Why The First Omen Benefitted From A Female Director

I'm not the type to really talk about gender in this way but I feel from my experience watching The First Omen (2024) which was directed by Arkasha Stevenson.

Those who know me, are aware that my fear of horror films does to an extent prevent me from even walking into the cinemas to watch them. But The First Omen (2024) was a film for work purposes so there wasn't much room for me to run.

This film isn't the kind that profits off a cheap jump scare or some random jumpy moments it is a creepy watch that terrifies you from the more the film goes on. The build-up of that terror and unease in this film is in no doubt. The way this film like any great horror film targets your thoughts making your mind fly around the many possibilities that could happen, the film also drives your imagination into overdrive, not by keeping things from you but by clueing you in on what's happening. The unease builds because you see what's happening even before the characters do at times.

Why a female director like Arkasha Stevenson was right for this film because of her perspective when directing. The way she approaches breaking down a scene will be very different from how a man would per se. This is in no way saying that a man couldn't have done a good job because of course the original Omen film was directed by the late great Richard Donner. The point I'm trying to make with this is that while the female gaze is a part of why Arkasha Stevenson's style for this film works for me, additionally the way she approaches breaking down a scene or how she presents Nell Tiger Free who plays Margaret, the main character in The First Omen (2024).

In a film like this, Arkasha Stevenson's approach was a much more introspective one that look inwards rather than the spectacle that could be found outside the character and in the world they inhabit. A male director's approach would be a more reactionary one where the main character would respond mostly to the world around them and the horror of those actions. That approach does work to a certain extent and of course, is not meant to describe all male directors' approaches but it's just how I want to illustrate just how effective Arkasha Stevenson's perspective and approach was.

The feeling of genuine fright and terror which resulted in a certain vulnerability being portrayed in this film that a male director would have typically circumvented through anger or bursts of testosterone-fueled mania was instead left with a quiet, shivering helplessness in the main character who reacted in this frozen-by-fear way which only lent itself more into the psychological terror of it all.

There was also this almost dance-like way in how Nell Tiger Free had this haunting reaction to a moment in the film that felt extremely more physical than how she acted in the rest of the film that really worked because of all the introspective work that was done prior to this moment.

All in all this film was a prequel that has set up a clear path forward for a reboot of the Omen franchise, not that the first film needed to be rebooted, being the masterpiece that it is, but if done right there is a way to pay homage to a classic while exploring uncharted territory.