La Malédiction : L'origine

Much better than one would expect from an unsolicited prequel to a seventies classic. Nell Tiger Free follows up the gorgeousness of Servant, and Arkasha Stevenson makes a positive debut as a feature director. Stylistically, The First Omen is much more distinctive than competing mainstream studio horror films. Thus, the biggest problem is that, as a direct plot predecessor to the original The Omen, the film has a clearly laid out course and defined boundaries within which it can play. The scope for surprise is severely limited, though it must be admitted that even with the cards thus dealt, they do their best (for example, the explanation of why the bad guys are trying to manufacture the Antichrist is, for my money, totally awesome). (20/04/2024)

If redundant and unwanted prequels and remakes of genre classics have to be made because producers and the times demand it (too bad the audience doesn't), then please at least do it with care and in a form like the one here. It breathes the early seventies, it manages to evoke a dense disturbing atmosphere and specific imagery, and even if it doesn't avoid cheap scares, it doesn't build on them. The author is not afraid of more serious themes, so it's not "just consumer horror popcorn". The cast is excellent, the work with movement and (surround) sound is exemplary and it doesn't do the original any shame in any respect. Were it half an hour shorter, it would even reach for the lower rungs of the pedestal in the much-loved nun-horror subgenre of recent years. (04/06/2024)

The best religious horror ever, the best prequel ever, and without question the best mainstream horror genre stuff of the year. It was beginning to look like all horror movies with nuns were doomed, as few have managed to climb to at least above average, but this prequel to The Omen is a flash in the pan that is, above all else, also a great film rather than just a run-of-the-mill horror movie. It's got a wonderful period setting in 70's Rome. The setting is really very crucial to the whole film, great craftsmanship, amazing music, perfect acting – Nell Tiger Free is a great discovery, she is amazing, and the scene with the awakening of the demon in her body is downright Oscar-worthy. I enjoyed the plot, which is well thought out, the twists work, where the crucial one is quite shocking. It has a great dark atmosphere and steamy horror sequences. The triple suicide- jump-burn-hanging is perfection. There are two very unpleasant car crashes, one disgustingly creepy vision of a mutilated nun, two insane births that almost earned the film an NC-17 rating, well a blast that made me very happy. Uncomfortable feelings about horror for the first time in a while. Mission accomplished baby. 85%. (16/04/2024)

It's certainly not a groundbreaking film in the genre, but otherwise I'm definitely satisfied and it's one of the better horror films in a while. Next to Immaculate, it's a completely different experience (read 100x better), so I won't compare it to that, and I also didn't know about the whole Omen franchise until today, so I'm purely rating the film on its own. The biggest strength is its complexity, both technically, in terms of acting (the lead actress is both unfamiliar and unglamorous enough to play the lead role), and in terms of story, with a plot that is quite broad in scope that goes down many alleys, and overall it's not just a straight line in a monastery, but turns out to be quite entertaining. On the horror side, there could have been more emphasis on scares and some sense of dread, but on the other hand, the film delivers unrelenting atmospheric paranoia and pretty good tension all around; you don’t know where it will go in the next minutes and sit tense as a string, so thumbs up for that. My only criticism is the perhaps too quick and rather rushed ending, but otherwise I'm happy with the result and in sum, it's a breath of fresh air within this sub-genre that doesn't focus on just one thing, but offers a full and dark experience with a massive lure for the next installment in the last seconds. It's a good piece and for a not-so-experienced director and lead star, it's a more than decent opening to the film world. (05/04/2024)