“The First Omen” is a supernatural horror film serving as a prequel to the classic horror film from the 1976 “The Omen”.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about the film.
- The First Omen is a 2024 American supernatural horror film
- It is directed by Arkasha Stevenson
- Stevenson co-wrote the screenplay with Tim Smith and Keith Thomas
- From a story by Ben Jacoby
- It is a prequel to The Omen (1976)
- Being the sixth film in The Omen franchise
- The film stars Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy
- The plot follows an American woman sent to work at a church in Rome who uncovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist
- The First Omen was theatrically released in the United States by 20th Century Studios on April 5, 2024
- The film received generally positive reviews from critics
- On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 80% rating
- Based on 108 critics’ reviews
- With an average rating of 6.9/10
- The website’s consensus reads: “Frequently frightening even as it plays within the confines of a nearly 50-year-old film series, this prequel is The First Omen of a bright future for the franchise in quite some time”
- Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 64 out of 100
- Based on 28 critics
- Indicating “generally favorable” reviews
- In the United States and Canada, The First Omen was released alongside Monkey Man
- It is projected to gross $14 – 15 million in its opening weekend
- In April 2016, a prequel to The Omen (1976) was announced to be in the works, with Ben Jacoby writing the script and Antonio Campos in talks to direct
- By May 2022, 20th Century Studios began developing it, with Arkasha Stevenson signing on in her feature directorial debut
- David S. Goyer and Keith Levine produced under the Phantom Four Films label
- Nell Tiger Free was cast in the lead role in late August 2022
- On January 3, 2024, Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy were announced to star in the film
- Principal photography took place on location in Rome and on soundstages at Lumina Studios
- From September 19 to November 22, 2022
- Buildings in Villa Parisi and a farm in Procoio was used to portray the orphanage
- Production designer Eve Stewart stated, “We wanted it to be a very unique and beautiful building, and since we couldn’t find everything within one building, we put three buildings together and made sure that they all linked well with one another”
- The basement was created on the soundstage
- Costume designer Paco Delgado wanted the costumes to have a gothic feeling
- He designed light clothing that moves with the wind so it would match Stevenson’s vision of “the figures sort of floating through the hallways”
- The girls at the orphanage were dressed in 1940s/1950s costumes
- Even though the film takes place in the 1970s; the crew wanted a “specific ambience”
- For Margaret’s look, Delgado was inspired with Yves Saint Laurent fashion of the 1970s
- Adrien Morot served as prosthetic and creature designer
- The score was composed by Mark Korven
- He wrote original music and referenced themes written by Jerry Goldsmith for the previous films
- This includes “Ave Satani”
- The soundtrack album was released by Hollywood Records on April 5, 2024
- The same day as the film
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