The supporting cast does well and it is always good to see Sônia Braga in a major film, but it is Nicole Sorace who is Free’s acting equal. In only her first feature, the actress is in full command of Carlita’s emotions. The young orphan has a face that is at once menacing and kind and Sorace finds the fear, heart, and the humanity of a misunderstood child living in pure terror.

As for the frights, the film has many and succeeds where 99 percent of modern horror films fail. Cinematographer Aaron Morton and his director craft an unrelenting horror atmosphere that haunts the audience like a demon, holding its aural grip until the final frame. Maria Luigia Battani’s first-rate production design partners well with Morton’s camera, using the dark spaces and gothic Italian architecture to create a macabre visual palette of impending doom and inescapable evil that sometimes achieves a Giallo feel.

Of course, there are a few unavoidable jump scares, but those quick moments are perfunctory, as the real chills come from director Stevenson’s excellent cinematic eye and understanding of what scares you.

Mixing its hair-raising chills with a scene or two of extreme body horror, The First Omen finds itself with a moment that will shock and surprise even the most jaded of horror fans. As Margaret witnesses a seemingly crazed pregnant woman being tied to an operating table, audiences will experience one of the most grotesquely intense “birthing” sequences in film history. Showing his skills as a horror filmmaker, Stevenson teases viewers with quick glimpses of what iMargaret is witnessing, until unleashing the scene’s horrific payoff that will certainly have audiences gasping while David Cronenberg will be smiling with glee.

Horror cinema has long dealt with devil worship and the sinister Catholic Church and there are some elements found here that we have seen many times before. What makes Arkasha Stevenson’s film so special is its respect for the Richard Donner original and the director’s desire to actually frighten his audience. Stevenson proves himself a confident and skilled horror filmmaker.

Through unnervingly sinister imagery and some genuinely terrifying moments, The First Omen is a welcome surprise and the first great horror film of 2024.

The First Omen

Written by Tim Smith, Keith Thomas, & Arkasha Stevenson

Directed by Arkasha Stevenson

Starring Nell Tiger Free, Sônia Braga, Nicole Sorace, Bill Nighy, Ralph Ineson, Charles Dance

R, 120 Minutes, 20th Century Studios, Phantom Four Films