Every now and then Hollywood will release two films close to each other that focus on a similar subject. Past examples include A Bug's Life & Antz, Dante's Peak & Volcano, White House Down & Olympus has Fallen and many more. This year we got the two Devil Baby movie releases within a couple of months of each other, Immaculate and The First Omen. I'm always fascinated when this happens so I was eager to see both films and see just how similar and different they were and also to determine which is the superior Devil Baby movie of 2024.
THE REVIEWS:
IMMACULATE:
First up was Immaculate with Sydney Sweeny which focuses on a young girl, who is invited to an Italian convent, but slowly realizes the terrifying secrets it harbors which may include a Devil Baby. Immaculate was... fine. Most of it was typical horror movie stuff, walking down a dark spooky corridor, or jump scares out of nowhere. I will say the story ended up being less predictable than I expected.
It seems Sydney Sweeney is all the rage these days. This is only the second thing I've seen her in, the first being Madame Web, and she was also... fine. She sure can scream and she's good at looking distressed.
Honestly, I wish the whole movie could've been as bold and interesting as the last couple minutes. That was definitely the highlight and most likely the thing people will talk about in regards to this film.
THE FIRST OMEN:
Next up was The First Omen which follows a young American novitiate, Margaret as she waits to take the veil in a Roman orphanage and discovers what secrets might lie within the halls of the convent. (sounds familiar eh?) This is actually My first Omen. I haven't seen any of the other films because honestly, this is the first one that interested me. And knowing very little about the franchise really didn't hinder this experience at all. I liked it. It was creepy in more ways than one and its Direction was consistently interesting and meaningful. The star Nell Tiger Free really impressed me as well. I have a feeling she's going to have an interesting career after this worth keeping an eye on. Also, this is an obscure reference, any fans of that infamous scene from the 80s film Possession will be in for a treat. In fact, there were a couple of scenes that were definitely a little uncomfortable to experience with a full room of strangers but hey that's a Devil Baby movie for ya. Overall I thought it was really well done but I don't know if it has made me want to dive into the rest of The Omen series anytime soon.
THE COMPARISON
STORY: I'll give this one to Immaculate because at its core it has a more original and interesting concept. It's just a shame it all comes out in the last 5 minutes. It's like they had the idea for the twist and built the whole movie around it but could never make the film itself as interesting.
ACTING: Both films are carried by solid lead performances but I gotta give this one to Nell Tiger Free in the First Omen. To be fair she was given so much more to do than Sydney Sweeney in Immaculate. But Nell Tiger Free crushed it. She kept me captivated throughout.
DIRECTION: This one is going to Arkasha Stevenson for the First Omen for sure. It was just so much more interesting to watch. So many more artistic choices were being made to tell the story here than in Immaculate which kinda dragged at times.
HORROR: First Omen actually spooked me out a couple of times. Immaculate never came close. The First Omen is so much creepier, spookier, and more disturbing. The R rating attached felt necessary whereas Immaculate felt like it could've been PG-13. Any death scenes are much more effective in First Omen as well.
ENDING: This I'll give to Immaculate because the ending was the best part. The First Omen doesn't necessarily end in any surprising fashion and there's a twist that is incredibly obvious from the start of the film. But Immaculate has an ending that was bold and surprising and nearly made the whole thing worth watching.
DEVIL BABY: To explain this one could potentially go into Spoiler territory so I'll just give it to First Omen and say the process of that pregnancy and birth is much more unpleasant than Immaculate. Not that either would be ideal, obviously.
So I guess in the end The First Omen is the better of the recently released Devil Baby movies for whatever that is worth.
NOTABLE SIMILARITIES: Mild Spoiler Warning. (Also to be fair some of these elements are also present in almost Every Devil Baby film)
-Young American girl who has grown up in the church comes to Italian Church to prepare for some kind of official Nun promotion ceremony.
-Someone in the church publicly takes their own life.
-Main character gets a spunky new best friend who is a local preparing for the same ceremony.
-There's an off putting/antagonistic nun who has issues with the main girl for reasons relating to the twist who meet similar fates.
-Intense one-shot scene that looks like it was exhausting for the star to shoot.
-Sinister plan from the church in an attempt to gain power and respect.
-Gentle Male figure in the church that can definitely be trusted.
There are more but they would go into Major Spoiler territory and I don't wanna ruin anything if someone has any interest to see one of these.
So, there you are. If any of you check out either one of these films, I'd be curious to know your thoughts. If you've seen both of these films which one do YOU feel is superior!? That's Your Quarters Worth, thanks for reading and Stay Geeky.
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