Horror movies have often used and overused certain storylines. But the beauty of this genre lies in how the same storyline can be used by filmmakers in different ways to evoke a sense of terror and dread in the audience. The latest horror film on the block is ‘Abigail.’ The film has been directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett who are famous for popular horror flicks like ‘Ready or Not’ (2019), ‘Scream’ (2022), and also ‘Scream VI’ (2023). Going by their filmography, ‘Abigail’ can be expected to be a mix between a slasher film and a B-grade horror flick. After a run in theatres, the movie is now available to watch on BookMyShow Stream. In case you are planning to add a horror flick to your weekend binge-watch, then here’s all that you need to know about ‘Abigail.’
‘Abigail’: Story
A group of six criminals kidnap a young ballerina named Abigail (played by Alisha Weir). They chalk out an elaborate plan and follow Abigail to her house from the ballet school. At her house when she’s asleep, they kidnap her and bring her to a secluded house in New York. The group kidnaps her for a hefty ransom from her father Kristof Lazaar (played by Matthew Goode), a crime lord.
At the house, the criminals are asked to not reveal any personal information about themselves to each other. The group led by Lambert (played by Giancarlo Esposito) includes Joey (played by Melissa Barrera), a former US Army medic; Frank (played by Dan Stevens), a former New York detective; Rickles (played by Will Catlett), a former sniper; Sammy (played by Kathryn Newton), a hacker; Dean (played by Angus Cloud), who is somewhat sociopathic; and Peter (played by Kevin Durand), a thug from Canada. However, when Dean dies all of a sudden and what is left of him is his decapitated corpse, Abigail becomes the suspect. The group connects the dots and learns that Abigail is a vampire who has been posing as a 12-year-old girl. The story revolves around how the group keeps itself safe from the attacks by Abigail.
‘Abigail’: Performances
Alisha Weir as Abigail delivers a brilliant performance. As a ballerina, she is exceptional on the screen, and as a vampire, she is lethal to look at. The way she balances the act between a 12-year-old girl and a centuries-old vampire is exciting to look at. Weir balances the act by walking on a tightrope effortlessly. The movie rests entirely on her shoulders, and she has done a fine job with whatever was given to her.
Melissa Barrera as Joey delivers the strongest performance in the supporting cast. She has a motherly care and affection for Abigail when she first meets her. But once she learns about her, she changes her attitude towards her and puts up a brave front to fight her. She perfectly complements Alisha Weir’s performance, and frankly, the movie would have been even more exciting if it showed a confrontation between the two.
Giancarlo Esposito as Lambert is conniving and menacing in the first half. His character is reduced to a caricature in the second half. Angus Cloud as Dean gets typecast as he ends up playing yet another character who is always under the influence of alcohol and tries to hit on women. Dan Stevens as Frank needed just a little bit more to take his performance to the next level. Kevin Durand as Peter and Kathryn Newton as Sammy were the quintessential silly characters in the horror films. They were added just to diffuse the tension with their antics. Their characters did not contribute much to the plot and hence they did not have much to do either.
‘Abigail’: Script, Direction & Technical Aspects
When you see that the film has been directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, you expect something like ‘Scream.’ However, ‘Abigail’ feels like a squandered opportunity. The movie has the perfect plot to pull off something like their previous works. You have a young child who is a vampire. As whacky as it sounds, this could have been used to make a movie that is a mix of scary and plain B-grade horror. But what has panned out is simply uninspired writing. The writing feels lazy and that just weighs down the plot.
Apart from the lazy writing, the horror costumes looked straight out of a Halloween sale. The makers used the classic techniques of jump scares to evoke a sense of dread, but it simply failed when you saw Abigail’s costume teeth in focus when the camera was on her. Similarly, the music and sound effects were just clichés. The choreography looked tacky, and it just wasn’t able to translate itself well on the screen.
However, if you see ‘Abigail’ as a comedy film, it manages to stand its ground. The dialogue between the crew members is hilarious, especially when they realize that Abigail is a vampire, and they try to find things to get rid of her. They manage to find clubs and potatoes and think that would suffice. The thriller is chaotic, and it could have benefitted from crisper editing. That could have saved it from becoming a yawn fest.
‘Abigail’: Cast & Crew
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillet
Writer: Stephen Shields, Guy Busick
Cast: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Alisha Weir, Giancarlo Esposito
Available On: BookMyShow Stream
Duration: 1 hour 49 minutes
Languages: English
‘Abigail’: Can Kids Watch It?
No.
Outlook’s Verdict
If you plan to watch ‘Abigail’ as a horror flick, then you should brace yourself for disappointment. However, if you are planning to watch it as a mindless horror film with the usual jump scares and eerie noises, then this film makes for a good one-time watch. The movie starts fairly slow, but it picks up momentum in the middle, but that just falls flat. As the mystery behind Abigail is unveiled, the movie simply stops being a horror flick. I am going with 1.5 stars.
