The First Omen
word of advice : This clause contain SPOILERS forThe First Omen
Summary
AlthoughThe First Omengives aside its big twist as ahead of time as the movie ’s curtain raising shot , this does n’t stop the prequel from being one of 2024 ’s unassailable horror picture show so far . The First Omenis a prequel to 1976’sThe Omen , a originative horror flick wherein a diplomatist inadvertently take in and raises the Antichrist . The First Omen ’s storyrevolves around the circumstances of the Antichrist ’s parentage , which were only touch to mistily in the original movie . It turns out Damien ’s mother was n’t the Canis aureus thatThe Omenreferenced , but rather a human being whose fate was shaped by a cultus .
Throughout most ofThe First Omen ’s news report , it seems as though a avid cultus is planning to impregnate the vernal Carlita with the Antichrist . However , inThe First Omen ’s twist conclusion , it sour out that Carlita was never the cult ’s intend target . or else , it was the novitiate trying to save her , Margaret , who was in real riskiness . Margaret is impregnate with the offspring of a demonic jackal and gives giving birth to both Damien and his hitherto - unmentioned matching sister . This revelation is the 2nd ofThe First Omen ’s big Damien twistsbut the first , Margaret ’s fate , is a surprisingly predictable one .
The First Omen’s Opening Scene Foreshadows Margaret Is Damien’s Mother
Bill Nighy’s Villain Gives Away The First Omen’s Big Twist
When Bill Nighy ’s Cardinal Lawrence suffer Margaret off the planing machine , he welcomes her to Rome with open arms . He is eager to see her , andNighy ’s character tell Margaret that he always knew she was destined for great things since birth . This is a passably obvious hint of the cult ’s unfeigned purpose , particularly whenThe First Omennever essay to obliterate Cardinal Lawrence ’s shadowiness . During the taxi ride back from the drome , he laments the growing popularity of remaining - annex protestation and longs for a way to subdue the masses with fear as he say the church did in earlier times .
As such , it is hardly a major shock whenThe First Omen ’s ending give away that Lawrence start out contrive to expend Margaret to lend about Damien ’s parturition class before . Although Carlita was also carry via the same diabolic jackal , Margaret was the first successful representative of the church ’s religious cult using the demon to develop executable offspring . The First Omenchanges a lotof the dealership ’s lore , but the most of import alteration is switching Damian ’s female parent from a Canis aureus to Margaret . This could have been a shocking turn , butThe First Omenhints at the revelation from the hatchway scene onwards .
Margaret’s Backstory Mirrors Carlita’s Story
The First Omen’s Heroine Notes How Similar She Is To Carlita
Even though Margaret thinks Carlita must be the cult ’s aim , The First Omen ’s heroine shares many plastic experience with the troubled child she think the cult is after . Both were plagued by delusion in their youth , both were mistreated by nuns , and both became cellblock of the church after they were orphaned at birth . The prequel ’s ending reveal that both were also never orphaned at all , but rather take over of an unholy join between a jackal devil and a human . However , long before this revelation , the similarities between their life story are light upon and draw an obvious parallel between the two characters .
The First Omen ’s heroine obstinately pass up to consider the possibility that she is the one the cult require , even though this becomes glaringly obvious to viewers as the movie continues . Since Carlita and Margaret portion out so many unlikely similarity , it is clear that they are both viable campaigner for demonic fecundation . However , the fact that Margaret has suffer from bloodcurdling vision since get in in Rome , and the fact these escalate as the story continues , fix it increasingly clear that she is the actual dupe . regrettably for Margaret , she does n’t earn this until long after the witness has already guessed it .
Paulo’s First Omen Death Confirms Margaret’s Fate
Margaret Was Warned That Tragic Horrors Would Surround Carlita
Thepositive reviewsThe First Omenreceivedprove thatthis predictable gadget is n’t a problem for the prequel . peculiarly canny watcher might even have reckon the twist during the moving-picture show ’s pre - credit initiative sequence , where Charles Dance ’s short - lived priest admits that he was involved in the ritual involving the hellish Canis aureus . The victim of this rite has their face obscured by a tough throughout , meaning it is not as much of a shock absorber whenThe First Omen ’s ending subjects Margaret to the same fortune . veil the dupe ’s identicalness attain the possibleness of Margaret eventually sharing this fortune more obvious .
However , it is Paulo ’s brutal dying in a car fortuity that confirm Margaret ’s fate . Father Brennan distinguish Margaret that foreign , awful things will start happen around Carlita , assuming Carlita will be the one who will carry Satan ’s baby . This does happen when a nun ego - immolates in front of Carlita , but Margaret is also present for this terrible issue . When Paulo conk out gruesomely and Carlita is nowhere to be seen , it becomes percipient that Margaret is the one who is cursed . Paulo ’s death is the tipping percentage point where viewers will in all probability realize that the heroine ’s misfortune is much more marked than Carlita ’s handful of horrifying experiences .
Why The First Omen’s Twist Ending Still Works
The Omen’s Story Makes Margaret’s Fate Terrifying And Inevitable
The grounds thatThe First Omen ’s twist end works , despite how obvious it is , is that the movie ’s status as a prequel makes a certain grade of predictability inevitable . Knowing that Damien has to be born means thatThe First Omen ’s finish only gets scarey the sooner viewer realize that the movie ’s heroine , not Carlita , is his mother . The Omenmoviesutilize this throughout their overarching write up , as viewers always know Damien is the Antichrist but the fun come from date how it take everyone around him to make this connection . The First Omenfollows this approach to a tee .
From the open scene onward , it is possible to approximate thatThe First Omen ’s heroine will be Damien ’s female parent . However , cognize this does n’t make the moving picture any less shuddery or effective . If anything , the sooner viewer work out out the big twist , the more afflictive it is to see the well - meaning heroine get stuck deeply and deeper in a mazy sand trap set up by the duplicitous religious cult . The awful inevitableness of Margaret ’s fate means it is no relief to already make love what eventually happens to her . Instead , this knowledge only makesThe First Omenan even scarier , more impactful revulsion prequel .
Image via 20th Century Studios
Image via 20th Century Studios
