Abigail
The geniuses behind Ready or Not deliver another horror comedy with some real bite.
Alisha Weir and Kevin Durand sink their teeth into horror comedy Abigail.
The job was supposed to be easy: Break into a giant mansion, grab a rich man’s daughter (Alisha Weir), and hold her until he pays up. The crew is a ragtag band of strangers, so if one of them gets caught, they won’t be able to rat on the others. They assume the names of the Rat Pack to keep things simple. Frank (Dan Stevens) leads the pack, Joey (Melissa Barrera) offers combat medic training, Peter (Kevin Durand) is the muscle, Sammy (Kathryn Newton) hacks any device needed, Dean (Angus Cloud) drives the getaway vehicle, and Rickles (William Catlett) snipes any problems before they get close to the crew.
The grab itself goes pretty easily. But babysitting a little girl throughout the night is harder than it seems — mostly because that little girl is actually an ancient vampire hellbent on ripping each member of the crew to pieces.
Can anyone survive the night with a pre-teen prima ballerina pirouetting down the halls while severing skulls?
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett love a locked house horror set-up. While they had commercial success (and middling critical success) with their contributions to the Scream franchise, their first big break, Ready or Not, was a brilliant horror satire on classism, based in an old mansion. In Abigail, they dust off the old mansion trope and give it new life with a band of criminals and a pint-sized bloodsucker. The result is a sublimely bloody, silly good time.
Abigail might not pack the same satiric punch as Ready or Not, but the lack of nuance is easily excused by hilarious horror scenes. This is not a movie that’s going to traumatize you like Hereditary, you’re not going to lose sleep wondering if the ballet vampire is going to come for you next. And yes, there are some absolutely epic body explosions showering people with gore, but they’re all orchestrated like someone getting slimed in a comedy. Abigail plays out like an episode of Tales from the Crypt. It’s a more playful, but still bloody take on the genre that highlights what fun watching a gorey B-movie can be.
Think of Abigail as Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight, but Billy Zane is in a blood-soaked tutu for most of the film.
Abigail works as well as it does because of the snappy script from Stephen Shields and Guy Busick and an excellent ensemble cast. Everyone involved seems to know exactly what type of midnight show B-movie they’re making. Durand especially shines as Peter, a delightfully dim but affable bruiser. Cloud, who tragically died in 2023, is a standout in his final screen performance, with his offbeat delivery and hilariously unflappable nature. As the emotional heart of the film, Barrera keeps the movie from flying too far into silly territory. So, when the film takes a surprisingly heartfelt turn, both the actors and the filmmakers have earned the emotional beat and it doesn’t feel forced or out of left field.
But the real star of Abigail is the eponymous lead. It’s rare to have a child lead as versatile as 14-year-old Weir. She can convincingly jeté between a vulnerable little girl and a menacing ancient creature. She’s graceful one moment and a bruising little brawler the next. It’s easy to see how she can strike fear into the hearts of hardened criminals, even though she’s an adorable little moppet.
If you enjoy quirky horror films that evoke more laughs than screams, Abigail is the movie for you. Gather a friend group and go to the theater, this movie should be experienced in a crowd that’s willing to shout at the screen and laugh uproariously.
Verdict: Dancing on the line between comedy and horror, Abigail is a bloody good time.
Abigail is rated R and is available in theaters April 19.
