Movie review: ‘Abigail’ | MovieFone

In theaters Friday, April 19, ‘Abigail’ finds Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, directors of ‘Ready or Not’ and the two most recent ‘Scream’ films.

Here, free from the constraints of working within a franchise framework, they return to their roots for a fun and bloody tale of kidnappers targeting the wrong person with violent results.

Does ‘Abigail’ draw entertaining blood?

Are you hemophobic? In that case, you should probably avoid ‘Abigail’, as it features more blood on screen than the original ‘Carrie’. There are buckets of red stuff, either from someone vomiting it up, from a pit of bodies floating in it, or… well, that last one would be a spoiler.

However, to tell the truth, we doubt that anyone with that condition would be happy to sit down and watch a horror movie, as they generally tend to include a lot of gore. And there’s a lot more to recommend ‘Abigail’ beyond all that, lots of positives rather than just B-positive.

Because this latest offering from the Radio Silence team is a fun, violent, crazy and sometimes audacious horror offering.

Script and direction

While the script originated with Stephen Shields, who came up with the basic concept and many of the fun ideas featured in the story, it has since passed through the hands of regular Radio Silence screenwriter Guy Busick, who has worked on with the directors on films like ‘Ready or Not’ and the two ‘Scream’ entries they made.

It is with the latter that ‘Abigail’ feels most aligned, like that thriller, in which a young woman marries a member of a wealthy family and discovers that the new additions are challenged to a lethal game that finds her running to Save your life through a creepy mansion. with the armed and privileged monstrosity following her.

Here, the focus is on a group of criminals who kidnap a little girl, looking to squeeze her rich dad for ransom, only to discover that she is definitely not what she seems. It’s revealed throughout the marketing and trailer, so we’re not really going to give anything away here: she’s a vampire, and all the criminals have been lured to the creepy mansion she shares with her father to serve as her latest toys. /snacks. .

The script is light and fully understands that this is a fun, pulpy B-movie with the scares and laughs perfectly calibrated. The criminal team, all brought to life by an attractive gang of accomplished actors (more on them below), bicker and fight in fun ways, and as they begin to be picked off one by one, you’re actually invested in their fate (even if you’re happy that most of them have a bloody ending).

On the directing front, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett know exactly how to pull off something like this – ‘Ready or Not’ certainly demonstrated that. They set the tone perfectly, ramping up the madness when necessary and slowing things down to let the film breathe. There are moments where it starts to calm down, and those are problems (like one or two moments where the survival of one of the characters strains credulity), but they are few and far between.

‘Abigail’: Performances

The Radio Silence team has a knack for casting, and ‘Abigail’ is no exception.

First of all, we have the main character. Alisha Weir is best known (until now – this young actress surely has a bright future ahead of her) as the title character of Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda the Musical’, but here she throws herself into the deranged and creepy character of an ancient non-creature. dead. she who turns out to look like an innocent young woman. She is a delight, able to pivot on a whim between appearing frightened and cunningly tracking her prey.

It doesn’t hurt that Abigail likes to dance, channeling Weir’s own dance training for funny and terrifying sequences in which she’s searching for a victim. There are nuances of M3GAN’s dance style here.

Melissa Barrera, one of the stars of the two most recent ‘Scream’ films, is equally magnificent as “Joey” (the criminal team adopts the names of the Sinatra Rat Pack so as not to learn each other’s real nicknames in case the catch). by the authorities, that she turns out to be the least of her worries). She is the heart of the film and the emotional core that you really want to survive.

As for the rest? They are different levels of cannon (or vampire) fodder, although they are all well developed and well played.

Dan Stevens (Frank) exudes great dirty charm as an ex-cop who has turned to crime, all sarcastic and impatient attitude. Stevens is always visible, whether he’s being an absolute jerk or running to save his life.

Kathryn Newton, as Sammy, is every bit the former rich girl turned hacker, who soon turns into terror (and then something else). She really delivers on all those levels.

Kevin Durand is the portly, unintelligent Peter, who is the muscle of the group. He works the role perfectly, the ideal balance between tough and vulnerable.

William Catlett is studied intensely as the ex-military man who goes by the name “Rickles” (there’s a reason for this that we won’t reveal) and doesn’t trust others. Catlett brings energy and enthusiasm to the role even given the character’s gruff demeanor.

Finally, we have ‘Euphoria’s’ Angus Cloud as Dean, the actor (who died after filming the movie and is remembered in the end credits) who makes his slacker character his own, even if it’s a smaller role.

‘Abigail’: final reflections

‘Abigail’ is a very careful horror comedy that manages to do both things well. The bickering team dynamic works and the vampire element is fantastic.

And, as we mentioned before, it’s a very good moment at the movies.

‘Abigail’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.

What is the story of ‘Abigail’?

After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old dancer, daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is keep an eye on the girl at night.

At an isolated mansion, the captors begin to thin out, one by one, and discover, to their growing horror, that they are locked inside without a normal girl.

Who is in ‘Abigail’?

• Melissa Barrera as Joey
• Dan Stevens as Frank
• Kathryn Newton as Sammy
• William Catlett as Rickles
• Kevin Durand as Peter
• Angus Cloud as Dean
• Alisha Weir as Abigail

‘Abigail’ from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Photo: Universal Pictures.

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