LIKES:
The Atmosphere
The Acting
The Music
The Makeup
The Attention To Detail
The Story
Summary: The factor that the Omen series always captivated me, was how it makes you uncomfortable and terrified rather than using jump scares. For this film, the same devices were used to make the story haunting starting with the atmosphere of the entire film. Another dive into a European monastery that hides much behind the beautiful tapestries and art. The First Omen uses a lot of the setting to provide the scares, hiding things behind shadows at night that prey upon our fear of the unknown and what lurks in the dark. The daylight offers little relief with the muted colors and more extreme actions happening to show that the Evil One cares little for the time of the day. The addition of haunting music, with grandiose instruments blaring after a build-up of creepy undertones, just adds other levels of haunting chills that add to the suspense. These aspects are some of my favorites for the Horror genre that do so much without trying too hard to be noticed.
Playing within that setting are fantastic characters and a story to play out. Acting-wise, the cast is fantastic, bringing terror and shock to the screen at the indescribable actions being taken. Braga's performance is chilling and intense as a nun, with very little warmth, and all foreshadows what she will be serving in this role. Ineson is a great character for this world, intense, on edge, and gives a performance that makes his character questionable for what purpose he serves. And Nell Tiger Free is the star of the show and unleashes such fantastic displays of pure horror as she undertakes the trials of the group. While her screaming and dramatic persona are top-notch skills, there are other elements requiring control of her body to convey the actions needed. Her performance is real and raw, and it adds so much to the believability of the performance at hand. Alongside these performances, is stellar makeup that Hollywood applies flawlessly (most times) to bring out the negative effects such dark arts bring. And this application is used so well, unleashing so much of the terror and pain they wanted to convey. All of this goes to a respectable story that pays homage to the original movie and is kept in line with most details that the original quadrilogy required. Stevenson and her team paid close attention to detail in their design, not only getting the presentation right but designing a great story that respected the original plot well. Certainly, it's not perfect, but such efforts to capture the feel and lore of the Omen are things I like in a director, even with some of the new angles they have designed for further sequels. That's the thing that made this movie such an experience for me and why I ended up surprised at the quality of the movie.
DISLIKES:
Not Scary
The Set Up
The Pacing Near The End
Perhaps A Bit Too Copy Of The Original
The Grosser Moments.
Summary: I start my dislikes with a warrant that my current exposure to most movies in this genre has dulled my scare reflex. Thus, for those with a similar background, you aren't going to find this movie truly scary as you will unsettling. The environment may rob you of your safety, but otherwise, the movie is rather low on the things that disturb or scare me. A few rogue jump scares and the terror of lurking in the shadows were always hanging on me, but again nothing to leave my mind too upset or lingering. Only the grosser moments may have gone too far for me. I'm not the biggest on what is dubbed Body Horror, and this movie sometimes dived a bit too much into that for me. While much tamer than what A24 Studios indulges in, The First Omen still practices some disturbing shock factors involving the manipulation of anatomy to very unethical levels. Outside of those moments, the only other thing that was a letdown were elements of the story being a bit too much of a copy of the original movie. Maybe they played too safe in paying homage, maybe they were trying to set up a franchise as the modern era seems to thrive on. What I can say is, that the First Omen tries to do a bit too much in the movie to dilute some of the experiences I think they were going for. Especially at the end, the movie sort of does this unrealistic and unnatural progression that has worked for genres in the past, but for this movie felt forced and last-minute leading to lackluster inclusion and a very mundane finish. Sure, there is the artistic flair of diving into the mind, but... I can't say it was the most impressive direction after such a solid opening.
The VERDICT: The First Omen proved to be a lot better than I had expected from the trailers. It works because it understands the foundation of what made the Omen its own thing and does not try to push past that limit in the pursuit of being its unique self. Stephenson has paid respects to the lineage and captured the feel of the movie. With the great study of the story, delivering an atmosphere that is both old and new, and acting to bring it to life, this movie accomplishes much in this era or rewrites. Is it perfect? No, far from it. It doesn't deliver many unique scares for me, it falls in proximity to another movie and just feels a bit too safe at times with the scare tactics and story. Yet, the movie is certainly a step up from other remakes and is worth a look if you get a chance. Do I think it's worth the trip to the theater? In some ways yes, but in many ways no.
My scores are:
Horror: 7.0-7.5 Movie Overall: 6.5-7.0.
The Atmosphere
The Acting
The Music
The Makeup
The Attention To Detail
The Story
Summary: The factor that the Omen series always captivated me, was how it makes you uncomfortable and terrified rather than using jump scares. For this film, the same devices were used to make the story haunting starting with the atmosphere of the entire film. Another dive into a European monastery that hides much behind the beautiful tapestries and art. The First Omen uses a lot of the setting to provide the scares, hiding things behind shadows at night that prey upon our fear of the unknown and what lurks in the dark. The daylight offers little relief with the muted colors and more extreme actions happening to show that the Evil One cares little for the time of the day. The addition of haunting music, with grandiose instruments blaring after a build-up of creepy undertones, just adds other levels of haunting chills that add to the suspense. These aspects are some of my favorites for the Horror genre that do so much without trying too hard to be noticed.
Playing within that setting are fantastic characters and a story to play out. Acting-wise, the cast is fantastic, bringing terror and shock to the screen at the indescribable actions being taken. Braga's performance is chilling and intense as a nun, with very little warmth, and all foreshadows what she will be serving in this role. Ineson is a great character for this world, intense, on edge, and gives a performance that makes his character questionable for what purpose he serves. And Nell Tiger Free is the star of the show and unleashes such fantastic displays of pure horror as she undertakes the trials of the group. While her screaming and dramatic persona are top-notch skills, there are other elements requiring control of her body to convey the actions needed. Her performance is real and raw, and it adds so much to the believability of the performance at hand. Alongside these performances, is stellar makeup that Hollywood applies flawlessly (most times) to bring out the negative effects such dark arts bring. And this application is used so well, unleashing so much of the terror and pain they wanted to convey. All of this goes to a respectable story that pays homage to the original movie and is kept in line with most details that the original quadrilogy required. Stevenson and her team paid close attention to detail in their design, not only getting the presentation right but designing a great story that respected the original plot well. Certainly, it's not perfect, but such efforts to capture the feel and lore of the Omen are things I like in a director, even with some of the new angles they have designed for further sequels. That's the thing that made this movie such an experience for me and why I ended up surprised at the quality of the movie.
DISLIKES:
Not Scary
The Set Up
The Pacing Near The End
Perhaps A Bit Too Copy Of The Original
The Grosser Moments.
Summary: I start my dislikes with a warrant that my current exposure to most movies in this genre has dulled my scare reflex. Thus, for those with a similar background, you aren't going to find this movie truly scary as you will unsettling. The environment may rob you of your safety, but otherwise, the movie is rather low on the things that disturb or scare me. A few rogue jump scares and the terror of lurking in the shadows were always hanging on me, but again nothing to leave my mind too upset or lingering. Only the grosser moments may have gone too far for me. I'm not the biggest on what is dubbed Body Horror, and this movie sometimes dived a bit too much into that for me. While much tamer than what A24 Studios indulges in, The First Omen still practices some disturbing shock factors involving the manipulation of anatomy to very unethical levels. Outside of those moments, the only other thing that was a letdown were elements of the story being a bit too much of a copy of the original movie. Maybe they played too safe in paying homage, maybe they were trying to set up a franchise as the modern era seems to thrive on. What I can say is, that the First Omen tries to do a bit too much in the movie to dilute some of the experiences I think they were going for. Especially at the end, the movie sort of does this unrealistic and unnatural progression that has worked for genres in the past, but for this movie felt forced and last-minute leading to lackluster inclusion and a very mundane finish. Sure, there is the artistic flair of diving into the mind, but... I can't say it was the most impressive direction after such a solid opening.
The VERDICT: The First Omen proved to be a lot better than I had expected from the trailers. It works because it understands the foundation of what made the Omen its own thing and does not try to push past that limit in the pursuit of being its unique self. Stephenson has paid respects to the lineage and captured the feel of the movie. With the great study of the story, delivering an atmosphere that is both old and new, and acting to bring it to life, this movie accomplishes much in this era or rewrites. Is it perfect? No, far from it. It doesn't deliver many unique scares for me, it falls in proximity to another movie and just feels a bit too safe at times with the scare tactics and story. Yet, the movie is certainly a step up from other remakes and is worth a look if you get a chance. Do I think it's worth the trip to the theater? In some ways yes, but in many ways no.
My scores are:
Horror: 7.0-7.5 Movie Overall: 6.5-7.0.