The First Omen arrives on Blu-ray in a nice presentation. Too bad the movie is nowhere near as good.
The Production: 2/5
In 1971, a young Margaret Daino (Nell Tiger Free) arrives in Rome greeted by Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy), ready to begin her servitude as a Catholic nun. While touring the girls orphanage where she has been assigned, she meets a troubled young girl, Carlita Scianna (Nicole Sorace), who has been creating very dark sketches of girls being tortured. Sister Silva (Sonia Braga), who runs the orphanage, warns Margaret that she should stay away from Carlita. Margaret then meets her roommate, Luz (Maria Caballero), who is looking to sow her wild oats before taking her vows of celibacy. Luz encourages Margaret to do the same, loaning her an evening gown as they spend the evening at a discotheque. While there Margaret meets a young man that invites her out to the dance floor when suddenly Margaret blacks out, only to find herself back in her bed the next morning severely hung over.
Meanwhile, Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson), who has been excommunicated from the church, is trying to expose a conspiracy deep within the church, something to do with breeding the teenager girls at the orphanage to bring about the Antichrist. Desperate to find the truth, he approaches Margaret on morning while she is taking a walk, asking her to help him find the evidence that has been secreted away, specifically the birth of Carlita. As Margaret reveals more and more clues, she begins to have dark and terrifying visions, eventually leading her to be placed in seclusion my Sister Silva. Margaret is able to escape with help from Father Gabriel (Tawfeek Barhom), who takes her to Father Brennan’s apartment. With her clues, the three piece together not only the conspiracy, but also unearth an unexpected dark secret.
The First Omen is a prequel to Richard Donner’s infinitely superior horror classic The Omen from 1976. Donner’s film has ingrained so much on pop culture that many still refer to that film with affection and humor, often quoting in their best Gregory Peck impression “Damien,” making anyone feel sorry for any child given that name by his parents. This prequel, directed and co-written by first-timer Arkasha Steveson, suffers from severely slow pacing and sequences that are just dull. The movie does have a few shock moments, but those are few and far between. The movie also tries way too hard to connect itself to Donner’s original, making some rather obvious errors. The first being that The Omen begins in 1970 with the birth of Damien, yet this film takes place in 1971. The second big error is switching the role of the jackal – in the original Damien’s mother was the jackal, in this film it is the father. The film also tries to set up a new franchise with its surprise ending, however based on the film’s lackluster box office, that is rather unlikely.
Video: 4.5/5
3D Rating: NA
IMDB does not list which cameras and native resolution were used in making The First Omen, but based on the behinds the scenes featurettes, this was obviously a digital production. The only items that IMDB lists are that the film was completed as a 4K digital intermediate with some 35mm prints released. 20th Century Studios has released the film to physical media on the Blu-ray format (a 4K digital is also available) with a rather impressive 1080p AVC encode that captures the film’s intended 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio. Fine detail is exceptional, revealing facial features down to the pores and other anomalies as well as fabric textures. Colors are vivid where necessary without appearing overly saturated, with many sequences bathed in an almost sepia-yellow. Black levels are pretty good here, with acceptable shadow details that do occasionally suffer from crush, something that would likely have been improved if the film was given a 4K physical media release.
Audio: 4.5/5
The default audio for the disc is a very immersive and effective DTS-HD MA 7.1 mix which folded down nicely to 5.1 on my 5.1.2 speaker setup with heights turned off. Sounds emanate from all corners of the room, particularly when Margaret is hearing whispering voices all around her. LFE adds some nice accents to low-end sound effects. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout.
Special Features: 2/5
Three fairly standard and short EPK-style featurettes are provided on the disc.
The Director’s Vision (1080p; 4:31): A look at some of the stylistic choices made by director Arkasha Stevenson.
The Mystery of Margaret (1080p; 5:42): A look at the character of Margaret and the performance of Nell Tiger Free.
Signs of the First Omen (1080p; 8:43): How production design helped to tie this film to the original.
Digital Copy: A Movies Anywhere code is included to redeem an HD Digital copy.
Overall: 3/5
The First Omen tries way too hard to tie itself to the Richard Donner original from nearly 50 years ago, but changes some of the facts from that franchise. The result is a dull and unnecessary prequel.
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