When it appeared in 1976, Richard Donner’s The Omen was acclaimed as one of the all-time great horror films. It was an era of classic horror, led by The Exorcist (1973) and Carrie (1976), movies that still set people raving. Oh my God, these were the scariest things they’d ever seen!
If these classics no longer feel terrifying when we watch them today, it may be because we’ve got used to all the tricks of the trade. On the other hand, these earlier films were framed as major Hollywood productions, not B movies. Tarred by sequels of dubious merit, films such as The Omen and The Exorcist gradually lost their lustre. David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist – Believers of last year was an attempt to restore relevance to a tattered franchise by introducing issues of race and religion that have become flashpoints in contemporary American life.
Arkasha Stevenson, who sounds like she stepped out of an H.P. Lovecraft story, has taken a different approach with The First Omen, pitched as a prequel to the original film. She has rejected the ‘social relevance’ angle, in favour of an unashamed nostalgia for the great Italian gialli, by directors such as Dario Argento (Suspiria) or Sergio Martino (All the Colours of the Dark), with a dash of nunsploitation. I went along with no great expectations and was surprised by the freshness of this reboot of a subgenre known for sudden shocks, melodramatic dialogue, extremes of innocence and evil, sex, violence and bad dubbing.
In a suitably dramatic introductory scene we meet Father Brennan, the renegade priest fighting a one-man war against Satan. Played by Ralph Ineson, he could be the twin of Patrick Troughton from the original film. Cut to Rome. It’s 1973 and the city is torn by violent student protests. Young, wide-eyed Margaret Daino has travelled from small town Pittsville, Mass. to take the veil at a famous old covent and orphanage. She is played by the wonderfully named Nell Tiger Free, who some may remember from Game of Thrones. Her travelling companion is the wise, benevolent Cardinal Lawrence – Bill Nighy, at his most wheedling.
It’s not exactly clear why Margaret, an orphan, has to go all the way to Rome for this ceremony, or why she warrants the company of a cardinal, but that’s standard fare for this kind of film. What’s really delightful is the recreation of Rome in the 70s, with all the right cars and fashions. In some outdoor shots even the image quality has a grainy 70s feel.
It doesn’t take long to discover that the covent is a Very Creepy Place, where hatchet-faced old nuns keep their problem orphans locked up in punishment rooms and conduct surgical operations behind closed doors. From the wailing and screaming of young women, it seems the sisters are parsimonious with the anaesthetic. Margaret, being a typical American do-gooder, takes a personal interest in a teenager named Carlita (Nicole Sorace), who rarely speaks but often bites, and spends her solitary hours making morbid, disturbing drawings.
Equally disturbing is the willowy, sister Anjelica (Ishtar Currie Wilson), who smiles in a demented way, as if she knows some big secret she’s not telling. The whole flock is presided over by the Abbess, Sister Silvia (Sônia Braga), who appears to have dropped out of the June Dally-Watkins course at an early stage.
The big surprise is Margaret’s roommate, Luz Valez (Maria Caballero), who dresses like a dominatrix rather than a novitate, and believes in living it up before becoming a Bride of Christ. Suddenly, she has virginal, uptight Margaret outfitted in slut-chic discowear, and they’re off to a big party. There our heroine gets completely off her tits, meets a young man named Paolo, blanks out, and somehow gets home safely. Or does she?
While all this is going on, Father Brennan is getting increasingly hot under the dog collar. He needs to talk to Margaret, and tell her the truth about the convent, home to a somewhat unorthodox strand of Catholics who believe the only way to restore faith in the Church is to let loose the Anti-Christ, bringing about a new reign of darkness on earth. Today we’d call them MAGA people. Although she takes a bit of convincing, Margaret has already seen enough to accept the priest’s outlandish claims, but evil is closing in, and it may already be too late.
It’s obvious the role Margaret is set to play, but I won’t spoil the drama that winds up into a wild crescendo.
If you’re looking for an accurate portrait of the ceremonies of the Catholic Church, or the way young women become nuns, I’d recommend Karen Armstrong’s memoir, Through the Narrow Gate. In this film, metaphorically speaking, Stevenson crashes that gate in a semi-trailer, with scenes of youthful nuns writhing in religious ecstasy on the flagstones, more talk of the Devil than Jesus, and images of gynaecological excess that will test the squeamish. If there’s a ‘topical’ reference in this story, aside from the renewed willingness of Americans to embrace satanic conspiracies, it may be a nod to the nation’s murderous abortion debate.
With all its homages and references, this is a cinephile’s film, but it also delivers the thrills and suspense one expects from the horror genre, if not quite so expertly as the original Omen. I’m told that Immaculate, another nun-themed horror movie set in Italy, is even better than The First Omen. If so, it should be well worth a look, as this prequel defied my expectations of a franchise film.
It’s ironic, but perhaps understandable, that the austere life of nuns has always given rise to the most lurid cinematic treatment. From directors such as Ken Russell and Walerian Borowczyk to this current crop, there stretches a long chain of features that portray convents as hives of dark, cultish behaviour. I’m afraid the Catholic Church has only got itself to blame. If they’d wanted to keep a lid on these calumnies, they should never have got rid of the Inquisition.
The First Omen
Directed by Arkasha Stevenson
Written by Tim Smith, Arkasha Stevenson, Keith Thomas
Starring: Nell Tiger Free, Bill Nighy, Ralph Ineson, Sônia Braga, Maria Caballero, Nicole Sorace, Tawfeek Barhom, Ishtar Currie Wilson, Andrea Arcangeli, Charles Dance
USA/Italy/UK, MA 15+, 119 mins
Published in the Australian Financial Review, 13 April, 2024