Review: Abigail

Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett

Written by: Stephen Shields & Guy Busick

Starring: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand

Rating: [3/5]

Kidnappings for ransom often have a simple formula where the abductors take someone of value from someone of means. The abductors then demand a hefty sum for the return of this individual or serious consequences will occur. Abigail presents this tried and true story beat, but ponders what would happen if the person kidnapped planned for it all to happen. 

Brought together because of their specialized skills to kidnap a young ballerina for ransom, a group coordinated by a man named Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) take her to an empty mansion as they await their payment. As the abductors wait out the night they begin to notice something strange about this little girl and they find out they are actually the feed brought together for a little vampire. 

Crafting a fun little premise that flips expectations, Abigail entraps the villains of the story with what we perceived as an innocent victim but actually turns out to be a very hungry monster looking for some late-night dinner. Therefore, our villains become the individuals we now root for, especially as we learn more about them not being this organized unit but rather anonymous individuals in need of money originally doing this abduction for a payday. We see this mostly with Joey (Melissa Barrera), who explains how she has a child at home she needs to care for. 

As the narrative progresses, we learn about these characters who are discouraged from knowing more about each other. In a situation like this you can expect there to be plenty of mistrust between these characters as they have found out they have been duped into becoming feed for this vampire, they do not know each other, but must rely upon one another if they hope to survive this ordeal. Therefore, alliances form, betrayals occur, and fun sequences transpire as these individuals try to stay away from the little vampire trying to hunt them all down. 

The premise, alone, provides plenty to enjoy but Abigail has a glaring flaw that continuously sunk the entire feature downward. Not fully to the degree where I would feel negatively towards the film overall but it just refused to end and thought it’s clever to continually add new twists to a vampire story that needed no further exploration. The direction it takes, without spoiling, goes way beyond anything promised by the premise and even though it gives us more to take in, it does not work at all. Instead, the film’s pacing dragged towards the end as it felt so sluggish that frankly massively disappointed. An onslaught of bizarre choices as the third act completely capitulates right before us, showing that 109 minutes is far too much time for a premise like this one. 

Piquing my interest in the film from the beginning was the cast that brought together very talented actors such as Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, and Kevin Durand. As everyone knows, when Dan Stevens joins genre films it means we’re going to get a banger of a performance and he did not disappoint. Melissa Barrera, as she has shown in Scream, can help carry her own horror franchise and steps in well with this feature as well. The same can be said with Kathryn Newton with what she’s done in films like Freaky. In a way, it gathered some of the biggest stars within this very genre to form this ragtag group.  They each represented a specific archetype, just like how they each had a specific skill that made them part of the group and each actor played their part well. A strong cast and they all had plenty of fun with what their characters required.   

Crafting a film in the same ilk as their popular hit Ready or Not, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett take a step back with a story that had the potential to be some enthralling fun but landed as something merely fine because of its never-ending third act. With that said, this feature brought together a good cast and had brought plenty of entertainment in this reserve-abduction story that flips the image of innocence and makes it completely demented. The little girl in the white dress is actually a monster, and for the most part I enjoyed this ride.