ABIGAIL (2024) - Movie Review

Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Starring: Alisha Weir, Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, Giancarlo Esposito
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Writer: Stephen Shields, Guy Busick
Runtime: 109 min
Rated: R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, pervasive language and brief drug use
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they're locked inside with no normal little girl.

Review:

Creepy kids are back in style. You've seen them before in movies, either as twisted psychopaths, conduits for evil, or the Antichrist himself. "Abigail" tells the story of a ballet-dancing child vampire (Alisha Weir) who preys on a group of unfortunate criminals who made the mistake of kidnapping her for ransom. Originally titled "Dracula's Daughter" like the 1936 film it's based on, the movie is part of Universal's classic monsters reboots, joining the ranks of films like "The Invisible Man", "Renfield" and "The Last Voyage of the Demeter".

"Abigail" spends at least the first 40 minutes of its running time pretending like the girl's true nature hasn't already been spoiled by every trailer, promotional photo or poster ever released. Those first 40 minutes are a bit of a slow burn, as we get to know the characters, a neo-noir bunch played by Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand and Angus Cloud. They're all unlikable to various degrees, as they should be, so we can cheer on as they get their comeuppance, but they're also not much fun to watch. They're either overly obnoxious or painfully bland, and all of them stocked up with generic backstories. Barrera's character gets some glimpses of sympathetic traits, but remains an unengaging one-dimensional protagonist throughout.

While the charaters are only any good as vampire fodder, leaving us with no one to root for, Abigail herself remains the film's only standout. Weir is fantastic as the movie's blood-thirsty preteen villain, menacing and creepy, upstaging every other cast member. She chews scenery like the best of them and even does some of her own stunts in some cleverly choreographed sequences. When the carnage eventually kicks in, the movie is a lot of fun. It's still derivative of other vampire flicks, but there's plenty to enjoy, from the overabundance of gore and spectacular makeup effects to the wonderfully detailed art direction and atmospheric cinematography by Aaron Morton ("The First Omen").

"Abigail" is a slick and stylish production with lots of eye candy, ghoulish delights and some dark humor thrown in. Equal parts entertaining and silly, it's a step forward for "Scream" 5 and 6 directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett in proving that they are well versed in the genre. It's not quite worthy of the horror hall of fame, but it's a fun movie to watch during Halloween season.

SCORE: 7/10