The Omen movie franchise finally gained a prequel on Apr. 5, with Arkasha Stevenson’s “The First Omen.” This edition is the sixth addition to the series and follows the story leading up to the events of the 1976 screenplay, “The Omen.”
The film opens with an exchange between two priests, Father Brennan (portrayed by Ralph Ineson) and Father Harris (portrayed by Charles Dance). Harris gifts Brennan with the portrait of an infant labeled “Scianna” before being killed by a falling pipe. The story takes place in 1971 and follows young American-born novice Margaret Daino (portrayed by Nell Tiger Free), who flies to Rome despite the ongoing leftist protests. She arrives at the Vizzardeli Orphanage, where she meets Cardinal Lawrence (portrayed by Bill Nighy), Father Gabriel (portrayed by Tawfeek Barhom), Abbess Sister Silva (portrayed by Sonia Braga), her roommate and fellow apprentice Luz (portrayed by Maria Caballero), and disturbed Sister Anjelica (portrayed by Ishtar Currie-Wilson). Luz invites Daino to a disco, where she meets a man named Paolo, but remembers nothing the next morning.
Upon arrival, Margaret bonds with Carlita (portrayed by Nicole Sorace), one of the orphans plagued by horrible visions. The story begins to foreshadow as Carlita shows Anjelica and Daino a drawing of a restrained pregnant woman. Moments later, Anjelica sacrifices herself publicly by setting herself aflame. Before her sacrifice, she says to Daino in Italian “It’s all for you.” The story begins to unfold as Margaret is visited by Father Brennan, who asks her to break into the orphanage’s files to find “Scianna.” All is revealed at the second meeting between the two, plus Father Gabriel, where Margaret remembers and discovers she is the other survivor of the orphanage’s will to birth the antichrist.
It was the night of the disco that Margaret was impregnated by the spawn of The Devil himself to birth the antichrist. With this newfound information, Margaret and the Fathers drive off to have the pregnancy aborted but are met with the fate of a collision. We, next, find her strapped to a hospital bed and welcomed by Lawerence, who comforts her. Margaret gives birth to twins, a girl and a boy (who is later deemed the antichrist), but retaliates by stabbing Lawrence. Luz ultimately ends up stabbing Margaret, delivering the ultimate betrayal scene, before Carlita rushes to the rescue, saving Margaret and her newborn daughter. The orphanage’s cellar is set aflame, where we catch a glimpse of The Beast burning to death. The film ends with Brennan confronting Margaret, accompanied by Carlita and the baby, in her off-the-grid home in the mountains to warn her about the conspirators hunting her and her newborn son, Damien.
Going into the film, I was unaware of the sequel existing but still found the prequel’s storyline to be easily followable. The film discovers the cult aspect of religion, to the point where one can be so devoted to faith that it turns into a dystopia. My relationship with religion has not always been the most joyful and seeing this movie reminds me of why I don’t affiliate myself with any religion. I’m a sucker for films with messages that toy with religion through a negative eye. Not to say all religions are evil; this is not what this movie is implying. The film focuses on one group of people as the villains, not the religion as a majority.
Ultimately, it was a terrifying yet beautiful conglomeration of religion’s positives and negatives. Without realizing its predecessor, I still enjoyed the film and it has opened my mind to consider watching the entirety of the series.
