Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, Abigail focuses on a group of kidnappers who capture and must watch over the daughter of a powerful underworld figure from whom they demand a $50 million ransom. However, they soon get more than what they bargain for when they realize that they are trapped inside with no ordinary little girl but a vampire child who hunts them down one by one.
Directing duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet have been on a serious winning streak lately when it comes to delivering awesome horror films with such entries as Ready or Not and the two recent Scream installments. And now they are back again this time taking a shot at the creature feature genre with this genre-blending vampire flick. Needless to say, I was excited to see what the duo had in store and I ended up walking out of the theater supremely satisfied with what they gave me.
Abigail f**king rules and feels like a true return to form for what vampires in media should be like after being stuck in dread Twilight Era for so many years. It offers a fresh and freaky approach to the vampire story while being appropriately and entertainingly gory in so many different ways. The twists are sharp, the ensemble cast is fun, the campy humor is hilarious, the technical elements are stellar and it’s just a damn bloody great time for all horror fans.
It feels so good to have a passionately made creature feature on the big screen that isn’t lazily written, cheaply made, or unbearably predictable as many have been in recent years, except for a few notable ones. Given the many surprises this film has this will be a non-spoiler review and I won’t go into any major details regarding the characters or plot.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett recruited a stellar ensemble cast to play a surprisingly likable band of misfit criminals that you get time to get attached to in various ways before shit hits the fan. Similar to ensembles in the Scream films, this group consists of characters that represent particular horror stereotypes but each has their own particular spin on them thanks largely in part to the writing and the dedicated cast members, embracing all elements of the film in beautiful ways. Melissa Barrera, after being wrongfully fired from her role as Samantha Carpenter in the Scream franchise, retains her modern scream queen status as the awesome lead of this film, bringing great emotion and unyielding willpower as the character of Joey. She is the character you feel most attached to in this film for many reasons and her performance cements herself as someone who can be a compelling lead no matter what kind of film she is in. This proves that Spyglass majorly f**ked up dropping her from Scream and that she doesn’t need that franchise to be relevant.
Surprisingly competing with her character for the spotlight in this film is the character Frank, played absolutely perfectly by Dan Stevens. Dan Stevens has slowly but sneakily been proving himself to be an immensely talented actor with a such wide range of performances that I feel have been incredibly overlooked. We recently saw him as an extremely lovable and energetic badass in Godzilla x Kong The New Empire but here he is an absolutely intense yet strangely likable asshole that manages to chew the scenery whenever he comes on screen. Stevens understood the assignment when playing this character and goes all out in both the serious and campy sides of this film, delivering some of his best work.
Kathryn Newton also shines hugely in this film even in the supporting role of the character of Sammy. She delivers some really funny humor throughout the film but she also ends up having some surprising scenes of terror that also cement her scream queen status in horror. Like Melissa Barrera, she continues to be a rising star that I love seeing grow with every project she takes on.
One of the most underrated performances of this film for me was Kevin Durand as the muscle-bound Peter. Kevin Durand has been able to turn many brute-like characters in past projects into big lovable teddy bears that you can’t help but love, and his character in this film is definitely another one of those kinds of characters. He is physically intimidating yet full of pure and comedic heart, making him another instant favorite in a film full of favorites.
Giancarlo Esposito plays another short yet memorable role in the film as the mysterious employer of the group and has a fun twist included. Esposito manages to bring so much presence anytime he shows up in any project no matter how big or small his role is.
There is also the inclusion of the late Angus Cloud in his final role before his sudden passing last year. Even though he is not in the film for that long he committed to and embraced the silliness of his character to the fullest, making for a great final performance that was enjoyable to watch and was given a touching tribute by the end. He was an excellent young talent that was taken from us way too soon.
But the true breakout star of this film is Alisha Weir as the titular villain Abigail. She is an absolute force in this film, playing a terrifying ballerina vampire child who is absolutely relentless, delivering brutally violent kills and bloody entertainment. She talks and moves like a true bloodsucking monster that is given sadistic flair and a darkly fun personality by Alisha Weir, making for one of the most memorable vampire villains I’ve seen in years and such a joy on screen. Weir definitely has a bright future ahead of her with how much talent she has.
This film’s narrative is a massive yet cohesive blend of genres despite the potential risks. There is a perfect balance of fun gory horror, hilarious self-aware camp, and surprising moments of heart that could have easily been done wrong and yet it defies the odds with its brilliant execution. Additionally, the film ends up being full of unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat and leads to crazy as f**k sequences that I didn’t expect, especially when it came to the absolutely wild third act. This film didn’t take any of the predictable horror routes despite the presence of familiar tropes, and that kind of originality is rarely seen for a creature feature so it was honestly so refreshing for me personally.
I also like the fact that the writers of this film don’t treat the audience like idiots when it comes to how they adapt and establish their take on vampire lore. It’s clear that they know that audiences have seen many vampire films and know all the basics. They don’t waste any time explaining the rules through needless exposition and just let the film speak for itself with visual storytelling through the action and horror.
As for technical elements the filmmakers make full use of its single location premise to deliver the perfect amounts of suspense and creepy atmosphere through set design, cinematography, sound editing, and a massive amount of practical effects work. Practical effects in horror films go together like bread and butter and they can really enhance so many elements in the best way possible and that is definitely the case here as we get tons of practical gore, blood, and sets that look visually stunning. I could be wrong but I honestly didn’t see a single ounce of CGI used throughout the entire film as everything from the horror action to the violent kills to the absurd blasts of blood looked like they were done practically and looked extremely well crafted.
This film’s visuals look amazing thanks to strong cinematography and set pieces that give this film a unique visual identity similar to Ready or Not. The score by Brian Tyler is also excellent with it being overall haunting and fun, especially with the inclusion of a twisted version of Swan Lake, which serves as the main theme for Abigail. Also, we do get some comedically dark and campy dance sequences involving Abigail’s ballet skills that I thought were brilliant, feeling so fitting for the blend of tones in this film.
It makes me so happy that vampires are slowly but surely making their comeback as awesome monsters on the big screen rather than being stuck as lame teens in melodramatic love triangles that they had been trapped in for so long. Abigail is proof that the vampire genre can still be done right and done in new and original ways and I hope it opens the doors for more creature feature films to come. Everyone including horror fans are absolutely in for a treat with this film and should absolutely go see it whenever they can. I’m going to give Abigail an A = 97.
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