Abigail Review: A Horror Comedy With Some Teeth
Ken Jones, OnScreen Blog Chief Film Critic
Not knowing many details beyond the film's premise, halfway through the new vampire flick Abigail, I thought, “This movie has a similar energy to Ready or Not.” There’s a reason for that, as it is by the same directing duo behind Ready or Not (and the last two Scream movies), Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.
A crew of low-level criminals kidnap a 12-year-old named Abigail (Alisha Weir) and hold her for ransom. Turns out that her father is a very wealthy and influential figure in the criminal underworld. It also turns out that Abigail is no ordinary 12-year-old, but a vampire. Her captors are her victims, finding themselves unwittingly locked down and trapped in the secluded mansion they’re holed up in with seemingly no way out.
Hired by a man named Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), the group of criminals are given Rat Pack names, so no one knows each other’s identities: Joey (Melissa Barrera), Frank (Dan Stevens), Sammy (Kathryn Newton), Peter (Kevin Durand), Dean (Angus Cloud), and Rickles (Will Catlett). Each has different skills (driver, computer hacker, sniper, dimwit muscle, etc.), and all of them are in a position where they are desperate and need the money the ransom would potentially provide them.
Ultimately, though, the plot and the character backgrounds are just window dressing, as the draw of this movie is the comedic horror of a group of grown-ups being stalked as prey of a vampire in the shape of a pre-teen girl like she is the xenomorph in Alien and they’re the crew of the Nostromo. This movie is a lot of fun.
Outside of Melissa Barrera’s lead character, everyone else on the crew is more or less archetype, which is fine because they’re also more or less disposable victims for Abigail to torment and/or feast on. But the interplay between them and their banter produces plenty of laughs, especially Kevin Durand as the dimwitted French-Canadian muscle of the crew. Dan Stevens is chewing some serious scenery throughout the film, really laying into a New Yorker accent.
Also entertaining is the crew using trial and error to figure out what works and what is just myth when fighting a vampire while trying to find a way out of their trap. Abigail toying with her food gives them more time to try and fail at some things while stumbling onto other things. Much like Ready or Not, the movie also features some over-the-top levels of gore; some of that is for horror effect, but most of it is for comedic effects.
Beyond the enjoyment of watching Abigail, I had two additional takeaways. The first is that young actress Alisha Weir must have had a blast making this film as the embodiment of a classic movie monster that all of the adults in the film are terrified of and are trying to ward off, escape, or futilely attack. That must be enjoyable for a 12-year-old. Abigail also does ballet, so the film incorporates balletic movement and operatic music into the festivities for an entertaining contrast to the blood and gore.
The second is that I wished I had not known this was a vampire film going into it. The movie's script plays it out to be a big twist, so, unfortunately, the reveal of that twist was all over the marketing of this movie. It would have been great to go into this movie knowing that there was a twist but not knowing precisely what it was because as a viewer, I could see all the beats leading up to the reveal for what they were instead of wondering where things were going. It didn’t prevent me from enjoying the overall product, but it could have been an even better experience.
Many people talk about mindless action flicks and movies that you can turn your brain off and enjoy; often this is an excuse to justify a brainless movie. Abigail is a movie you can turn your brain off and enjoy the ride because it is a quality horror comedy made by competent people with a proven track record in the horror genre. Fans of Ready or Not and other winking horror flicks should enjoy this.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars