All through October, I’ll be posting reviews of the best of the best films in the horror genre released since October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024. As an added bonus, I’ll be adding a secondary review that may be somewhat related to the main review or slightly missed the countdown by inches. Follow along the countdown every day in October. Feel free to agree, disagree, or better yet, give me your own picks for your favorite horror movies of the year. Happy Halloween!

#7 – THE FIRST OMEN (2024)
Released on April 5, 2024, and is streaming on Hulu
!Directed by Arkasha Stevenson.
Written by Tim Smith, Arkasha Stevenson, Keith Thomas.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/lmN1Op8ygno
SERVANT’s Nell Tiger Free plays Margaret, a nun in training brought from Massachusetts to Rome to receive her final stages to achieve her veil. After she becomes situated in her new home, new duties at an orphanage run by the church, and new roommate Luz (Maria Caballero). Margaret herself is from an orphanage and though she has had a history of behavioral issues as a child, she has always planned on becoming a nun. Meanwhile, Margaret becomes attached to a young girl named Beatrice (Mia McGovern Zaini) who reminds her of her troubled youth. But the stronger Margaret and Beatrice’s connection goes, the closer Margaret seems to uncover a deep, dark conspiracy meant to bring forth the birth of the Anti-Christ.

I was never in love with THE OMEN movies. I preferred the much more sublime, and nightmarish extremes of THE EXORCIST and when the series went on, following Damien the Anti-Christ child as he grew through adolescence, I still preferred less elevated schlockers like FEAR NO EVIL and EVIL SPEAK which felt grungier and fun to me than the drama heavy series which seemed to have more of an elevated horror feel long before the term was coined. So, I was somewhat ambivalent when I heard there would be a new OMEN movie, this time a prequel coming to theaters Spring 2024. At least it couldn’t be as tame as the Julia Styles remake, we got a few years ago. So, color me surprised when I started hearing good things about THE FIRST OMEN. And though I was busy the last few weeks and missed the premieres of both IMMACULATE and THE FIRST OMEN, I was happy to know that at least THE FIRST OMEN is out in theaters still, so I got to check it out to see what all the hubbub was about.

The first thing I noticed about THE FIRST OMEN was how it looked. Set in Rome in 1971, the film really captures the look and feel of a lot of those old giallo films I know and love. Not only does the film clothe the cast and extras with era-appropriate wears, but the streets are lined with boxy cars zipping around and there is a wonderful attention paid to the gothic architecture that lines every street. On top of that, there is a gritty, grainy look to the film stock that makes it feel like it was made in the 70’s. I’m not talking about the grindhouse lens design that occurs in low budget films that try to make them feel like old stock. There is just a layered, aged, grittiness to the lens here, making all whites feel yellowed and withered and really capturing a stony, weathered feel to every location this film goes to. This won’t be the first time I attribute the look of this film to how effective it is, but it is what hit me first.

You have to admit, no matter what religion you’re talking about, when looked at objectively, any religion is odd with all of its rituals, dramatics, and blindly faithful followers. While I feel most religious horror fails because it attempts to make nuns, religions, and rituals odd from a distant, surface level, THE FIRST OMEN gets up close and personal, which I believe is the real key to why this movie is so effectively shudder-inducing. Director Arkasha Stevenson, who has only done an episode or two of highly effective horror series BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR, LEGION, and CHANNEL ZERO, impressed me with the way the filmmaker zooms in uncomfortably close and maximizes all of the senses in order to make this an extremely disconcerting watch all the way through. That might sound like a negative critique, but that’s the way I like my horror—disconcerting. Stevenson not only captures extremely disturbing imagery, but he zooms in so you can’t help but almost smell it. In other cases, reminiscent of films like JACOB’S LADDER, gives you obscured views that makes you crane your neck to see, but also dread what it is you’re about to see. There is scene after scene like this, proving the old adage that less is more and the less seen in horror the more the mind fills in the blanks with stuff you could never come up with on the screen.

Adding to this visual assault is the fantastic soundtrack, comprised of moaning choirs, organ music, and classic Italian rhythms you’d find in any giallo. As well as an epic score, again with the disturbing scenes, and there are a lot of them, the sound effects are just as distinctive and disturbing. In one specific scene, a demon tongue slurps as it smears against Margaret’s cheek. Not only is this image and the actress’ reaction horrifying, but the sound of the slurp throws you into the scene and amps the terror to an almost unbearable level. Scenes like that occur often in THE FIRST OMEN and they’re all amazing.

The lead, Nell Tiger Free, plays a character similar to her breakout role in SERVANT. But maybe that’s just the actress, who has this sort of pure and naïve way of experiencing things. Still, because of the extreme things going on, I quickly forgot that Apple series which sort of devolved into confusion by the end. There’s a particular scene where Margaret’s roommate dresses her in a revealing outfit and she continues to tug at her bouse that really shows that the actress has a lot of talent. The film follows her throughout the night as her inhibitions slowly drop away and Free makes every step believable.
The rest of the cast is top tier. You’ve got major talents here like Sonia Braga, Ralph Ineson, Charles Dance, Bill Nighy. These are actors with weight and power filling out the cast and all of them giving their all.

Now, THE FIRST OMEN isn’t perfect. It is derivative as all get out. If you’ve seen POSSESSION, JACOB’S LADDER, and of course the original OMEN series, you’ll notice entire scenes, especially one towards the very end, are complete lifts from those earlier, more effective movies. While one key scene is repeated and of course made more extreme with fire for modern audiences, the film doesn’t do a lot of homage to the original series. It still exists within that universe and plants that point home at the end, but THE FIRST OMEN does an impressive job of standing on its own.

For a prequel movie I had zero expectations of and no excitement to go see, THE FIRST OMEN is surprisingly good. While it attempts to throw out twists and turns, it’s pretty obvious from the get-go how the whole thing is going to play out. But despite the predictability of the story, it manages to pepper in one shocking scene after another. If other films would treat the source material as well as THE FIRST OMEN does, the horror genre would be a much better place. As is, enjoy THE FIRST OMEN as it feels like that odd instance where I like this modern prequel more than the original material.

Plus – IMMACULATE (2024)
Released on March 22, 2024, and is streaming on Hulu!
Directed by Michael Mohan.
Written by Andrew Lobel.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/ewxS9Z-XXYo
Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney) is a young American nun arriving at an Italian convent. She is welcomed with open arms, but soon after her arrival, Cecilia finds out she is pregnant, even though she attests she is a virgin. While Cecilia and her fellow nuns believe she is a part of the immaculate conception, destined to birth the new Jesus, some doubt her honesty and purity. All are ignorant to what is really happening—a deeply secretive plot to bring the AntiChrist into this world.

I think it is unfair to compare IMMACULATE with THE FIRST OMEN, but because both hit theaters within months of each other and also have very similar plots, comparisons are going to be inevitable. I’m sure neither film knew the other was being made and it was some ad wizards who decided to toss them out at the same time. IMMACULATE is a perfectly fine religious horror film and has a very very exceptional parts, which I will get into in a second. But compared to the tactile and potent horror on display in THE FIRST OMEN, IMMACULATE pales in comparison.

One thing that makes IMMACULATE a standout is that it captures a star on the rise. Sydney Sweeney has made a name for herself by oozing sex appeal. Her whispery and monotone voice and those sleepy eyes, along with a body that won’t quit, have made her a Hollywood starlet overnight. It is admirable that Sweeney goes against type and plays a nun here. And though there are multiple scenes of nudity and it is hard to cover Sweeney’s curves with a nun’s habit, she does show off her acting talents here, commanding most scenes she is in. Still, there has been a long history of nunsploitatipn films that fetishized those ladies of the cloth, and IMMACULATE seems to shamelessly take advantage of Sweeny’s sex appeal, despite her devout acting. Its these sleazy aspects such as multiple scenes of Sweeney in the shower or bath and in various states of undress, that seems to be fully embraced by the director, even though Sweeney is treating it all like Shakespeare. Good for her for trying to make the film better than it really deserves to be.

While gory and violent, one of the things that separates IMMACULATE from THE FIRST OMEN is that the latter is up close and personal during these scenes of horror. You feel the horrors going on in THE FIRST OMEN on a tactile level. IMMACULATE takes a more traditional view of the spooky and disgusting parts. It stands back and amps the oddity of the convent, the nuns, and the gruesome and scary acts and details they convey. Because of that, IMMACULATE’s gore, and there is a plenty, is less effective.

That is, except for one scene. Close to the end, we do get right up in the face of Sidney Sweeney, and these are the most compelling moments of the film, making it stand out among many of its genre. Had more of the film been as in your face as these final, raw moments, it would have been a much more effective movie. While IMMACULATE contains a lot of gruesome and downright blasphemous scenes that work in an icky ooky way, they feel like standard operating procedure for an antichrist horror movie. It’s this final scene that elevates this film, makes it dangerous, and highlights Sidney Sweeney’s talent as a talented and brave actress.

I think any other year, IMMACULATE would have made more of an impact. It is an effective little nunsploitatipn flick. But because it was released the same year as THE FIRST OMEN, a much more superior film, it feels more like your run of the mill religious horror film. I had fun with the film as it goes through the motions of blasphemous religious imagery, fetishized nunny stuff, and effective gore. But despite its in your face ending, it fails to stand apart from many, many other movies in this subgenre of horror.

The Best in Horror Countdown 2023-2024
#31 – HERE FOR BLOOD (DESTROY ALL NEIGHBORS)
#30 – THANKSGIVING (THE SACRIFICE GAME)
#29 – MILK & SERIAL (LOWLIFES)
#28 – PROJECT SILENCE (FROGMAN)
#27 – THE SEEDING (DARK HARVEST)
#26 – BEEZEL (THE FRESH HELL TRILOGY)
#25 – ABERRANCE (COLD MEAT)
#24 – OUT OF DARKNESS (ALL YOU NEED IS DEATH)
#23 – ARCADIAN (A QUIET PLACE: DAY ONE)
#22 – YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME (GHOSTS OF THE VOID)
#21 – NEVER LET GO (LOVELY, DARK, & DEEP)
#20 – ABIGAIL (BLACKOUT)
#19 – SPEAK NO EVIL (EIGHT EYES)
#18 – BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE (LISA FRANKENSTEIN)
#17 – MAXXXINE (SHERYL)
#16 – CUCKOO (AMELIA’S CHILDREN)
#15 – 15 CAMERAS (MIDNIGHT PEEPSHOW)
#14 – DO NOT DISTURB (KILL YOUR LOVER)
#13 – WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS (HELL HOLE)
#12 – ALIEN: ROMULUS (INFESTED)
#11 – HELL HOUSE LLC ORIGINS: THE CARMICHAEL MANOR (V/H/S/85)
#10 – STOP MOTION (MONOLITH)
#9 – IN A VIOLENT NATURE (HUNDREDS OF BEAVERS)
#8 – THE COFFEE TABLE (HANDLING THE UNDEAD)
#7 – THE FIRST OMEN (IMMACULATE)
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