"It Is Not a Rip-Off; It's a Homage!"

Liam Neeson's Peter Swan, the cinéaste director from Harry Callahan's fifth outing, The Dead Pool (1988), is still a relevant caricature of pretentious film makers churning out slop as art today. Knowledge of great film works and paying tribute to them is nothing new (just ask Brian De Palma and Quentin Tarantino!), but the homage is more often used today as a lazy Get-Out-of -Jail-Free card to absolve a film from any obvious flaws; the very reason why Ti West's MaXXXine (2024) left a bitter aftertaste for me after the dust had settled.

Arkasha Stevenson's The First Omen (2024), the completely unnecessary prequel to the iconic, seventies spawn of Satan horror, The Omen (1976), should not have been conceived. That's the studio's greed, for sure. However, its writing team play a part, too. The prequel is jarringly subversive, factually wrong and retroactively so shoved in, that it's nothing but a huge disservice to the original. Thanks to its ridiculous twist, it sets up the potential for further films. The prequel is a mess that intentionally strays away from its source material whilst piggybacking off the reputation of its superior predecessor. However, its seventies Italian horror vibe and Nell Tiger Free's solid lead performance are the few redeeming aspects in this parasitic film; saving it from being amongst the worst I've watched this year.

If leeching off its predecessor isn't enough, how about blatantly ripping-off Isabelle Adjani's unforgettable subway scene from Andrzej Żuławski's art-house horror Possession (1981)? Other than it being a shameless "homage", the worst part about The First Omen's tribute is how workmanlike it's presented in the film. Devoid of any real resonance when compared to Adjani's disturbingly shocking scene. It merely exists so cinephiles get the reference. A happy meal for kino heads.

The First Omen wasn't the only bun-in-the-coven themed film this year; Apartment 7A (2024), a prequel to Rosemary's Baby (1968), is even worse; thanks to it repeating the entire plot of the original, but with a couple of eye-rolling musical numbers and immersion breaking millennial writing. Alternatively, Immaculate (2024), the other nun themed horror from this year, might be the pick of the bunch, as, despite its flaws, it's practically the same plot as The First Omen sans the incongruous retrofitting ruining the film, and its homages being far subtler. Thus, it's a better film.