Abigail is a horror film that follows a group of criminals who kidnap a girl for ransom. However, as the night goes on, they quickly find out the girl isn’t who they thought she was and they are more in danger than they could’ve ever expected. Led by Melissa Barrera and Alisha Weir, Abigail delivers some impressive kills and some genuine fun.
Abigail is the seventh movie that production company Radio Silence has put out and I’ve been a big fan of their vision. You might be familiar with Scream 5 and Scream 6 as their most recent work, but Ready or Not is easily my favorite. These two movies have a lot of similarities in their plots. You have your lead woman in a house she is new to, with people she doesn’t know but trusts just a little at first. There is something evil in the house and by the end, she is completely alone, drenched in blood.Â
Melissa Barrera swaps in for Samara Weaving and she is great. She is ambiguous and calculated. She has great intuition yet is insecure about herself because of some things that happened in her past. Being the lead in the past two Scream movies prepared her for chase scenes and her physical stunts. Working with Radio Silence in the past benefited her a lot because you can tell they put a lot of trust in her performance.
But the star of the show is Alisha Weir, the 14-year-old who plays Abigail. She is a phenomenal child actress who felt on par with the adults she was working with. Her emotional range is great. She goes from a terrified child to a cold-blood, tactical killer. Her physicality is incredibly impressive as well. She has great stunts but the ballet she does intermittently is great. She truly gives a haunting performance but also lends a lot of sympathy to the character. In my mind, she is what Blumhouse wants M3GAN to be.
There is no weakness in the ensemble cast. Dan Stevens is having a great year so far and he gives a great performance where you never know if you can root or trust him. Kathryn Newton is incredibly sympathetic and funny. She also has a mesmerizing sequence towards the middle of the movie which is a stand-out moment of the film. Rest in peace to Angus Cloud, as this was his final movie before his tragic passing last year. It was touching to see them dedicate this movie to him.Â
As for the story, I really wish they could have advertised this movie without revealing that Abigail was a vampire. I thought that even knowing it was coming, the build-up to the reveal was still very tense. But if you could’ve somehow missed all the news and trailers and seen this blind, it could’ve been great. The first chunk of the movie is dedicated to fleshing out each character, which I was a big fan of. I also really liked that they were all connected, even if it’s a trope that’s not new. This leads to a fast-paced back half that never lets you get settled for long. It also makes you care when these characters are attacked and die.Â
The pacing was good for the most part even if I think it could’ve been condensed in some areas. The ending goes on for a beat too long but it doesn’t ruin it for me.Â
The kills in this movie are all very bloody and gross. There are decapitations, necks ripped out, and a lot of biting. As in Ready or Not, Radio Silence loves the exploding bag of blood trick. When a vampire is killed by a stake or the sun, they don’t wither away, they explode and douse everyone in blood.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Abigail is a fun, bloody horror movie. The cast is extremely charismatic and easy to invest in. Alisha Weir steals the show as the bloodsucking ballerina and Melissa Barrera is a great final girl. The gore is great and the action is fast-paced and engaging. Give this movie a watch.
