Mike Flanagan is my kind of movie lover. He has valid, insightful, constructive thoughts on the horror genre and beyond. The Hush director sometimes shares his reactions to the content he’s been consuming via Letterboxd. Following the release of The First Omen, Flanagan penned a rave review of the film on the platform.
Flanagan was taken by the performances and direction. He came away optimistic about the future of the series. “This was absolutely excellent. Arkasha Stevenson roars onto the scene with this absolute knockout debut feature that is wicked, vicious, elegant, beautifully directed, and downright SCARY. Nell Tiger Free is exceptional. I don’t know of another time I’ve seen a franchise I thought was dead gasp so vibrantly back to life. As the credits began to roll, I found myself actively hoping for another installment.”
“Expect great, great things from Arkasha Stevenson.”
Horror Revived By Hulu
In addition to impressing Mike Flanagan, the film was also a hit with critics. The picture is ‘certified fresh’ on Rotten Tomatoes with an approval rating of 81%. Despite all that, The First Omen didn’t perform as expected at the box office.
Against an estimated budget of $30 million, the picture pulled in just over $20 million in the U.S. and Canada and a collective global total of $52.7 million. After factoring out marketing expenses and the percentage theaters take, that’s an underwhelming return. But box office yield is only one piece of the puzzle and moviegoers are fickle. Accordingly, ticket sales are not always a reliable indicator of quality.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the setup, The First Omen follows a woman who starts to question her own faith when she uncovers a terrifying conspiracy to bring about the birth of evil incarnate in Rome.
Seeing as The First Omen is now streaming on Hulu, you can check it out for yourself to see where you stand on the recently released prequel.
That’s all we’ve got for you at present. Stay tuned to the site for more recommendations from your favorite filmmakers as we uncover them!
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