Movie review: 'First Omen' finds scary new surprises in antichrist tale

LOS ANGELES, April 5 (UPI) -- The First Omen, in theaters Friday, finds creative avenues within an established story. It's a given the antichrist will be born, but The First Omen manages a few clever twists within that.

Sister Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) comes to a church in Rome in 1971 to begin her devout service. Before she can settle in, she starts seeing horrific visions and becomes involved in a conspiracy.

There is a sect of the Catholic Church that wants to shepherd the birth of the antichrist. They think they can control such a child for their purposes, and the best part is no secular person would believe them to try to stop them.

Margaret's visions begin subtly, such as a fellow nun laughing and crying in the shadows. The visions escalate into graphic horrors that appear to be achieved with old school prosthetic makeup.

The graphic parts are far more graphic than they could have been in the 1976 original. Co-writer and director Arkasha Stevenson picks her moments but makes those moments stand out.

Margaret's story touches on suggestions of Damien Thorn to come. If anyone says the iconic line, "It's all for you," nothing good can follow.

Some of the shocks aren't of the monstrous variety. Nuns showing more affection towards Margaret than is appropriate in the convent can be just as unsettling.

What Margaret goes through by the end is very physical. Free gives a bravura performance when called upon.

A few of the violent moments are telegraphed too much as to be entirely predictable, although they were already telegraphed in the trailer. Even so, the aftermath of that violence goes there in unique and macabre ways.

Devoting one's life to the church is already a major commitment, so adding the antichrist conspiracy is a lot for a young nun to handle. Margaret grows suspicious of the church's orphanage mistreating Carlita (Nicole Sorace) and tries to care for her.

A novitiate, Luz (Maria Caballero) befriends Margaret and a veteran priest, Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson) tries to break the antichrist news to Margaret as gently as possible.

The First Omen doesn't contradict the birth of Damien Thorn but introduces enough elements to Margaret's story that there is still some suspense. The film even sets up possible sequels that could run parallel to Damien's story.

The First Omen serves both as a new introduction to the franchise and a satisfying exploration of its mythology. Should it revive the franchise, there are many scary and interesting places for the new characters to go and to re-contextualize the original series.

Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.