Actress Nell Tiger Free didn’t anticipate what would occur when director Arkasha Stevenson announced, “action,” during a pivotal scene where her character encounters possession in The First Omen. The scene itself pays homage to Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 horror classic, Possession.
Free recalls,
This feminist rage took over me.The gripping performance, with its intensity and raw emotion, had some crew members so unsettled that they left the set.
The film is the sixth entry in this storied franchise and serves as a prequel to The Omen (1976), offering an origin story centered around Margaret. Free stars as the young American nun who discovers a dark conspiracy involving the Church’s attempt to breed an antichrist child.
An Homage to Possession
The production involved engaging discussions and unconventional methods. As Nell Tiger Free described,We didn’t have a choreographer. We didn’t have any rehearsal. So much of this movie is about female body horror.
The inspiration behind certain scenes is heavily drawn from one of horror cinema’s most intense moments: Isabelle Adjani’s infamous subway sequence in Possession (1981). The emotional violence depicted was described as diabolical. In another interview, Free stated, I watched tons of birth scenes before we shot and felt like women were doing too much…
going on to create a harrowing, yet strikingly real portrayal.
The homage notably capitalizes on heavy thematic elements seen in Zulawski’s interpretation, clear not only in direction but through Free’s own visceral reflections.
A Memorable Directorial Debut
Arkasha Stevenson makes an impressive feature film debut with The First Omen. Reflecting on working under a woman director for a movie so centered on women’s fears, Free observed,It just had to be a human being who had those sensitivities.
A Birth Scene To Remember
Maggie’s line summarized much of the film’s core:
I’m in pain…
The immersive reaction was shared by Nell Tiger Free herself with intense scenes that hardly felt like “acting.” Instead, she described feeling like she was merely trying to survive. The immersive experience extended to the audience, garnering praise for its depiction of forced birth and female body horror.
Follow Us
