Universal Pictures
The production group known as Radio Silence — Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez and Chad Villella — have made quite a splash in the horror genre over the last few years with Ready or Not, Scream and Scream VI among their credits. Now Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett return to their director’s chairs to put a new spin on the classic vampire movie with Abigail.
Abigail features a simple premise — one might say it’s just Ready or Not with a vampire — as a mysterious man named Lambert assembles a highly skilled group of people to kidnap a little girl named Abigail for 24 hours until her father coughs up $50 million for her return. To keep the possibility of any leaks to a minimum, no real names are used and no one is to discuss details of their lives. Lambert gives them names to use, and anyone familiar with the classic ‘Rat Pack’ will recognize them instantly: Frank, Joey, Sammy, Dean, Peter and Don Rickles. Joey (Melissa Barrera), however, takes offense to Frank’s (Dan Stevens) quick assessment of her (including being a junkie due to her almost obsessive consumption of candy), which she says is totally wrong (he may not actually be that far off base) so she turns the tables and reads each and every one of them with stunning accuracy … which Frank later points out almost blows their covers. Joey is tasked with being the one person to deal with Abigail so the girl only hears one voice, but she can’t help bonding with the girl as she thinks about her own son. No one knows who Abigail’s father is, but she tells Joey that they’ll never get their money because he doesn’t care about her. Reporting this news to Frank, he bursts into the girl’s room — without his mask because Abigail was supposed to be blindfolded … and he wasn’t supposed to be in the room — to find out who her father is. When she tells him, it send a chill down his spine and he immediately wants to opt out of the mission because the father is known to be a bloodthirsty killer. But the door is now blocked by a locked iron gate, and the entire house begins to seal itself off, trapping everyone inside. It only gets worse when Sammy (Kathryn Newton) discovers the headless body of Dean (Angus Cloud), and Abigail reveals her true self as everyone realizes this mission may not be what they thought it was as they go from kidnappers to dinner.
Abigail has several twists in the plot which will not be revealed here so we’ll be purposely vague in some points moving forward. What can be said is that the film is gleefully, cartoonishly violent once the ‘tiny dancer’ vampire is unleashed. As with Ready or Not, the story traps a group of people in one location but the ‘Rat Pack’ is the prey this time instead of just Grace against the family in the earlier film. The early part of the film does a good job of giving us just enough character development to root for or against the members of the group. Dan Stevens’ Frank is clearly the bad guy of the group, the hard-ass de facto leader whose shady police detective past has put a major chip on his shoulder. He clearly warns Joey not to fuck with him, but she’s not one to shy away from confrontation or fears authority (she’s ex-military). We get to know a little about each character, from the hacker Sammy to the druggie Dean (honestly a bit too unpredictable to be the group’s driver) to the muscle Peter and the sniper Rickles. Dean tries (too) hard to hook up with Sammy, while she’s more interested in Peter. Both being ex-military, Joey bonds with Rickles, and none of them trust Frank, so there’s enough there for the audience to grab on to.
Barrera does turn in a nicely layered performance, showing Joey’s vulnerability when it comes to children — her son and Abigail — with the strength to stand up to Frank, and enough survival instincts to get her through the night. Stevens’ Frank is a dick right from the start and deserves whatever comes to him once Abigail is unleashed. Kevin Durand’s Peter is supposed to be French-Canadian (as is the actor) but his accent is more meathead than Quebecer. Angus Cloud, in his final role (there is a sweet tribute to him at the end of the film), plays this stoner to perfection but his time on screen ends a bit too quickly. William Catlett gets the least screen time as Rickles so we barely get to know him (unfortunately, he’s the only Black member of the group so his limited screen time comes off as a bit egregious). Kathryn Newton is a stand-out as Sammy, not shy to shut down Dean’s advances, and no damsel in distress. Giancarlo Esposito is Lambert, again with little screen time, and there is a ‘surprise’ cameo at the end as Abigail’s father finally appears (don’t look at IMDb if you don’t want to be spoiled). Alisha Weir is outstanding as Abigail, just the perfect little girl by all accounts but when she shows her true colors, Weir easily flips from innocent to monstrous, and able to go toe-to-toe physically with the adult members of the cast. The skills of all of the actors, even in the smallest roles, allows the viewer to connect and engage with them and that makes the simplicity of the plot work.
Universal Pictures
That’s not to say the script isn’t clever, because it is. Stephen Shields and Guy Busick (Busick co-wrote Ready or Not and the two recent Scream films) have taken the premise of a group of people trapped in one location, perhaps also borrowing a bit from Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians, as they get picked off one by one while making the killer not someone unknown, putting some fun twists on traditional vampire lore. Even with the horror, there is humor built into the situation, and it all just works so well. Again, there’s a lot to the story that we don’t want to spoil, so forgive the vagueness.
Directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett know their way around an old mansion, and their setting for the film is just as much of a character as the actors. They also have fun with vampire lore, such as Abigail being able to turn a victim into her puppet after she’s been trapped in an elevator, said victim’s skin giving off the faintest bit of smoke as the sunlight hits them. The demise of any vampire — and naturally there will be people turned during Abigail’s attacks — is hilariously gory and totally unexpected even as it happens multiple times. Oddly enough, and one would assume purposely done and maybe the directors will address why, no matter how much blood someone is covered in, they’re pretty much cleaned up in the next shot keeping faces unobscured (it’s something that become noticeable with Frank, who wears glasses that are always clean after being splattered). The directing pair have done a terrific job of bringing the script to life with their cast, their sets, the stunning visuals, some truly disturbing make-up effects (the vampire teeth are quite horrifying), and tight pacing that never drags down the momentum.
Abigail won’t be a movie for everyone — and some of the snootier critics are already giving it negative reviews — but if you’re a fan of the directors’ previous films, or you enjoy vampire movies that skillfully mix horror and humor, then this is a great way to spend two hours away from the world.
Abigail has a run time of 1 hour 49 minutes, and is rated R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, pervasive language and brief drug use.
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