Something evil is afoot in the hallowed halls of the church in the new trailer for The First Omen, the upcoming prequel to the supernatural horror classic, The Omen.
The film stars Nell Tiger Free as Margaret, a young woman who travels from America to Rome, prepared to dedicate her life to serving God and the church. Those ambitions, however, are curtailed when Margaret stumbles into a deep-seated conspiracy to bring about the birth of the antichrist.
The new minute-long teaser for The First Omen doesn’t extrapolate much on this plot synopsis, but it is stuffed with sinister vibes. Set to Fever Ray’s menacing “If I Had a Heart,” there are eerie clips of unsettling children’s games, nuns and priests with blank stares, rioting in the streets, and Margaret giving some particularly harrowing, ominous looks straight down the camera lens.
The First Omen is set to arrive April 5. Along with Tiger Free, The First Omen stars Tawfeek Barhom, Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy. The movie was directed by Arkasha Stevenson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Tim Smith and Keith Thomas.
The original Omen film, directed by Richard Donner, was released in 1976. It starred Harvey Stephens as Damien, the dastardly antichrist child, as well as Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, and David Warner. The film even managed to pick up an Academy Award, Best Original Score for composer Jerry Goldsmith (it also ranked at Number Eight on Rolling Stone’s list of the 35 Greatest Horror Soundtracks).
Since The Omen, the franchise has spawned an array of sequels, a television series, and a straight-up 2006 remake, directed by John Moore. The First Omen marks the first proper prequel in the franchise.
