The First Omen director Arkasha Stevenson joins us to discuss her feature directorial debut, working with “dark wizard” FX artists Adrien Morot and Kathy Tse of Morot FX Studio. Plus, the fake baby modeled on a body scan of the producer’s baby and how Nell Tiger Free made Stevenson cry on set very early during the shoot of The Omen prequel.
The film utilizes women’s screams and voices in the soundscape and uses it to build a world of body horror to “really remind you who is under the knife” which was a key element for Stevenson. When listing her favorite horror movies of all time, she names classics like The Exorcist and Audition before pointing to a potentially surprising inspiration for The First Omen.
“Klute is a really good example of the horrors that women go through. It subverts your expectation of what you think a horror film is because it’s really a character study.” Check out our full interview with Stevenson below.
For more with Arskasha Stevenson, read our in-depth interview on how The First Omen almost received an NC-17 rating. Here’s the full synopsis:
When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
The First Omen is now in theaters. Find your local The First Omen showtimes here.
