“The First Omen” in More Ways Than One

Does the world need another Omen? My vote is yes, because this is the first really good entry in the franchise. The basic premise is still ridiculous, and the movie at times feels inconsistent in tone, with two gleefully gory sequences that overtly parody the original. But the imagery is genuinely horrifying, the gross-outs are visceral, and the unrelenting, uncomfortable atmosphere transforms it all into a dark, expressive nightmare journey.

The original 1976 film rode the “satanic panic” wave kicked off by The Exorcist to relative box office success. It was a sleek, classy piece of cinematography, bolstered by a suave performance by Gregory Peck, a chilling turn by then-six-year-old Harvey Spencer Stephens, and some wonderfully gory scare scenes. An Academy-Award-winning musical score also helped. Set aside the absurd storyline, and you could enjoy it (I did, and have rewatched it too many times to count). Several sequels followed, each worse than the previous one, as well as a 2006 remake (or rather word-for-word reenactment) about which the less is said, the better.

The First Omen cleverly references current real-world fears and events. Set in Rome just before the events of the original film, it centers on young women who are forced into giving unwanted birth (the result of monstrous rape) by a reactionary, oppressive religious establishment which is willing to take extreme measures to reverse its own growing irrelevance. Student protests shake the ancient streets, police cars are overturned and set on fire, and the dark web of conspiracy reaches into even the farthest corners. It leaves the viewer with an impression of a turbulent, unsettled time in which evil forces, both human and inhuman, are tipping the balance toward chaos and suffering.

The protagonist is Margaret, an American novitiate who arrives in a Roman orphanage with the intention of taking the veil. She is plagued by terrifying hallucinations, but hints of mental instability in her past leave it uncertain whether she’s going insane, or is being stalked by evil. It’s hardly a spoiler to reveal that a shadowy cabal within the Catholic Church is using the orphanage as a breeding ground for the Devil, attempting to invoke the birth of the Antichrist (a male one – daughters apparently don’t count). Satanic hijinks ensue, and the ending is left ambiguous – it allows the original storyline to remain plausible, while setting up the stage for a possible (inevitable?) sequel.

Would that sequel be worth watching? I’m not sure that the already-thin story can be stretched any further, but The First Omen has proven me wrong once. You could say I’ve been converted. I’m a believer.