The First Omen review: A horror prequel done (mostly) right

Richard Donner’s The Omen begins June 6, at 6 am in Rome, with the birth of the Antichrist and his adoption into an affluent American family. Damien Thor...

Chilling prequel to the 1976 horror classic is blessed with a heroine, Nell Tiger Free, who's greatness incarnate.

Unlike its predecessor, The First Omen blames the church, not the youth.

When in Rome, do as the Antichrist does. Arkasha Stevenson’s surprising movie makes the most of all its elements.

The First Omen' is hardly the "first" in the franchise but serves as a prequel to the 1976 classic by inventing a story of Damien's origins.

The First Omen is an upsetting and necessary tale about abuse in the Church, bodily autonomy, and spitting in the face of God.

Nell Tiger Free is a young nun bestowed with a dark destiny in Arkasha Stevenson's The Omen prequel. Read the Empire review.

A classy, female-centered horror prequel, The First Omen is a cut above.

Debuting feature director Arkasha Stevenson returns the unholy franchise to Rome, exploring the backstory behind the birth of the Antichrist Damien in this p...

Bill Nighy co-stars in a surprisingly great movie that avoids cheap scares and bravely tackles the institutional horrors of religion and authority

An origin story for Damien Thorn of "The Omen" series, director Arkasha Stevenson's feature debut is gloriously scary, and it begs for more.

Expect gynaecological macabre and the tearing of bodies cleanly in half

Directed with visual flair by Arkasha Stevenson, the prequel to the 1976 horror sensation is somewhat diminished by a forgone conclusion, but gets the job done.

Nell Tiger Free stars as a novitiate caught in a nightmare scenario.

A prequel to the original franchise, this debut feature from Arkasha Stevenson is a thrilling mash-up of horror tropes that gives the story new life.

The most exciting thing about The First Omen is how Stevenson is an evident scholar of the supernatural horror genre, unmercifully playing with our perceptio...

In cinephile shorthand, “The First Omen” comes off as an homage to the gory cinema of Dario Argento as imagined by someone who’s only heard description...

Just because IP (intellectual property) has gone dormant doesn’t mean it’s dead. As long as there’s a rights-holder with profit on their in...

An American nun finds evil lurking in an Italian orphanage in this prequel to the 1976 horror classic

The First Omen is thoughtfully menacing, uniquely stylish, and utterly terrifying. It's also the best horror movie of the year so far.

Of all the villains deserving of an origin story, Damien—the son of Satan who terrorized his parents in “The Omen”—shouldn’t make the cut. But this...

While unable to fully deliver on the promise of its artistic potential, Arkasha Stevenson’s take remains a fun, low stakes introduction for horror newbies ...

Nell Tiger Free stars in a grotesque yet uninteresting film about the birth of Damien Thorn in "The First Omen"

Akasha Stevenson concocts a twisted-nun backstory to 'The Omen' that's less scary than the 1976 horror classic suggested, but infinitely more profane.

The First Omen is surprisingly topical, reflecting back societal fears in the form of genre thrills.

A horror prequel no one asked for, but that somehow works.