- “Omen. The Beginning” tells the story of a young American woman who comes to Rome to begin serving the Church. There she encounters dark forces that force her to reconsider her faith. He also comes across a terrifying conspiracy aimed at bringing about the birth of evil incarnate.
- She played the main role in the film Nell Tiger Free, whose fame was brought to fame by a similar performance in the TV series “Servant”. The cast also included: Tawfeek Barhom, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson and Bill Nighy. The production was directed by Arkasha Stevenson.
- The film was released in Polish cinemas on April 5, 2024.
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Horror movies set in the world of nuns are fashionable again. However, there are few of them that satisfy the tastes of even the average connoisseur of the genre. Arkasha Stevenson's feature debut should be placed on a completely different shelf than both parts of “The Nun” and “The Exorcism of Sister Anne”. Stevenson ambitiously combines two genres of horror, reaching both “The Exorcist” by Friedkinas well as to “Rosemary's Baby” by Polanski. In fact, you can even feel her fascination with the European nunsploitation cinema of the 1970s, where the themes of celibacy, homosexuality and possession were perversely combined.
“The Omen: The Beginning” is, of course, a Hollywood film, so don't expect strong references to Italian giallo or gore cinema, but the location of the action in Rome allows us to look at the Italian masters of these genres. And also the elements “Suspiria” by Dario Argento this is where an attentive viewer will notice.
As all fans of the genre remember, “Omen” began with a scene when the desperate US ambassador in Rome, Robert Thorm (Gregory Peck) learns that his wife Kathy has given birth to a stillborn child. He decides to secretly adopt a boy, whom they call Damian. In this way, the Antichrist becomes a privileged member of the elite who is then to take over the world.
“Omen. The Beginning” tells the story of how a boy with birthmark 666 was born. “This is for you, Damian!” – shouts Holly, Damian's English caregiver, and then jumps out of the window with a rope around her neck in front of the invited guests. The iconic scene is ingeniously and without showy repetition by Stevenson, who also co-wrote the prequel. This time, a young nun is jumping, burning like a torch, paying homage to another of the devil's chosen ones.
The story of the American Margaret Daino arriving at the Roman novitiate (great Nell Tiger Free) from the very beginning has its own atmosphere, distinct from Donner's film, but at the same time we can feel in each stylized shot that we are dealing with the same universe.
Margaret is an orphan and was raised by the institutions of the Church. Her guardian is the benevolent hierarch Lawrence (charismatic as always, Bill Nighy), who directs her to a (seemingly loving) convent that cares for orphans like her. Margaret quickly develops a relationship with teenager Carlita (Nicole Sorace). The girl is older than the rest of the children and for some reason she is separated from the group. According to the nuns, she is extremely aggressive and causes problems. Margaret herself had similar problems at her age, so she naturally becomes close to the girl rejected by everyone.
Do Carlita and Margaret have anything special in common? When the American meets the mysterious priest Brennan (Ralph Ineson) begins to notice that the world she has known since childhood is dark. Extremely terrifying.
“Omen. The Beginning” is stylistically immersed in the 1970s. The texture of the image (cinematography by Aaron Morton, who also shot the interesting horror film “No One Will Save You”), the way of narration and the avoidance of clichéd jump scares create an atmosphere worthy of the first film in the series. The opening scene of the production with the brilliantly ambiguous Charles Dance as the Cassandra priest is taken straight from the golden age of American horror, when De Palma, Carpenter and Craven appeared on the stage.
The entire cast looks as if they were taken from horror films of that period, while Father Brennan himself could cross a crucifix with Father Karras from “The Exorcist”. Stevenson is a disciplined director and very consciously builds the paranoid tension typical of the cinema of this politically nervous period in the USA. It is no coincidence that the action of the prequel takes place in politically turbulent Rome, where Prime Minister Aldo Moro was assassinated shortly thereafter.
The new “Omen” is also a film of its times, when the faithful are leaving the Catholic Church in great waves, which is not only the fault of progressive secularism. The sins of the hierarchs go hand in hand with secularization. Or maybe they are its driving force? The hierarchs from “Omen” are ready to bring the Antichrist himself to life. However, they are hindered by cursed and fervently believing Christians who are ready to sacrifice in the name of fighting for the true and uncorrupted work of Christ.
It is a Protestant thesis, but it also has its meaning in times of pedophilia scandals, which Catholics themselves are also fighting against. A very perverse question also appears in “Omen”: is abortion on the Antichrist justified in the eyes of Catholics? Rosemary was terrified by her baby's eyes, but then she tucked him in. The mystery of motherly love is unfathomable. Even when it concerns Satan himself.
8/10
“Omen. The Beginning” (The First Omen), dir. Arkasha Stevenson, USA 2024, distributor: Disney, cinema premiere: April 5, 2024.