Year of Release: 2024
Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Starring: Nell Tiger Free, Ralph Ineson, Sonia Braga, Tawfeek Barhom, Maria Caballero, Charles Dance, Bill Nighy, Nicole Sorace, Ishtar Currie-Wilson, Andrea Arcangeli, Guido Quaglione, Dora Romano, Anton Alexander, Mia McGovern Zaini, Eugenia Delbue
Genre: Horror
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
"The First Omen" is Arkasha Stevenson's feature directorial debut, following a few directing assignments for some shows as "Brand New Cherry Flavor" and "Legion". The film belongs to the series the late Richard Donner started in 1976, "The Omen" which starred Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. The film takes place in Rome, in 1971, and follows the story of Margaret Daino, who is an American novitiate who arrives in the city to help and work at a local orphanage. Cardinal Lawrence who has long been a benefactor of hers picks her up, and she soon meets a slew of people at the orphanage, including Father Gabriel, Abess Sister Silva, nun Anjelica, and her roommate and also another novitiate, Luz. Luz who is more worldly, invites her out, and they eventually find themselves at a Disco, where Margaret dances with a man by the name of Paolo, before blacking out. She wakes up with no recollection of what happened the prior evening. She is approached by Father Brennan, who reveals to her that there's a conspiracy happening within the church, aiming to bring the Antichrist to life, so that propels people back into the arms of faith and religion. He also explains to her that there's been attempts at spawning that entity for quite some time. Margaret suspects one of the girls in the orphanage has been a chosen one to be the vessel for that ritual. She uncovers hidden files documenting all the offspring that have been generated throughout the years in order to make the ritual work, many of which have not survived, save for Carlita, the young girl at the orphanage. And there's also another young girl who survived. As Margaret explores further, she is horrified to discover what's in store for her.
Richard Donner was a deft filmmaker who understood how to craft narratives that always had a high quota of entertainment, independently of the topic he was tackling. That was the case with "Superman" and "Ladyhawke" to name but a few. His original take on "The Omen" was also a smartly crafted suspenseful tonal piece, that had influences from William Friedkin's "The Exorcist", but was decidedly not as disturbing nor as dark as that horror watermark. It had more parallels with Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby", more so than Friedkin's feature. Arkasha Stevenson's film is a worthy follow up to Richard Donner's piece, mostly in the suspenseful and progressive disclosure it makes of the events taking place, particularly the ones experienced by Margaret, the lead. Since it is indeed a prequel, we already know what's the eventuality of the events taking place, but witnessing the lead character's journey to get there, is nonetheless where this director manages to make her mark. And for the most part, the suspenseful, and unsettling environment she manages to create is quite effective. Where the film falters lies in its ability to have compelling characters that make this journey that much more vivid and horrific. Ari Aster managed to take us on a disturbing journey with "Hereditary", not because the horrific events were totally unexpected, but primarily because he managed to create palpable and very vivid characters in the family that is at the center of the drama that is being unveiled. Margaret, Luz, Sister Silva, and even Fathers Gabriel and Brennan, are never more than just barely defined characters, which is sadly where this film could have gone a bit further. The tone is right, the characters just need extra sprinkles of veracity in them to make them palpably memorable to the audience. The cast is a bit uneven, with solid turns in supporting roles for Sonia Braga, the always stupendous Bill Nighy, Ralph Ineson, and Charles Dance, but with Nell Tiger Free failing to bring a consistent feverish energy to that character. The production team is solid, including Aaron Morton's cinematography, Mark Korven's score, Paco Delgado's costumes, and Eve Stewart's impeccable production design. It's a watchable feature debut for this director, in a series that has had its heyday decades ago.
0 comments:
Post a Comment