Gore galore in brilliant vampire comedyhorror
Abigail hits all the right notes: it is very funny, well paced, full of excellent acting and drenched in buckets of blood. By Tracy Benson
Fans of horror movies, especially self-referential ones, are probably familiar with directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-olpin, the filmmaking team behind 2022’s Scream and Scream VI, as well as 2019’s pitch-black comedyhorror Ready or Not.
It’s the latter that will give you the best idea of what you’re walking into with the latest effort from production company Radio Silence, because Abigail is just as funny and gory.
The titular character of Abigail, played by Alisha Weir, is the 12-year-old, ballet-loving daughter of an underworld figure. After a carefully selected group of criminals kidnap her in the hopes of collecting a steep ransom, all they have to do is keep her locked up and safe overnight in a mansion while Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), the man who orchestrated
the heist, collects the bounty.
The crew, given code names, consists of leader “Frank” (Dan Stevens), black-hat hacker “Sammy” (Freaky’s Kathryn Newton), gunman “Rickles” (William Catlett), hired muscle “Peter” (Kevin Durand), driver “Dean” (Angus Cloud, in his last role) and “Joey” (Melissa Barrera), a medic who uses drugs to subdue their charge.
As the newly formed “rat pack” settles in for the next 24 hours of glorified babysitting, Abigail has other plans. As it turns out, they’re not locked in with an ordinary little girl – Abigail is a centuries-old vampire who is going to kill them off, one by one.
Part of the joy that comes from the film is the sheer absurdity of a team of criminals having kidnapped a vampire, and how the different characters react to this insane, life-or-death situation. Each of them has their own reasons for taking part in the heist, and as they come to find out, there’s very little they can trust about each other. As ridiculous as the premise may be, every actor throws themself wholeheartedly into their role. An obvious stand-out is Weir, who did many of her own stunts and is a genuine heavyweight on screen, switching between scared child and terrifying monster with chilling effect. Barrera is another standout,
and though the audience is used to seeing her in horror movie roles, Scream’s Sam Carpenter walked so that Joey could run – literally. Joey’s story brings a more cohesive narrative to Abigail, and Barrera’s main character performance is a highlight. For a change, Barrera gets to play a layered character who isn’t just reacting to the plot, and we much preferred her work here to Scream.
Also notable is how directors Gillett and Bettinelli-olpin maintain a consistent balance between the realistic and the ridiculous with Abigail, and there are plenty of laughs courtesy of the script from writers Stephen Shields and Guy Busick.
Even before the horror show kicks off, one is surprisingly invested in this group of thugs and gangsters, even if you’re just trying to guess how each of them will die. The script might be predictable in some areas, but there are still twists you won’t see coming, and genuine laugh-out-loud moments.
Of course, also included in the mix are buckets and buckets of gore, and numerous exploding bodies, as only Radio Silent Productions can deliver. This adds another layer of hilarious absurdity to the entire scenario.
The directors also keep the running time in the Goldilocks zone, where anything less would be lacking but anything more than would have worn out its welcome.