The First Omen ★★½

THE prequel to The Omen suffers by comparison with another film released around the same time.

Immaculate also arrived in 2024 shortly before The First Omen and is the superior film.

It’s a shame because the original 1976 The Omen is an iconic horror entry that, along with Jaws, released the same year, has never been challenged by the instalments that have followed in the franchise.

Immaculate and The First Omen are based on the same premise – a young nun discovers she is part of a conspiracy based on the abuse of women’s’ bodies.

The stories of course deviate, but the themes are pretty much the same, with both seemingly commenting on the state of female abortion rights.

This doesn’t really make The First Omen an interesting film because the primary reason you are watching is to see how this story will inform the original.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t and we are left with a reasonable horror film with few standouts.

Watched on Disney.