The First Omen cast share the real-life moment on set that left them spooked

Nell Tiger Free was midway through filming a scene for The First Omen, the upcoming prequel to Richard Donner’s classic antichrist horror, when something spooked her. The First Omen is in UK cinemas from 5 April.

Video transcript

JACK SHEPHERD: Your director said that she was on set and was filming a scene in a piazza and said that she felt kind of off that day. And then she spoke to the gaffer or someone, and they said, oh, it's because the circumference of this place is 6-6-6, which sounds quite creepy and spooky. So I'm wondering if either of you had any creepy, spooky stories from the set of "The First Omen"?

NELL TIGER FREE: I was staring at Ralph's necklace one day-- Ralph Ineson, who plays father Brennan. And he had this crucifix on. And we'd just done a possession scene, so it was-- you know, tensions were high. And I was sort of just, like, locked in a gaze at his neck, at this crucifix. And I promise-- I was about to swear there. Sorry.

I promise you, it just snapped in half, this crucifix, and just fell off of his neck. And the two of us were like, what has-- and because we were-- emotions were already running high, we genuinely thought we had just seen a ghost. Like, it was-- listen, there's more, OK? There's better ones.

JACK SHEPHERD: Apparently you had worn holy socks from the Vatican.

BILL NIGHY: I was.

JACK SHEPHERD: That's what I heard.

NELL TIGER FREE: He did.

BILL NIGHY: I was wearing holy socks. Everything I was wearing was blessed--

NELL TIGER FREE: You were un-hauntable.

BILL NIGHY: --was blessed by the-- was sanctioned by the church. I went to the Vatican tailor. I was measured and dressed by the Vatican tailors.

JACK SHEPHERD: Very nice.

BILL NIGHY: Yeah. It would have made my grandmother very happy.

JACK SHEPHERD: I mean, you used the word harrowing. That's quite an experience, I imagine. I imagine this whole film was quite an experience.

NELL TIGER FREE: Yeah. [LAUGHS]

JACK SHEPHERD: Yeah. [LAUGHS] How do you think audiences will react to, like, a scene like that? What are you hoping they kind of get from it?

BILL NIGHY: One of your colleagues came in earlier and said that the film had traumatized her.

NELL TIGER FREE: Brilliant news.

BILL NIGHY: That's pretty much what we're looking for.

NELL TIGER FREE: Excellent news.

JACK SHEPHERD: You want to traumatize people?

BILL NIGHY: Well, it's horror, you know?

NELL TIGER FREE: Yeah.

BILL NIGHY: People pay their money. They don't want to come out un-traumatized, you know?

NELL TIGER FREE: If they're not--

BILL NIGHY: They want--

NELL TIGER FREE: --traumatized,

BILL NIGHY: --to be--

NELL TIGER FREE: --we're doing something wrong.

BILL NIGHY: Yeah.

NELL TIGER FREE: [LAUGHS]

BILL NIGHY: I think-- yeah, I mean, you know, it can be fun. You know? If you play these kind of scenes, sometimes, I mean, it gets really daft, as well as harrowing.

NELL TIGER FREE: Oh, yeah.

BILL NIGHY: It's also preposterous.

NELL TIGER FREE: [LAUGHS]