“The things we do aren’t always pleasant, but we do it in the name of God.”

SERVING as a prequel to the popular “The Omen” franchise, this film looks at the origins of Damien, the supposed Antichrist. 

With five films part of the original franchise, this one is different because it’s focused on the beginnings of Damien before he even came to be. Directed by Arkasha Stevenson, the story is set in Rome in 1971 at the Vizzardeli Orphanage. 

Margaret, who’s come all the way from America, flies out to the orphanage to take her vows and be a part of the church. As soon as she arrives, however, she finds everything quickly falling apart all around her, particularly when she meets a young girl named Carlita. 

As she spends more and more time at the orphanage, the lines between what’s real and imaginary start to blur. Horrible things start happening all around her, and she starts to lose grasp of her sanity altogether.

You may look at this psychological horror film like other mainstream movies filled with jump scares and CGI monsters, but it is so much more.

Audience reviews

Content creators Shaun Ocrisma (@shaunocrisma) and Enzo Villacorta (@enzo.villacorta) found themselves on the edge of their seats, fists clenched throughout the entire film. 

“I was thoroughly scared, but it was very exciting [from] start to finish,” shared Villacuarta. 

Ocrisma adds: “The whole time, it was really bleeping up my head; scene after scene, I was literally at the edge of my seat sweating, and I’m just waiting for the big drop, and it never failed.”

They also found it to be rather different from mainstream horror films that people have gotten so used to watching. 

Ocrisma explains that when watching films like these, people are used to them being all jump scares, whereas this film mixes its shock factor with fear, all while going deep into your psyche.

“[And] when the reveal is revealed… it is jaw-dropping,” says Villacorta with a laugh.

However, fellow content creator Gelo De Vera, otherwise known as @dunnogelo on the site, felt like the film still could’ve pushed its boundaries a bit more. For that, he’d rate it a five out of three. 

“I think we got to see the gory side, but I think we could push more the spookiness in it,” he explained. 

“Like when you go home and think about it, it lacks that. But still, I’d say it’s a fun watch.” 

While there were still jump scares to be found in the film, De Vera found the gore to be what set it aside from other mainstream horror films. 

He added: “Mage-gets mo bakit siya R-16. You really get to see everything.”

Personal thoughts

While I have yet to watch The Omen, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the film.

The main character in this film, Margaret, is played by Nell Tiger Free, and she plays her part beautifully. 

Throughout the film, she captures your attention completely, and everything she is feeling on-screen, you feel at the same time with so much depth that at times it can feel overwhelming.

Starting as a sweet, kind young woman and then spiraling toward insanity toward the end of the film, it’s horrific to watch. At the same time, though, I couldn’t look away.

I’ve always been a fan of old horror films like Brian de Palma’s “Carrie” (1976) and Dario Argento’s “Suspiria” (1977,) though I admittedly haven’t seen any of the films from The Omen franchise. That, however, didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the film. 

Aside from Nell Tiger Free’s acting, practically every aspect of this film is aesthetically beautiful. Each frame is carefully thought out, with some shots harboring creativity you wouldn’t expect to see in a mainstream horror flick. 

Even the scoring of the film is, like everything else in this, hauntingly beautiful, adding immensely to the overall atmosphere and intensity, as well as bringing its creep factor to a whole new level.

Something else that makes it different from other horror films and franchises is that, as De Vera stated earlier, it does not shy away from gore. 

I love gory films, and I feel like that’s something that mainstream horror movies don’t really like to dive into. They rely more on their monster simply delivering a quick “boo” and then disappearing soon after. 

The First Omen, however, has no problem with this. Sometimes, it delves into it too much, even. Some parts of the film are so disgustingly horrifying that I felt like physically getting up and leaving the cinema, moments wherein I felt like I was sick for just watching it all unfold. If you have a weak stomach, I’d suggest watching this at home. 

Another thing I like about this film is that yes, while there are still jump scares, practically every single one is built up and isn’t just thrown in every other minute, so much so that you can predict them coming. 

That isn’t to say, of course, that this is a perfect film. For me, it was kind of predictable. While others were surprised at the twist at the end, if you’re an avid horror film viewer, you’re sure to have guessed it at least halfway through. 

Aside from that, I felt rather disappointed that the film grew to be rather exposition-heavy toward the end, particularly because I’m a firm believer in the idea of “show, don’t tell.” 

I feel like there were a lot of things that could have just been shown to audiences instead of having a character just spout off everything we needed to know all at once in one scene. 

In some ways, I was reminded of Sam Levinson’s series “Euphoria” while watching this, in that it was visually so beautiful, but its story fell a bit short of my expectations. Given the amount of blood and guts I got to see, though, I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Yes, The First Omen is far from perfect. But it’s an absolute breath of fresh air given what we see in mainstream horror nowadays, especially with prequels, sequels, and franchise films overall.

You don’t get the feeling that this is just a quick cash grab. You can feel the creativity and effort oozing out of each scene, with callbacks from the original film sprinkled throughout the two-hour runtime. 

Whether you’re a fan of The Omen franchise or if this is the first time you’ve heard about it, you’re sure to enjoy this film regardless.

If you’re looking for something that’ll restore your faith in mainstream horror, book a ticket for The First Omen, as it starts screening in cinemas today.