Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
A bunch of seasoned criminals are hired to kidnap Abigail, a little girl for a fifty million dollar ransom, only to realize they have a devious little monster on their hands! Will they survive 24 hours to collect their bounty?
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the horror movie Abigail, starring Alisha Weir as the titular protagonist, boasts a solid cast and a fantastic premise for a horror film – little vampire girl versus kidnappers. However, the film has a slow start, testing viewer’s patience on when all the real action will start. Although, once the vampire wickedness begins, it rains blood, bodies, screams, and horror goodness, along with some pretty fun comedic moments.
Alisha Weir is the breakout star of the film; she is fantastic as Abigail, a ballerina who loves dancing. She is introduced as a scared, screaming little girl and transforms into a creepy, unhinged, cold-blooded killer. However, too much time is spent on introducing the kidnappers: former Army medic Joey with a drug problem (Melissa Barrera); former NYPD detective Frank (Dan Stevens), who has anger issues; hacker Sammy (Kathryn Newton), who’s in it for the thrills; mean-looking sniper Rickles (William Catlett); dumb muscleman Peter (Kevin Durand, who weirdly looks like Elon Musk on steroids); and getaway driver Dean (Angus Cloud), who is no smarty-pants either and awkwardly tries to flirt with Sammy. Their names are fake aliases, nobody is supposed to know each other’s real names or identities to keep the operation clean, but they obviously have no idea how bloodily messy things are going to get.
One of the main reasons the first half of the film feels so tedious is the prolonged suspense over Abigail’s identity, which drags on for over an hour. This wouldn’t be an issue if the creators hadn’t already revealed the truth in the trailer. As a viewer, you’re left waiting for the horror madness to kick off, wondering why the film insists on pretending the ‘cat isn’t already out of the bag.’
Despite the very slow start, the second half shifts gears into an entertaining ‘cat and mouse’ chase, as the criminals scramble to outwit and defeat Abigail. At one point, someone asks, “What do we know about vampires?” only to be met with the hilarious response, “That they’re not real?”
Abigail nods to established vampire lore while introducing its own unique rules about the legendary creatures’ powers. The special effects in the violent scenes may not be top-notch, but their over-the-top ridiculousness makes them entertaining in a delightfully absurd way. Perhaps the film would have worked better as an all-out horror comedy rather than attempting a slow-burn thriller approach at the start. Alisha Weir is fantastic as Abigail, making a strong case for an origin story or prequel for her character. I’d totally love to see more of her!
Rating: 6 on 10. Watch Abigail on Netflix or rent it on Prime Video.
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