Film: The First Omen  
Cast: Nell Tiger Free, Ralph Ineson, Sonia Braga, Tawfeek Barhom, Maria Caballero, Charles Dance, Bill Nighy, Nicole Sorace
Director: Arkasha Stevenson
Rating: 2/5
Runtime: 120 min

A young American woman Margaret Daino ( Nell Tiger Free) is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church. Eager to battle the demons she has experienced all through her childhood, she is prepared to sacrifice her individual needs for that of the church… Little does she know of the sinister campaign that makes her a pawn of the very evil she hopes to overcome.

This prequel origin story connects to the 1976 ‘The Omen’ in multiple ways. But there’s nothing here to suggest that this film might rake in the same amount of affection that the original one did and continues to do. The story here is familiar. Margaret, prompted by Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy), agrees to join the nuns at the Vizzardeli Orphanage. But she is not prepared for the darkness she encounters there in the form of fellow inmates and gatekeepers of the faith itself. Her faith is eroded and the uncovering of a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate, nullifies her belief in the church itself.