By Keith Walther | Rose Law Group Reporter
A child vampire ballerina kidnapped by unsuspecting criminals may sound like a ridiculously dumb premise for a horror film, but it works and works extremely well. “Abigail” is as fast paced as a bullet train from the opening moments and barely slows to allow the audience to catch their collective breath. It achieves that magical combination of intense horror and hilarious comedy that hasn’t been seen since “The Cabin in the Woods” or “Evil Dead Rise.”
A ragtag team of criminals is assembled by Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) to execute a kidnap for ransom operation. The target is a young teenage girl by the name of Abigail (Alisha Weir), and the score could net each of the kidnappers millions of dollars. After returning home from ballet practice, Abigail is quickly subdued, abducted flawlessly, and transported to a creepy old mansion where things begin taking a turn.
The team, consisting of Joey (Melissa Barrera), Rickles (William Catlett), Sammy (Kathryn Newton), Peter (Kevin Durand), Dean (Angus Cloud), and led by Frank (Dan Stevens) settles in for the night while they await the big payout from the girl’s father. Things get weird when all exits become sealed and heads begin to roll, literally. When Abigail reveals her true nature as a bloodsucking monster, the group forgets all about fortune and instead tries to figure out how they will survive the macabre house of evil.
This is a wildly entertaining thrill ride filled with copious amounts of blood. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have cultivated a reputation for creating slasher style horror flicks that emphasize bloodletting and they take that to another level with “Abigail.” Their previous films, “Ready or Not” and the last two “Scream” productions, have established these directors as a force to be reckoned with in the horror genre with their signature style of momentum building suspense, humorous situational comedy, and extreme gore. There is so much blood throughout the movie that even the actors admit it is likely the goriest movie they have ever been a part of, and the audience will walk away subconsciously checking themselves for traces of blood spatter that surely must have sprayed from the screen.
The directors consider this a loose remake of 1936’s “Dracula’s Daughter,” focusing on a more viciously sadistic type of vampire film rather than the often-romanticized kind of vampire movie. While Matt and Tyler definitely use a gruesome approach, they don’t rely on it to generate fear. They demonstrate experienced skill in lighting the fuse to build the tension to a palpable level, bringing the audience close to the edge, before exploding the moment in a sea of blood. They also make sure viewers don’t take the film too seriously, adding unexpected situations of dark humor during high intensity scenes. Like having some of the characters stumble into a room featuring the teenage looking vamp dancing with a headless corpse that the audience can’t suppress their inappropriate giggles.
While having accomplished directors certainly helps to set the stage for an entertaining motion picture, “Abigail” also requires a highly talented young actress to pull off the title role, and Alisha Weir is just that actress. The 14-year-old Irish star was spectacular, believably portraying a scared, innocent, and victimized girl of a kidnapping, only to flip the switch into this maniacally psychotic vampire cunningly manipulating her prey at every turn. Having studied ballet herself growing up, she even performs a majority of the stunts herself. It is a truly remarkable and mesmerizing performance that shows a level of talent few actors and actresses at her age possess. The future is bright for Alisha Weir.
There may not be very recognizable names amongst the rest of the cast, but they also perform their respective roles wonderfully. Melissa Barrera, who had a solid showing in “Scream VI,” puts together another impressive performance in a crucial lead role as the recovering drug addict looking to earn one last score to get her life and son back. Kevin Durand offers some of the comic relief as the hired muscle who has a slower intellect. Kathryn Newton, recently coming off her strangely entertaining lead performance in “Lisa Frankenstein,” creates some of the most memorable moments of comedy.
“Abigail” may be excessively gory for some, but the quality filmmaking and acting promote surprisingly high entertainment value with more than enough comedy and thrilling suspense to happily satisfy most horror fans. In fact, you’ll likely have such a good time seeing this movie that you’ll want to return to the theater to experience it all over again. Must-see horror films are a rarity, so don’t miss the opportunity to see this one.
This movie earns:
