The First Omen (2024) Review – A Stylish But Predictable Prequel That Struggles To Find Its Own Identity

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are catching up on another recent horror that we missed as we check out The First Omen from earlier in 2024. Believe it or not, this is a prequel to the 1976, UK and USA collaboration, horror classic The Omen. Did we really need a prequel to a near 50-year-old movie? I am not so sure, but we have it so I guess I will shut up.

This is a twin movie with Immaculate

The movie follows the story of Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), a young American woman who has recently been sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church. All appears to be going well, but it isn’t long before Margaret begins to uncover sinister secrets, potentially hinting at members of the church attempting to bring about the birth of something truly evil, forcing Margaret to question her faith and confront her past.

“The First Omen shares a plot that is extremely similar to a movie that released not long before it.”

The First Omen shares a plot that is extremely similar to a movie that released not long before it. Immaculate, starring and produced by Sydney Sweeney, follows pretty much the exact same blueprint as The First Omen. Only, Immaculate has been in various stages of production for over a decade. It’s up to the viewer whether there was any plagiarism here, given how the script for the aforementioned movie has, likely, been bouncing around for a while.

In the movie business this is known as Twin Movies, and it is, actually, far more common than you might think. It seems to happen at least once a year and is particularly common in the horror genre. The Cave and The Descent are a good example; The Pope’s Exorcist and The Exorcism being two more. These twin movies shouldn’t be confused with mockbusters. They are a different, and altogether more deliberate, thing. So which movie is better? We’ll get into that in a second.

It’s a real throwback

The First Omen wants to transport you back to the 70s. Set in Rome in 1971, director Arkasha Stevenson has done everything in her power to take you right back to the era and, for the most part, is extremely successful. This looks every part like a movie that could have come out before The Omen or shortly after. Set designs are quintessentially 70s, the cars and clothes are accurate to the era, the music is spot on, and there is a distinct yellow hue bathing every scene.

For the most part the movie looks fantastic, if that is your thing. Not everybody is a fan of these throwback-style movies but, let’s be honest, they are here to stay. The only thing that feels a bit at odds with the style is just how sharp the image is.

“Set designs are quintessentially 70s, the cars and clothes are accurate to the era, the music is spot on, and there is a distinct yellow hue bathing every scene.”

I am assuming this was filmed digitally which seems like a bit of a misstep. Analogue film recording would, probably, have worked a bit more effectively given the theme. As it stands, however, it’s a minor complaint. The First Omen fits perfectly with the original movie which is great given that it is a prequel.

Effective but messy

For the most part, The First Omen is an effectively creepy horror, relying far more on atmosphere to unnerve you rather than constant jump scares. Not that the movie doesn’t have one or two, of course. There is a real sense of Stevenson trying to capture the vibe of the original.

The evil that lurks here isn’t necessarily obvious. It sits under the surface waiting to be uncovered by our protagonist Margaret. We see hints of its presence, but it isn’t until Margaret begins experiencing strange events that things start to ramp up. It’s a fairly slow build, but once things get going it is a pretty relentless march to the end.

The effective sense of dread keeps you invested, but it is the haphazard narrative that might leave you wanting. This film feels extremely messy. There are so many elements being thrown around, many of which feel surplus to the story and many of which add virtually nothing. It all just feels slightly chaotic. The main character seems to be attacked from all angles by weird events, characters providing exposition, and her own moments of revelation. That when it all comes together it feels like a massive information overload. The narrative here needed to be much tighter.

“The evil that lurks here isn’t necessarily obvious. It sits under the surface waiting to be uncovered by our protagonist Margaret.”

Obviously, if you have watched The Omen then you know where this story is going. Meaning The First Omen is forced to throw pointless plot elements at you purely to create some degree of surprise. It really doesn’t work. This is a combination of Rosemary’s Baby and the original Omen. Nothing feels very original and that leads us onto another issue. 

It’s very predictable

Much of The First Omen is wildly predictable. Aside from being fairly clued in on the story due to it being a prequel, everything is massively projected and you will see it coming miles before it does. This can really make the near two-hour runtime feel like a drag, particularly when we are forced to sit through enormous amounts of exposition dump later on.

It’s hard not to wonder how it took the characters so long to come to the same conclusions that you came to within the first half an hour. The lack of character development outside of Margaret means there isn’t much to cling onto outside of the messy narrative. It’s just a bunch of people who exist purely to progress her story and nothing else. If you don’t find Margaret to be a particularly likeable or interesting character then you are shit out of luck.

Acting is decent throughout, though I felt like some of the casting decisions were a little odd. I love Ralph Ineson, but seeing him fumble his way through an Irish accent was a bit odd. There are Catholic priests in the north of England, right? Why not let him use his actual accent? Bill Nighy is always good but felt really out of place as Cardinal Lawrence.

Nell Tiger Free, as Margaret, for me, seemed a bit overwhelmed. Her accent and vocal delivery was all over the place, giving her character a feeling of inconsistence and unevenness. There was a scene where she looked as though she was performing the MJ Thriller dance. That gave me a good laugh. I felt the movie could have used a stronger performance in such a big role. A lot of people praise her, though, so it’s swings and roundabouts I guess.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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