What’s It About
A group of would-be criminals kidnaps the 12-year-old daughter of a powerful underworld figure. Holding her for ransom in an isolated mansion, their plan starts to unravel when they discover their young captive is actually a bloodthirsty vampire.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
Abigail is a horror film that takes many liberties with what we know about vampire lore. The movie starts with six strangers brought together for a kidnapping plot involving the titular 12-year-old girl, Alisha Weir, daughter of a wealthy man who’s likely to pay a massive ransom. The kidnappers are assembled by a handler who tells them little about the mission. They must spend 24 hours together in a large, possibly haunted house, including many rooms for fights and side quests. Abigail repeatedly uses the Swan Lake music. The film shifts on its axis two or three times over 100 minutes, in time for big twists that recalibrate everything we thought we knew. The banter is well-written and delivered, especially as the kidnappers begin to turn on one another. Barrera makes an exemplary anchor for the film. Stevens is wonderfully squirrely, and Newton expertly handles her character’s twists. Durand now resembles Elon Musk so strongly that it’s a distraction. Through additional interrogation, they learn she’s the daughter of a nasty crime lord, a man with many legends attached to his name, including several about his vicious hitman with a penchant for mutilation. When one of the crew turns up dead, suspicions abound. Is the hitman in the house? Could it be one of the kidnappers? When one of the crew decides to leave, they discover a locked gate in the front doorway, at which time all of the windows suddenly become boarded up, trapping them inside the house. Their troubles worsen when they discover that Abigail is a vampire, and they’re all set to be her next meal. The directors juxtapose Abigail’s balletic grace with her brutal nature, crafting fight scenes that are as elegant as they are visceral. It’s a dance of death where every fancy pirouette could end in a fatal puncture, keeping you on your tippiest of toes until the final bow. Abigail is a blast filled with humor, horror, and a few twists. It takes much of what you expect from vampire lore and chucks it aside, leaving room for many surprises. However, while Abigail plays fast and furious with its thrilling premise, it occasionally needs to work on its storyline. The subplot involving Joey’s backstory tries to add depth but often feels more like a distracting and expected sidestep from the main event. This emotional throughline tugs too hard and ultimately derails the ending, delivering an awkwardly executed catharsis rather than the all-out, bonkers showstopper finale the premise so desperately begs it to be. Overall, Abigail is likely to appeal to horror fans of those particular actors. The film is filled with humor, horror, and a few twists, and it takes much of what you expect from vampire lore and chucks it aside, leaving room for many surprises. The fight scenes are not as predictable as some horror flicks, and the conversations are above B-grade, whether characters are tossing garlic bulbs or getting soaked in gallons of blood.
OUR RATING – A SEQUEL INDUCING 7