The First Omen, like so many latter day spin offs, of well respected franchises, fails to understand what made the original films so successful.

I well remember the original Omen film and how it held me. Its intricate story, which chillingly displaced a sense of normalcy with a ever growing horror and otherworldly menace, was truly compelling.

By contrast. The First Omen lacks true progression and originality. For well over half the film, it is, in fact, rather dull. It does make vain attempts to utilises tropes and events of the earlier films but fails to develop a measurably meaningful, original narrative, to accompany them. Moreover, as other reviewers have stated, quite correctly, in my view, its safe ending does little to mitigate the overriding sense of cinematic malaise.

In summary, if you have never experienced the Omen franchise, don't start with this film. The original films are horror masterpieces, well worth your time. By contrast, this film will, I suspect, be remembered as a minor footnote with Omen fans, like myself and that's if its lucky.