Abigail releases April 19th, 2024.
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett had one of the surprise hits of 2019 with their horror-comedy-action-thriller romp Ready or Not. It was a hit with critics and audiences alike, leading it to become yet another horror money-maker at the box office. It featured creative action, no shortage of gore, plenty of laughs, and a fully committed cast. I’m not the biggest horror fan, but horror movies like this reel me in every time. The trailers for Abigail, the pair’s latest horror-action-comedy promised more of the same, giving off serious “spiritual sequel” energy. So how does this new release stack up?
Abigail Plot
Taking inspiration from the 1936 film Dracula’s Daughter, Abigail kicks off with a criminal crew kidnapping the eponymous Abigail from her home after returning from ballet practice. The plan is simple enough: hold her captive until her insanely wealthy father pays their ransom demand of $50 million. They expect the whole ordeal to be over within 24 hours. Hanging out in a mansion essentially babysitting a small 12 year old girl who’s handcuffed to a bed? Pretty sweet gig for a criminal.
But if only it were so simple and easy. You see, Abigail has a secret. She’s not just your average pre-teen girl. She’s a centuries-old vampire who has some seriously bloody plans for revenge on the unsuspecting crew. Their night is about to get a lot worse.
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Abigail Critique
There are two main critiques against Abigail. The first being that it takes its time getting into the really good stuff. It lingers a touch too long on the setup, in a way that sometimes feels like nothing more than wanting to pad the runtime a little bit. With trailers and marketing focusing on the “Abigail is actually a vampire” reveal, there’s no reason to not get to the gore and action sooner.
The other bigger mark against it is its predictability. Each person in the crew is established in a way where you can fairly easily pinpoint which characters will get killed off, and even in what order. The plotting is pretty by the numbers as well. Of course, there are some twists and turns along the way to throw you off. But most of the main beats won’t come as much of a surprise to many.
That being said, those pieces – while they do hold the movie back a little bit – are almost inconsequential to the enjoyment and experience of Abigail. Even with the slightly meandering beginning, there’s still a looming sense of dread. You know the night is going to get very, very bad for the group, but you don’t know when. The suspense builds and builds until the onslaught finally begins.
The predicitability – the “boot order” if you will, if I want to force a Survivor reference into this review – matters less because, honestly, you won’t really care about most of the characters. Usually, that would be a bad thing. But here? Not so much. Each character serves a purpose, and serves it well. But they’re not all exactly set up as people to root for. So whether this character or that character dies or survives doesn’t matter so much; you’re just along to enjoy the ride.
Once Abigail kicks it into high gear, the action is one of the highlights. Raw, and filled with gore, it’s not for the faint of heart. But those that can stomach it are in for a treat. Abigail’s ballet skills are featured quite a bit in some of the movie’s more fun sequences. And honestly, they could have gone even harder in that direction.
Abigail has an intriguing premise with good action, but none of that matters if the cast isn’t up to the task. And boy is this cast up to it. There is not a weak link in the bunch. When you talk about good ensemble cast work, this is what you’re talking about. Everyone plays their part perfectly, and they all play off each other so well.
Melissa Barrera as Joey is the anchor that holds everything together. So much of the movie’s success hinges on her performance, and she nails it. And her steady hand allows the supporting players to take the movie to the next level. They work so well that even the few exposition-heavy scenes work better than they would normally have any right to. It’s a testament to great casting paving the way for great acting.
Leading that charge are Dan Stevens as Frank, the leader of the group; Kevin Durand as Peter, the dumb but friendly muscle; and Alisha Weir as the titular Abigail. Durand gets most of the more traditional laughs, often at his character’s own expense. Stevens is completely in his bag (again) as (another) sinister weirdo. But it’s Weir who upstages everyone at nearly every turn.
Weir cycles back and forth from a sweet, innocent, normal 12 year old girl to the vicious blood-thirsty vampire with the ease of someone with much more experience. While everyone else more or less plays the same one note the whole time, she gets to flex her acting muscles a bit more, showcasing quite impressive range.
In Conclusion
With Melissa Barrera anchoring a near-perfect ensemble cast, Abigail uses its A+ cast to unleash violently fun action and horror thrills – while managing to mix in its fair share of laughs along the way as well. In short, it’s an absolute blast. A few minor issues may hold it back from being reaching “great” territory, but who cares. If this is your kind of movie, it’s going to be some of the most fun you’ll have at the movies this year.
8/10
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