Skip to main content

At 6am, 6th June!

The First Omen (2024)
Director: Arkasha Robertson

Recently, I heard about a mysterious case of a missing teenager in Rome, Italy. She was 16 in 1983 when she was allegedly abducted. Her father was an administrative staff member in Vatican City. 40 years into her disappearance, the Italian Police never found her. Along the way, there were allegations of abduction by international terrorists, murder by serial killers and many more. Pope John Paul II was also heard to have appealed to the perpetrators to no avail. The Holy See was not spared of accusations. Conspiracy Theorists accused a convoluted union of the mob and the Papacy, a collusion between the Italian Police and the Vatican, as well as the possibility of an unmarked grave in the Vatican.

It is not the best of times for the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). At a time when many from the developed world had strayed away from Catholicism, stories of deviance and malfeasance spread quickly like wildflowers. 

This movie is set at a time when the RCC was losing its fervour. In 1971, a young nun-in-making, Margaret Daino, arrives in Rome to work in an orphanage. Margaret observes many strange things happening in the place. Many odd characters, such as senior clergy, use unconventional methods to run the institution. Margaret herself had a checkered past as a young American, moving from foster homes to foster homes and having visual hallucinations. 

Margaret discovers that certain clergy members tried to reignite people's attraction to Christianity. How they chose to do it was twisted. They invoked Satan to be born as an anti-Christ here on Earth to create mayhem so that people would once again go to the Church and God for help. Little does Margaret know she was the vessel to bear this devilish child.

The movie is actually the prequel to the 1976 blockbuster The Omen, which told the story of the US Ambassador's wife who delivered a stillbirth. A baby boy was swapped in the place of the stillbirth without the knowledge of the mother. The swapped baby turned out to be the anti-Christ. The child, Damian, went on a killing spree, killing his parents, abetted by his disguised nanny.

In terms of horror and suspense, the 1976 version is far superior to the latest offering from the Omen franchise. Despite what IMDB may say about 'The Omen' being banned in Malaysia, I distinctly remember seeing its posters around Penang in my teenage years. 

Labels:
Location: Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Italy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Gory historic details or gore fest?

Razakar:  The Silent Genocide Of Hyderabad  (Telegu, 2024) Director:  Yata Satyanarayana In her last major speech before her disposition, Sheikh Hasina accused those who opposed her rule in Bangladesh of being Razakars. The opposition took offence to this term and soon widespread mob throughout the land. Of course, it is not that that single incident brought down an elected government but a culmination of joblessness and unjust reservations for a select population group. In the Bengali psyche, Razakar is a pejorative term meaning traitor or Judas. It was first used during the 1971 Pakistan Civil War. The paramilitary group who were against the then-East Pakistani leader, Majibur Rehman, were pro-West Pakistan. After establishing independence in Bangladesh, Razakars were disbanded, and many ran off to Pakistan. Around the time of Indian independence, turmoil brewed in the princely state of Hyderabad, which had been a province deputed by the Mughals from 1794. The rule of N...
Post a Comment
Read more

The products of a romantic star of the yesteryear!

Now you see all the children of Gemini Ganesan (of four wives, at least) posing gleefully for the camera after coming from different corners of the world to see the ailing father on his deathbed. They seem to found peace with the contributor of their half of their 46 chromosomes. Sure, growing up must have been hell seeing their respective mothers shedding tears, indulgence in unhealthy activities with one of them falling prey to the curse of the black dog, hating the sight of each step sibling, their respective heartaches all because of the evil done by one man who could not put his raging testesterones under check! Perhaps,the flashing lights and his dizzying heights that his career took clouded his judgement. After all, he was only human... Gems of Gemini Ganesan L-R: Dr Revathi Swaminathan, Narayani Ganesan, Dr Kamala Selvaraj, Rekha, Vijaya Chamundeswari   and Dr Jaya Shreedhar.  ( Abs:  Radha Usman Syed, Sathish Kumaar Ganesan) Seeing six of Ge...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chicken's Invite? (Ajak-ajak ayam)

In the Malay lingo, the phrase 'ajak-ajak ayam' refers to an insincere invitation. Of course, many of us invite for courtesy's sake, but then the invitee may think that the invitation is for real! How does anyone know? Inviters and invitees must be smart enough to take the cue that one party may have gatecrashed with ulterior motives, or the other may not want him to join in the first place! Easily twenty years ago, my family was invited to a toddler's birthday party. As my children were toddlers, too, we were requested to come early so that my kids could run around and play in their big compound. And that the host said she would arrange a series of games for them to enjoy. So there we were in the early evening at a house that resembled very little of one immersed in joy and celebration. Instead, we were greeted by a house devoid of activities and no guests. The host was still out shopping her last-minute list, and her helper was knee-deep in her preparations to ...
2 comments
Read more