Shadows on the Wall | The First Omen

The First Omen

dir Arkasha Stevenson
prd David S Goyer, Keith Levine
scr Tim Smith, Arkasha Stevenson, Keith Thomas
with Nell Tiger Free, Bill Nighy, Ralph Ineson, Sonia Braga, Maria Caballero, Nicole Sorace, Tawfeek Barhom, Ishtar Currie Wilson, Andrea Arcangeli, Michelangelo Dalisi, Dora Romano, Charles Dance
release US/UK 5.Apr.24
24/Italy 20th Century 2h00

The 2006 remake:

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Ghastly imagery and creepy atmospherics fill this prequel to overflowing. Set before the events of the 1976 classic, the script is thin on new ideas, but first-time feature filmmaker Arkasha Stevenson adeptly plays up the bonkers story elements, adding some witty moments alongside the gothic mayhem. Fans of grisly cinema will love the properly outrageous body horror, even if little about this movie is either scary or surprising.

In 1971 Rome, Margaret (Free) arrives from America to take her vows, working with Cardinal Lawrence (Nighy) and Sister Silvia (Braga) at an orphanage. An orphan herself, Margaret quickly bonds with bad-girl teen resident Carlita (Sorace). And fellow novice Luz (Caballero) takes Margaret on a wild final night on the town. Then things quickly turn weird, as Margaret begins having freaky visions of a taloned monster and a disgraced priest (Barholm) warns her that Carlita is the product of a sinister Catholic conspiracy to breed the Antichrist and scare humanity back into the church.

Skilfully shot in a lurid 1970s style, there is a steady stream of gut-churningly hideous goings-on, from the prologue involving Dance to a harrowing birthing sequence. There's also an unhinged nun (Currie Wilson) who loses it spectacularly, then appears even more monstrously in Margaret's visions. Many people in this film face properly gruesome situations, often involving jaw-dropping violence. And at the centre is a darkly unsettling tale of selective breeding, with a devilish twist.

With the camera often right in her face, Free brings plenty of heart to the film, drawing us in as Margaret's odyssey spirals in ever-terrifying directions. There are several extremely corny moments along the way, but Free plays them with conviction, adding strong emotional undercurrents. Others are more one-note characters, led by the terrific Braga as the intense Silvia and Nighy as the warmly amusing Lawrence.

By taking such a resolutely female perspective, filmmaker Stevenson adds meaning and interest to scenes that we've seen before across the demonic horror genre. Although we understand fully that the reality of this movie is hellish long before Margaret begins to suspect that something might be up. In other words, the approach is heavy handed, starting at high volume and amplifying everything from there. A more nuanced touch might have brought something more to the film, but the coda offers some intriguing echoes.

themes, language, violence 3.Apr.24

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