Unless you’re Fast & Furious, sequels can only take a franchise so far. Eventually, it starts to make more sense to just look backward, and that goes double for horror franchises. The latest to turn back the clock is The Omen, which returns with a prequel to the 1976 classic, The First Omen.
Nell Tiger Free, who definitely knows her way around creepy shit as part of M. Night Shyamalan’s Servant series, stars in The First Omen as an American woman sent to work at a church in Rome, only to discover a conspiracy to see the rise of the Antichrist.
Also in the cast are Tawfeek Barhom, Bill Nighy, Sônia Braga, and Ralph Ineson.
The film is directed and co-written by Arkasha Stevenson. Keith Thomas, director of the recent Firestarter remake, is aboard as a co-writer, too.
Here’s the synopsis: In this prequel directed by Arkasha Stevenson, a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church. She encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
20th Century Studios will release The First Omen into theaters on April 5th.
