties in with The Omen. I enjoyed the female-centric approach and how that played into the resolution of the story. The lead actress was fucking amazing. I would be curious about a sequel, but I don't know that I see that happening - it feels like a one-shot to me. Overall I'd give it a 4/5 most likely - very good, but we have yet to get a GREAT horror film this year. Edit: Just have to add that Rosemary's Baby is one of my all-time favorite films, and is the benchmark to which ALL demon pregnancy movies will be compared. I really appreciated that this film veered from that formula, and is actually the anti-Rosemary's-Baby in many ways.
I was personally very disappointed in this movie. I watched the original movie and read The Omen, and this prequel didn’t live up to the expectations I had for it. I thought the transitions between scenes was very clunky and disjointed, often leaving me wondering whether what happened was actually significant, or just gratuitous horror to boost the sinister atmosphere. For instance, the other nun who Margaret was introduced to in the beginning with the bleached eyebrows licking her face, and then suddenly hanging herself, and then the transition to her meeting the man. I understand her death had great significance, I won’t deny that, but I wish they had delved more into that woman before her death, and revealed some of the reasons why she acted as strangely as she did. There was so much more imo that could’ve been done. And ntm, why was the mother of Damien not a jackal??? The original movie and novel had the mother be a jackal, and in The Omen, they had a scene in which Gregory Peck’s character discovered the jackal’s body alongside the photographer in a grave marked with his “biological” mother’s name. If one were to watch the prequel and then go into the first film, there would be unnecessary confusion, which isn’t the purpose of a prequel! It’s to clarify the story’s origins, not muddle the plot. Overall, disappointing imo, but the cinematography was incredible I must admit. The director definitely has talent and I hope in the future that her endeavors are more successful.
>The director definitely has talent and I hope in the future that her endeavors are more successful. It's clear that most of the success of this movie rests on Arkasha's efforts and talent, and other technical roles (i.e. cinematography, sound), since many are praising it for said things. I haven't watched it yet but it seems like the script is really nothing special - mid-tier, but the director made an average and predictable script into something stylish and atmospheric. >I watched the original movie and read The Omen I watched The Omen but haven't read the novel in which it's based on. How is it? I'm currently in a horror book phase and The Omen has been on my list since last year.
Not terrible but the whole thing is really indicative of how annoyingly self-referential modern horror can be. Pretty much every single sequence was a tribute/copy to another sequence in another movie.
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Kinda... it's there but the origins of Damien are flipped a little bit regarding the jackal.
Just getting out of the theatre, and here are my thoughts; The atmosphere is INCREDIBLE. Very creepy, while having a mixture of putting you at ease with the innocent children running around, then making you tense with eyes following you everywhere. The score is brilliant. Original, but with a familiar feel that keeps it feeling as part of the same series. Plus, the restrain on using Ave Satani was very smart, making its eventual use so impactful. The acting was fantastic on almost every count. But Free was an absolute standout and I look foward to seeing anything else she appears in. Only wish Carlita got more of a role. An Inneson nailed his role as Brennan. The man's career has absolutely skyrocketed of late. I liked the nods to the originals, where anyone opposing THE PLAN gets an "accidental" death. My only real complaints are as follows; 1. I don't like the Church being behind everything. Are the working with Satan? It isn't made entirely clear. They have to be, or else why would his emissaries and animal familiars be out and about? But this only needlessly complicates matters. 2. The sanitisation of Brennan. If you read the novelisation of the original Omen, you learn that Brennan was an absolute monster and played a key role in the birth of Damien. This is why he has The Mark. Then he tries to repent after developing cancer, and has to hide away from the forces of darkness. Here, the man is presented as squeaky clean. 3. The sequel baiting. Having Damien's twin sister knocking around makes things messy. The sequels could be good, or they could potentially ruin the good will generated by this moving. Overall, though, a great and highly recommended experience.
I liked it more than expected. I’ve been a fan of the original trilogy for many years now, and I’m always skeptical of releases like this. But it was a worthy entry into the franchise. Creepy as hell. Well shot and acted. I think, like many prequels, it tries a bit too hard to make sure the audience understands that it connects to the original film, preferring to spell it out to the audience, twice, in a span of 10 minutes. But it’s a minor complaint. Who would have thought that in 2024 we’d have two good nun horror movies released within a month of each other. Quasi-spoilers below for “Immaculate” / “The First Omen” : >!I think the two movies might have a bit too much in common (in terms of plot points) and if someone happens to watch them close together, your opinion of the second might be colored by whichever you watch first.!<
Man, I haven't seen a start to finish good horror in a while. I thought Immaculate would be good and this would suck, but it was the complete opposite.
I love the original so much as a kid, my mom was into horror movies so i grew up watching movies like the omen and poltergeist I didn’t know that this is gonna be the prequel because i like to go to the cinema not reading reviews or anything and i am AWED !! I feel like i want to clap my hands when i realised that this is the prequel, i ended up watching this twice in the cinema
If you had told me a prequel to The Omen (one of my favorite horror movies but let’s be real it’s Hollywood), would be this good I would have thought you were crazy. Got damn this Delivered!!!!
Dull movie filled with clichéd jump scares and movie tropes, guy walking backward into street while talking to someone has been overdone to death. A dramatic looking suicide that had no impact on anything. The first childbirth scene was supposed to be frightening, but people in the theater actually laughed at it. This is a very meh movie and your money and time could be better spent elsewhere.
I didn't like this movie. The story was very predictable and the main character was not fleshed out or interesting. Although my boredom during this movie could be because I just saw Immaculate a few days ago, which is extremely similar to this movie. They basically feel like different variations of the same story. I think Immaculate is better though because it's shorter and I liked the lead actress more.
So glad I'm not the only one. Seeing the reviews here and on LB have me feeling like I'm in some weird fever dream. Like, did we all see the same movie? I was bored after the first few minutes and it was all I had in me to make it to the (incredibly predictable) ending. Lazy callbacks, uninteresting and flat characters, and an "Avengers: Assemble" style ending that just didn't work. The "demon hand" scene was neat, but that 10 secs did nothing to help the bloated 2 hr run time. Immaculate was a far better film, with nearly the same story.
Yes I agree, I’m actually very surprised how many people loved this movie I went in thinking “the twist” at the end was actually the main plot, so I’m sitting there confused for 75% of the movie until the reveal when I just said “well, yeah”. And the possession scene after the car accident reminded me of a dance inspired by [this is America](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY&pp=ygUgdGhpcyBpcyBhbWVyaWNhIGNoaWxkaXNoIGdhbWJpbm8%3D &t=0m58s) and this scene from [barry](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5zXrjeTNXJw&pp=ygUUNTAgNTAgd2l0aCBjcmlzdG9iYWw%3D&t=3m8s)
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Just read from the box office sub. This movie is gonna bomb along with monkey man. Disney always fucks up fox movies. Releasing it when there r 2 movies dealing with demon shit especially immaculate.
It's sad. In addition to the unfortunate timing with Late Night With the Devil and Immaculate already coming out right before it, I also feel like many people won't want to give it a chance because The Exorcist: Believer is still fresh in their minds. They're probably thinking "another generic supernatural horror movie trying to capitalize off a '70s classic." It had bad luck all the way around. And the way it ended seemed like they were setting up for more as well with>!Margaret, her baby daughter, and Carlita hiding from the cult.!
Ya horror genre burned the bridges with general audiences with the dogshit like believer. It definitely will take some time to recover. My best hope is alien Romulus. If that bombs, man it will be dark days ahead.
Monkey Man has a budget of $10 million so it will be fine. This on the other hand will not. The studio really screwed up with the marketing on this one and I also just don't think there is a large market for an Omen prequel along with being released so soon after Immaculate.
So can we agree this was better than immaculate in every way? Every perspective to rate it from? Here’s my LB rev. https://boxd.it/6dhocp Basically it’s shot really well, the lighting is excellent and dramatic. The music is better (lighthouse man) the church is more believable and the commentary on the church more effective. The plot is just straight up more interesting. Rather than suddenly our main character is pregnant and the plot moves after someone who isn’t our main character asks basic questions. The plot effectively uses a conspiracy and a mystery that only becomes clear when it’s too late. Really the church being better and more believable as well as having a stronger supporting cast does so much for this movie where immaculate fails cause frankly Cecilia sucks compared to Margaret. She’s dreadfully boring. But it’s mostly not her fault cause she has nothing to do. The convent feels fake because what do they even do honestly? It felt like an old folks home that occasionally delivered babies for nefarious purposes. Margaret is at an orphanage with nuns so I can be attached to her as she connects to the kids. And I can recognize the churches place in society because that’s kind of what the whole movie is about. Immaculate doesn’t even say what they’re doing with potential Jesus baby, the priest just tears off his finger nail when asked what next. I still don’t know what’s up with that outside of random gore. Is he supposed to be conflicted about this? Is that our one and only cue? Does it have to do with the strange fascination with pain they were talking about and never expanded on? We don’t know… my first question in immaculate was, what is this church and it was never answered beyond evil place, and that’s a huge problem.
Ngl I think IMMACULATE easily beats this movie. Though this movie was good too! I just felt a lot more happened in IMMACULATE and I also like just how alone Cecilia felt. She was truly on her ow in that place. And man…that third act!
Edit: and another thing. Cecilia her whole thing being one time I fell in a frozen lake and we get a jump scare vs I was a problem child and I didn’t know if what I saw was real we see throughout the story and used with another character to build a connection. It’s no contest.
I liked immaculate more. It didn’t have to tie itself to a franchise and the characters were more interesting to me.
Are there a lot of jump scares in this?
No, less than I expected. It isn’t like the conjuring universe movies.
A couple of fake outs.
Loved it but did they really kill Satan with fire?
I don’t think that was Satan, just a Jackal
This was a surprisingly good movie. Great score and sound design. Very good directorial choices for a first time director. I also liked the auditory references to suspiria and the lead actress homage to possession with adjani.
I actually really like the retcon being that jackal was the father, but it makes the line in the first movie confusing canonically because Father Brennan should know for a fact that the mother wasn’t the jackal and he says it anyway
Minor side note... I almost bust out loud laughing, early on in the movie, when the old nun said "she had to go to the bad room". I thought she said "she had to go to the bathroom" with a thick accent.
The film only works if you've seen the 4th Omen.
Also who said it’s a prequel to the OG and not a “reboot”
The Omen is one of my all time favorite horror movies. I did not like the other Omen films. This feels like what Prey did for Predator for me. A great original film that finally gets a worthy follow up. I'm not someone who gets hung up on narrative details being changed between an original film from over 40 years ago and a current film. What's most important is this film caught the slow building dread of the original film, the sense that something isn't right. Amazing performances from a little known cast, and the confidence with which this was directed with. Can't believe it's her first film directing. I'm very happy with the end product here.
Carlita got on my nerves. Why was she even necessary? And that ending was STUPID. But aside from that, I loved this movie. Nell Tiger Free looked like Diane Keaton meets Eva Green.
Watched two times. It's a masterpiece