VS.

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July holiday and still have all their fingers! I’ve taken the time off to catch up on a couple of horror flicks I’d had on my list to see from earlier this year. Immaculate and The First Omen.

I’m not not going to get into very much detail on each film, but there are some discussions that can be had about them. First, I think they were released too close together considering their stories. Both films involve nuns, secret dark stuff happening at the convent, and little babies. Immaculate was a moderate success with a worldwide $27 million take on a $9 million budget. It was a starring vehicle for Sydney Sweeney who is trying to use her association with Madame Web to her advantage. Yeah, she was in a bad movie, but any publicity is good publicity, right?

The First Omen was released a few weeks after Immaculate grossing almost $54 million worldwide on a much larger $30 million dollar budget. One tripled its haul while the other didn’t double its budget. Neither made serious bank, but didn’t tank either. Hooray for horror in the cinema!

Between the two movies, I liked The First Omen better. I know I view it more favorably because I am a huge fan of the Omen series, and I found this to be a worthy prequel to the original film series. Nell Tiger Free (from the M. Night Shyamalan produced show Servant) turns in a good performance as well as Ralph Ineson portraying a priest trying to find the truth behind one of the convent’s wards. Of the two films, this was also the one I viewed first.

While Immaculate held up fine and is a good, creepy movie to watch, the ‘twist’ to the usual ‘person gets pregnant with spooky baby’ troupe didn’t feel like it was thought out all the way. It makes the head priest’s motivations and job muddled. Was he a priest in name only? Did he have his other job along with being a priest? Did someone write it in the script hoping nobody would think logically about it?

Both films are related because they share much of the same thematic DNA. While not twins, they are definitely first cousins. The twist in The First Omen can be seen a mile away, but it didn’t take me out of the movie because it was so obvious. Heck, I was ready for them to do the reveal sooner so we could get on with it. Immaculate‘s was out of the blue in comparison.

In closing, both are worthy of viewing. They may have had better box office runs but were released too close together. Hopefully, they have good numbers on streaming and in digital sales. I rate The First Omen 4 out of 5 tombstones and Immaculate 3.5 out of 5.

With all the stuff going on, I haven’t been on here to say that Graveside Lullabies is finally on sale on digital and in paperback! Head over to the store to pick up a signed paperback copy today! Head here for the paperback and Amazon for the digital!

Stay cool, hydrated, and have a good summer! I will see you on the flip side,

Brent