matt_cole1

In another review on here someone dismissed the movie as a "nostalgic cash grab" which seems strange, I can't imagine anyone thought "hey what's going to guarantee us a shed load of money? A prequel to a 50 year old horror movie that had a bunch of hoaky sequels and a bad remake." In honesty as I was watching it felt to me as a movie made by a bunch of film makers who had the same question as I did after watching the 1st Omen. Who was Damien's real mother.

The First Omen is made with a lot of love, from frame 1 the slightly longer shot lengths, composition, art direction and grade all feel like a 70's movie (unfortunately the attention to detail didn't stretch to the music with Daddy Cool by Boney M played in a club scene that was supposed to take place in 1971)

There is a palpable sense of foreboding throughout, some genuinely disturbing sequences and effective scares.

The cast is uniformly great with some very creepy nuns plus Bill Nighy and Ralph Ineson fun to watch as always.

What I found really interesting though was that the antagonists weren't just one note evil but genuinely thought what they were doing was for the good of mankind, and their reasoning kind of made sense... if you're a religious person. That gave The First Omen a surprising amount of substance.

It's not perfect, it drags a bit here and there, but it is worth a watch if you enjoyed the original. Just don't expect wall to wall blood and gore. It's a bit moodier and more ponderous than that.

I've never read the books. I own them but have not yet read them.

I love this tv show. I love the scope and scale, the elegance and sophistication. I love the big ideas and the humanity. The characters feel like real people rather than Science Fiction caricatures. It's complex but not impenetrable. It rewards you for paying attention and allows you to make up your own mind. The performances are universally compelling and the dialogue playful and nuanced. It's fun when it needs to be and has emotional weight.

It's a big old treat on the eyes and I can't wait to see where it goes next.

It starts slow but it's worth investing your time.

Tom Baker was my Doctor. Truly eccentric, funny with some genuine chills and pathos but more than that, fun.

I enjoyed Ecclestone but I found pretty much all the rest of New Who an insufferably smug exposition fest.

I've watched every episode of Ncuti's season waiting for it to go wrong and being pleasantly surprised every time.

Big, joyful and energetic with some genuinely original ideas and great characters.

Less pleased with itself than previous incarnations and focussed purely on being entertaining. This is mostly down to Ncuti Gatwa who is just a joy to watch as he eats up the scenery and takes everyone along for the ride.

More of this please. Much more.