Dir. Arkasha Stevenson (2024)
A prequel to a lesser talked about franchise, directed by Arkasha Stevenson and starring Nell Tiger Free.
The original The Omen is a great movie, with a couple fantastic scenes like the "For you, Damian" babysitter suicide and the glass decapitation, but for some weird reason, NOBODY ever talks about it! It's a fantastic film that never really hit cult status, which is strange because I can think of at least twenty off the top of my head with less quality that did. I don't know why it never took off! And for the record, my favorite film in the Omen franchise is The Omen III: The Final Conflict, with Sam Neil.
What we have with this film is, in my opinion, a case of style over substance. It really is a great looking film. Visually, it was stunning! More than once, I found myself looking at the screen thinking, "Jesus! How much time did it take to work THAT out!" There were also a couple of scenes that were legitimately scary. And not the jumpscare kind... The "Well, that was unsettling" kind. In the end, as a lifelong horror fan, THATS what I look for when choosing a horror movie.
The overall problem, for me, was the story. It was convoluted for no reason, seemingly just to fit a narrative for an already existing film. That's the problem with all "requels," really. The filmmakers are trying to make something years later to fit with an old pre-existing story. And, here I am, a couple hours after I watched it, forgetting a majority of what I've seen because, again, like the OG, there are only a couple of stand out scenes while the rest of the film is largely forgettable.
Overall, I did like it. It's a shame that it was released in theaters so close to Immaculate (which I find a better film with too many similarities). This was my second viewing, and I DID enjoy it more on a second time around. And it's streaming on Hulu, right now if you want to check it out for yourself.
