Jeri Jacquin

Currently on Digital with Prime Video, Apple TV, Vudu and Hulu followed by the Bluray and DVD release in July from writer/director Arkasha Stevenson and 20^th Century Studios is THE FIRST OMEN.

In Rome, young novitiate Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) arrives in the city during a time of unrest in 1971. She goes to the Vizzardeli Orphanage to meet Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy), Father Gabriel (Tawfeek Barhom) and the Abbess Sister Silva (Sonia Braga). Being shown around, she takes it upon herself to go into a room where another young girl, Carlita (Nicole Sorace), is be touted as a strange girl.

Not sure what to make of it, she dismisses it being taken to her apartment she is sharing with another novitiate Luz (Maria Cabellero). That night Luz convinces Margaret to go to a club where she quickly meets Paolo and they dance together. The next morning, she wakes up and hardly remembers anything that happened after that.

Back at the orphanage, Margaret spends time with Carlita but is warned off by Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson) as he says bad things happen around the young girl. Brennan wants to meet with Margaret so he can tell her about a power within the church that wants to bring the Antichrist to power and that Carlita is the aim at that. He also wants her to look into the Abbess’ files if she doesn’t believe him.

That is when things begin to turn for the worst. Playing on her anxieties, Margaret finds herself in the midst of madness. When Father Gabriel gets her to Brennan, they begin to realize that what they thought was happening is focused on the one person who has been oblivious to the religious game being played.

Free as Margaret does a darn good job of portraying a naïve young novitiate who has been raised in the church to trust those around her. Coming to the orphanage, she is excited to work among the children in their care. From the moment she arrived, there is something in the air that she doesn’t quite understand and Free portrays that well.

Ineson as Father Brennan is the one who clearly understands what is happening but, to say it out loud almost sounds a bit crazy. Reaching out to Margaret is the only way to get her to understand the dangers. Ineson gives us this twitchy priest who wants to stop what has started. Sorace as Carlita doesn’t have much to say verbally but her face shows everything and that is a talent. Trust the looks you see in this character!

Nighy as Cardinal Lawrence has been keeping an eye on young Margaret since she was a child and feel protective over her. I just love Nighy’s ability to play almost every kind of role possible, I don’t think there is one performance I have not thought amazing, this one is no exception. Braga as Sister Silva just freaked me out from start to finish, if I was in Catholic school as a kid she would probably have scared me straight with a single glance!

Shout out to Barhom as Father Gabriel, his role is a small one but important to Margaret’s story.

Other cast include Charles Dance as Father Harris, Ishtar Currie-Wilson as Sister Angelica, Andrea Arcangeli as Paolo, Eva Stevic Ras as the angry nun and Rachel Hurd-Wood as Katherine Thorn.

Twentieth Century Home Entertainment brings award-winning global product and new entertainment to DVD, Bluray, and Digital HD. There amazing collection offers fans an opportunity to expand their own home libraries with the best films. To discover what other titles they have please visit www.20thcenturystudios.com.

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Bonus Features include The Mystery of Margaret – Join director Arkasha Stevenson and stars Nell Tiger Free, Bill Nighy and Maria Caballero as they dive into the character of Margaret, her relationships with other characters, and how she’s manipulated while trying to solve the film’s horrifying mystery, The Director’s Vision – Director Arkasha Stevenson talks about her love of horror films, the opportunity to expand on The Omen legacy, and crafting The First Omen entirely through a female lens. She also describes shooting in Rome, and the cast recounts working with Arkasha.

Also, Signs of The First Omen – Join the director and talented artists as they reveal some of the symbolism within the set designs and the costumes. Learn how the use of practical effects blurs the line between what is real and what is not in The First Omen’s terrifying world.

THE FIRST OMEN is a bit predictable but, it does lay the groundwork to the following Omen films which is nice. They didn’t try to reinvent the wheel here but instead stayed grounded to the story as it was laid out in the 1976 Richard Donner film and even a well-placed nod comes in at the end. I don’t mind an origin story in the slightest as long as it is well done and doesn’t forget where it came from so to speak. There is a bit of a twist here as well that leaves the door slightly cracked open for the imagination.

The images, as you would imagine, are pretty darn graphic as the story begins to unfold. I won’t lie, I did a bit of a jaw drop at a certain birthing scene and ended up with my hands across my eyes peeking through the fingers like a kid. Watching this at night in a dark room added the cherry on the top of spooky so I highly recommend trying the film that way. For horror genre fans, this might be a nice sway away from the norm so jump right in.

In the end – create something to fear!

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