A vampire story can be powerful when set in the past, with a sombre atmosphere surrounding a small town full of innocent victims. However, it can also be incredibly fun when it’s set during modern day, with a young vampire trapped inside a mansion with the crew that kidnapped her. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Abigail stands out with its unique premise, honest humour and brilliant self-awareness, offering a story that will pique the curiosity of audiences and entice them to join in for the ride of this refreshing horror comedy. Other titles have proven that vampires are allowed to have fun with their condition, but the action and laughs of Abigail will allow viewers to sink their teeth into the new film.
Abigail follows a crew of young criminals, including Joey (Melissa Barrera), Frank (Dan Stevens) and Sammy (Kathryn Newton). These aren’t the characters’ real names, but considering they’re kidnapping who appears to be a young girl, a certain degree of secrecy is expected out of their collaboration. When the team begins to think that they have everything under control, they quickly realize that the person they’ve taken into custody is actually a vampire. That’s when all hell breaks loose in the film written by Guy Busick and Stephen Shields, with the security system of the mansion locking the crew inside.
Alisha Weir portrays the vampire herself after her young career had previously led her to appear in titles such as Matilda: The Musical and Wicked Little Letters. Her promising talent shines in her performance as the titular character, and while Weir does a fine job of pretending to be a scared kidnapping victim, the moment the twist is revealed is when she begins to have fun with the role. Throughout the movie, Abigail has a fixed obsession with being a ballerina, allowing Weir to explore the role’s physicality with the vampire dancing ballet while she corners her victims.
If a young ballerina attacking a crew of adults by sinking her teeth into their flesh sounds silly, it’s because the movie knows exactly how to execute the idea without becoming a parody of itself. The crew behind Abigail established a perfect balance with the movie’s tone, making the scary moments genuinely chilling while leaving ample space for the amusing comedic moments that are inevitable when a crew of professionals are about to find out that, not only vampires are real, but they’ve been trapped inside a mansion with one.
When it comes to the team behind the crime, the cast of Abigail delivers exceptional performances, establishing different perspectives regarding the characters’ situation. Melissa Barrera captivates the audience with Joey, a character who didn’t want to participate in the kidnapping, but was forced to due to her personal life. Since Joey is the only one to completely fall for Abigail’s lies at the beginning of the movie, she instantly becomes the voice of reason in the narrative. Not because she’s gullible, but because a part of her believes she won’t die in that mansion.
Another standout from the crew is Dan Stevens, who currently finds himself on a roll after stealing the show in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. In Abigail, the performer steps into the shoes of Frank, a formidable mercenary who doesn’t have time to deal with unqualified people getting in the way of him and the seven million dollars promised to every team member. Stevens goes through an explosive journey as Frank in the movie, displaying the range of emotions and tones the actor can transition through without an issue.
With bloody sequences that thrill and comedic moments that allow the audience to burst into laughter, Abigail is a wonderful story to transition into the summer season. The movie has plenty of fun while not underestimating itself, and it even excels at what M3GAN tried to do over a year ago. If viewers want to have fun, Abigail is a guaranteed hit, efficiently doing everything to stand out from similar stories in the genre. Considering how Universal has been playing around with vampires recently, this has been their best effort in the decade.
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