4 stars out of 5
The Exorcist came out when I was 4 years old, followed by The Omen when I was 7. These movies seemed to be mentioned quite a lot during my childhood. Sure, I had my little ghost stories and such, but there seemed to be some truly scary stuff out there somewhere, the stuff of bad dreams. I was an adult when I finally saw The Exorcist (terrifying!) followed much later by The Omen in the winter of 2015–16. I got really caught up in the tale of lil’ Damien the antichrist, so in rapid succession watched Omens II and III and even two episodes of the not-so-good A&E series Damien.
All this is to say, I would’ve seen The First Omen in the theater regardless. But the fact that it’s not just good but very good is a real bonus.
It’s 1971 and bright-eyed Margaret (actress Nell Tiger Free) shows up in Rome from America to begin her new life as a nun. She’s a “novitiate” — a word I just learned this year, hooray for me! Never stop learning, kids — it’s basically like Clarence before earning his wings except for nuns not angels. She is greeted by the local Cardinal, Bill Nighy (not) the Science Guy, who back in the states had raised her at an orphanage. Margaret moves into an apartment with Luz, a sexy bad-girl novitiate (Maria Caballero in what appears to be her first English-speaking role). I guess they were out of bunks at the convent?
Margaret is tasked with hanging out with the kids at the convent/maternity ward/orphanage. She meets young Carlita who does not play well with others. She’d rather sit on the floor in a dark room and draw troubling pictures. Margaret is going to My Fair Lady Miss Carlita if it’s the last thing she does!
Except we learn that the nuns, led by Sonia Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman), are trying to breed the ANTICHRIST (spoiler alert: it may involve kissing a spider woman) which will frighten the 1971 anti-authoritarian hippies back into the loving arms of THE CHURCH. Also, sexy Luz is a bad, bad influence on goody-two-shoes Margaret, who begins questioning her faith and all that.
Does the movie sound a bit ridiculous and kind of scary-nun clichéd? Well, it is, but I’m telling you: It all works! And the film is genuinely well-made. The tone fits with the 1970s Omen installments; there are refreshingly slow, non-action segments and, at least early on, no “jump scares.” Instead, director/co-writer Arkasha Stevenson is confident enough to slowly build a real sense of dread. Nell Tiger Free, beyond having an awesome name, is terrific as Margaret. She begins so innocent, over time conveying her worry about the potential evil within. When things get truly scary later on, Free takes her performance to a whole other level.
If you like this sort of thing, get thee to a multiplex. I’d be very surprised if there’s a scarier movie this year.
Jack Silbert, curator