THE FIRST OMEN

119 mins

20th Century Studios

Available from May 28 on digital platforms. Starring: Nell Tiger Free, Sonia Braga, Nicole Sorace, Ralph Ineson, Maria Caballero, Bill Nighy.

American novitiate Margaret Daino (Nell

Tiger Free) travels to 1971 Rome from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, at the invitation of Cardinal Lawrence (Bill Nighy), who helped turn her life around a er a di cult start growing up in care.

Before she formally takes her vows and devotes herself to God, Margaret works at an orphanage run by Sister Silvia (Sonia Braga).

Roommate Luz Valez (Maria Caballero) encourages Margaret to savour the capital’s nightlife before they both don habits and make solemn pledges of poverty, chastity and obedience.

At the orphanage, Margaret is inextricably drawn to emotionally troubled teenager Carlita (Nicole Sorace).

“Bad things happen around her,” ominously confides Sister Silvia.

Ex-communicated priest Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson) approaches Margaret with terrifying suspicions.

He believes high-ranking members of the clergy intend to birth a new Antichrist to rekindle devotion to the church and Carlita is pivotal to the plan.

The First Omen su ers the grave misfortune of arriving a er the Sydney Sweeney horror Immaculate about an American novitiate entangled in a diabolical plot in an Italian convent.

Narrative arcs of the two pictures are spookily similar and both delight in gruesome make-up e ects, to the point that viewers will be able to second-guess the intentions of director Arkasha Stevenson’s prequel to