Summary
The First Omenserves as the first entry in theOmenfranchise in almost twenty years. It’s no secret to fans of the genre that horror has a tendency tospawn countless sequels, prequels and spin-offs– often many years after the franchise’s last entry – which can make it somewhat difficult to keep track of a particular property’s ongoing story.
To make things even more confusing, there’s an increasingly common trend of horror sequels that disregard specific movies in the franchise, effectively making them non-canon.Take theHalloweenfranchise, for instance, which currently has thirteen installments, including two reboots – one of which takes place after the events of the first movie, but ignores the sequels that followed. This can often make it intimidating to jump into a particular franchise, with audiences feeling like they may be missing vital information that contextualizes its latest entry. With the release of the latest trailer forThe First Omen, fans and casual moviegoers alike may be feeling this exact way, especially since several ofThe Omen’s sequels flew under the radar, relatively speaking.
What is The First Omen about?
Due to release on April 5th 2024,The First Omentells the story of an American woman who moves to Rome to pledge her life to the Catholic Church, only to discover a disturbing secret at its heart after taking a mysterious young woman under her wing. Unsurprisingly, things take a turn for the sinister soon after her arrival, forcing her to investigate the escalating events taking place at her newfound home. As far asOmenmovies go, this entry doesn’t appear to stray too far fromthe franchise’s established formula, butThe First Omen’s international setting and separation from the long-suffering Thorn family looks set to freshen things up.Serving as the feature film debut for director Arkasha Stevenson – who previously directed episodes ofLegion,Channel ZeroandBrand New Cherry Flavor– the movie was penned by Stevenson along with Tim Smith and Keith Thomas, who recently wrote the horror moviesFirestarterandThe Vigil,and stars Nell Tiger Free (Game of Thrones), Ralph Ineson (The Witch), Sônia Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman) and Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean).The First Omenis the sixth movie in theOmenfranchise.
What are the other Omen movies?
Directed by legendary filmmaker Richard Donner (Superman,The Goonies,Lethal Weapon), 1976’sThe Omenhas become a horror classic in the years since its release. Its story centers on the unfortunate Thorn family, who lose their newborn son immediately upon his birth. Distraught, the child’s father, Robert, agrees to adopt another newborn whose mother coincidentally died during childbirth – neglecting to tell his wife about the switch. They name the child Damien. As he grows, it becomes increasingly apparent that something is wrong with the young boy, with Damien becoming the focal point of a series of disturbing and grisly events. After several warnings from his local priest, Robert’s investigations lead him to discover that his child is in fact the Antichrist, resulting in a horrifying series of consequences. The originalOmenmovie easily remains the franchise’s best, with several of its scenesstanding out as truly chilling– the infamous birthday party scene perhaps being the most memorable example of this:
Look at me, Damien! It’s all for you.
The two sequels that followed, 1978’sDamien: Omen IIand 1981’sOmen III: The Final Conflict, progress Damien’s story as he continues to terrorize those around him, with both movies rigidly adhering to theformula established by the franchise’s first entry.Damien: Omen IIprimarily takes place seven years after the events ofThe Omen, in which a pre-teen Damien is living with his wealthy aunt and uncle. After Damien takes a sinister interest in his cousin Mark, however, the family begins to unravel, inevitably leading to several gruesome deaths.Omen III: The Final Conflict– notable for starringJurassic Park’s Sam Neill as an adult Damien – picks up over twenty years later, with Damien having become the powerful CEO of a major international corporation. The movie chronicles Damien’s attempts to thwart the impending birth of the Second Coming of Christ as he’s hunted down by several priests.
Perhaps the most inessential sequel in the franchise,Omen IV: The Awakeningis also the only entry that was made for television. Despite distancing itself from the character of Damien Thorn, however, the fourthOmenmovie is largely a rehash of the original, trading in the Thorn family for the York family. The movie tells the story of Gene and Karen York, who adopt a child, Delia, from a local orphanage. As you might expect, after Delia begins to exhibit strange behavior, it’s discovered thatthe child is in league with satanic forces. AlthoughOmen IV: The Awakeningattempts to throw in a couple of interesting twists and reveals towards the end of its runtime, it remains the most critically malignedOmenmovie to date regardless.
It’s become something of a rite of passage for most popular horror franchises toreceive a misguided reboot attempt at some point, and theOmenfranchise is no different. Released on 06/06/06,The Omenis a reboot that remains steadfastly faithful to the original – which is probably its biggest issue overall. Receiving widespread criticism for its lack of innovation and failure to justify its own existence, the 2006 movie performed extremely well at the box office nonetheless – which makes it all the more surprising it’s taken this long to get a newOmenmovie off the ground. Funnily enough, despite being largely panned by film critics, Roger Ebert – perhaps the most renowned film critic of his era –praised the film, giving it 3 out of 4 stars and preferring it to the original.
“The Omen” is a faithful remake of the 1976 film, and that’s a relief; it depends on characters and situations and doesn’t go berserk with visuals.
How does The First Omen fit into the Omen timeline?
As its title might suggest,The First Omenis a prequel to the 1976 original. Unlike many other horror franchises, the timeline of theOmenfranchise is fairly straightforward, withThe Omenand its three direct sequels running in chronological order.The First Omenis the first movie in the franchise to take place out of order, putting it squarely at the beginning of the timeline– with the movie likely taking place directly before the events of the originalOmen.
