Film Review – The First Omen

The film is titled “The First Omen,” but it’s really the sixth feature in a series that began in 1976. Director Richard Donner managed to sustain post-“Exorcist” fervor for antichrist activity into a major hit, and producers and studios have been chasing that high ever since, including a crummy 2006 remake and even a short-lived 2016 television show. There’s been a lot of “Omen” over the years, but screenwriters Tim Smith, Keith Thomas, and Arkasha Stevenson (who also directs) hope to rejuvenate the brand name with a prequel, going back to the early 1970s for an origin story involving the creation of ultimate evil. “The First Omen” doesn’t bring anything new to the saga, covering old news while trying create a backstory capable of inspiring fresh sequels, forcing Stevenson to get intensely visual with the endeavor, often sacrificing pace in the process. There’s some voltage in select scenes of physical corruption, but the picture doesn’t pack much of a punch, and it doesn’t come near the strange eeriness Donner (joined by composer Jerry Goldsmith) managed to create nearly 50 years ago. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com