The First Omen: an unexpected prequel

The Omen is one of the most known horror movies right alongside 1973's The Exorcist. When The Omen first appeared in theaters back in 1976 the fear of the Antichrist reached an all time high. Now almost 50 years later the prequel is set to release April 5, 2024. We finally get to see Damien's origin story half a decade later, we get to witness evil being born.

The First Omen is set in Rome in either 1970 or 1971 as Damien's birthday is June 6, 1971 (his birthday naturally happens to be 666). The plot follows an American woman, Margaret who has devoted her life to the church and to help in the orphanage. She quickly realizes a girl in the orphanage is different from the rest, in need of guidance. Margaret watches over Carlita, who seems to suffer from "madness" when in reality it is much more sinister than that. As people become closer to Carlita darkness spreads and people begin to die around her. As her pregnancy is revealed, Father Brennan (sound familiar?) warns Margaret of the growing evil inside Carlita but also the dangers of the church.

As a fan of the The Omen I'm holding out hope for this movie. The First Omen has already received some backlash for the lack of originality and the inability to leave classics alone. The Exorcist: Believer (2023) had fans extremely disappointed and now leaves a lack of faith in the continuation of horror classics. I think this is an extremely valid point as remakes/prequels have been dull and uninspiring. However, The First Omen still has some potential with a whole new cast containing very few household names, nostalgia with callbacks such as Father Brennan's character, and the famous quote "It's all for you." The newest trailer just dropped 4 days ago and contains some very interesting but disturbing images that solidify that the Antichrist is coming.