The First Omen

After 18 years, The Omen franchise has been revived with a prequel to the 1976 original.

This supernatural thriller, set in 1971, follows Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), an American woman who moves to Rome to become a nun. During her time working at an orphanage, she discovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist.

You can go a while without a nun-based horror and two come along at the same time – The First Omen will obviously be compared to Sydney Sweeney’s Immaculate, which came out a few weeks ago. They both follow American nuns (or trainee nuns) in Italy who discover a dark secret. They aren’t exactly the same but there are plenty of parallels along the way too.

While The First Omen pales in comparison to Immaculate, it isn’t fair to review it through this lens and it must be considered on its merits.

You have to be patient with this film because it takes a long time to get going, the pacing is...