Nell Tiger Free (left) and Maria Caballero star as nuns-in-training who happen to like the nightclub scene in “The First Omen” (Photo Credit: Moris Puccio/2024 20thCentury Studios).
(“The First Omen” trailer courtesy of 20th Century Studios)
The more things change, unfortunately in some cases, the more things stay the same.
In “The First Omen,” which takes place around 1971, the world is in turmoil.
Frustrated people are turning against authority.
The people are eager for a new world order and that means rebelling against the government and organized religion.
But what do the powers that be do when they begin to lose control?
In “The First Omen,” those in power create a demonic problem, in the form of a person, that becomes evil personified and creates an issue that might never have a complete and resolute solution.
And once the genie is out of the bottle, the damage might be everlasting.
“The First Omen” begins as weirdly as a person would expect.
A Catholic priest appears at a Roman church to give his own confessional to another priest, Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson).
In “The First Omen,” the confessing priest speaks cryptically and eerily about something that him and his peers have done.
He does not want forgiveness from God for what he participated in.
The father just wants the entire ordeal to be over and done with.
In another era in time, people across the globe ran to the church for guidance.
They looked to the clergy for comfort and hope.
Religious institutions were once the moral compass of the world.
However, as the younger generation begins to veer further away from faith to find answers in life, many in the church fear that their influence is waning to the point that the church will eventually become just another organization and not the gateway to God and the afterlife.
By the early 1970s, people do not even seem to fear the wrath of God or damnation.
However, the Bible talks about the antichrist coming in the last days.
Maybe if the evil one comes earlier than expected, it could force people to fear God once again and revere the church leaders like previous generations had.
Just like the Messiah is born of a woman in the Bible, what if the antichrist is born of a human female too?
Although Jesus Christ’s birth was ordained by the Most High, diabolical church leaders will have to get extremely low and dirty to implement their demented plan.
While the conflicted priest is confessing his transgressions to Father Brennan, he shows him a picture of the young girl who will give birth to the antichrist, saying that the young girl should be a teenager at the present time.
And for those wondering, the little girl that will give birth to the antichrist is not Mary Anne MacLeod Trump and “The First Omen” does not take place in the 1940s as would be necessary to make it a true story/biopic or modern-day reality show.
Nevertheless, a little girl will birth the antichrist in “The First Omen” unless people like Father Brennan can expose the church before the genie is totally out of the bottle and released to wreak havoc on the world.
Fast forward and Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), who has been a ward of the church her entire life, living in orphanages from the time of her birth, moves to Rome to become a nun under the tutelage of her mentor, Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy)
Although Margaret feels a strong calling from God to serve Him as a nun, she has a disobedient streak that comes out thanks to her new roommate at the orphanage, Luz (Maria Caballero).
Under the peer pressure of the future nun Luz, Margaret begins partying, dressing like a hussy and enjoying the company of male suitors like Paolo (Andrea Arcangeli).
Margaret evens experiences her first hangover thanks to Luz.
Furthermore, Margaret begins to connect with a young orphan named Carlita, a girl so evil and uncontrollable that she is often kept away from the other children and staff because she tends to hurt them.
While many might look at Carlita as evil, Margaret is able to break through to her.
But at what cost?
Unfortunately, “The First Omen” is more demonic than scary, although a demonic spirit should scare many people.
Furthermore, “The First Omen” suffers from some predictability issues.
Moviegoers will see certain things coming a mile away, even if they do not have the visions of some of the movie’s eviler characters.
However, “The First Omen” succeeds because it deals with some real-life issues that some have with organized religion.
Many believe organized religion is just a way to control people, not necessarily save souls.
Some view many church leaders as simply people seeking power, like many politicians, as opposed to doing what is in the best interests of those that look to them for leadership, guidance and mentorship.
And unfortunately, those clergy and followers who simply want to do the will of God and what’s right for their parishioners or fellow church members often get met with backlash and rebuke from those abusing their power.
Thankfully, the storyline and likability of the cast makes up for the predictability issues in “The First Omen.”
The protests of the early 1970s will resonate with the current divisiveness around the world.
Furthermore, the music in the bars and nightclubs like Gladys Knight & the Pips’ timeless classic (and very apropos to the upheaval in “The First Omen”) song “Friendship Train” thumps and will make moviegoers marinate on the lyrics of a song that dropped in 1969 and make them wonder why the world is still dealing with the same issues and problems like the abuse of power by religious and political leaders.
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