Abigail (2024) | REVIEW

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — Screenplay by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick.

Ever since Radio Silence (a filmmaking group that also includes producer Chad Villella) directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett broke through with their sophomore feature, 2019’s Ready or Not, the directing duo has only risen through the ranks when it comes to horror filmmaking. After their bloody wedding horror film in 2019, they were hired to take over from the late, great Wes Craven in the Scream franchise, and they did so with their Scream (2022) and Scream VI. How do you follow up three genuine horror hits in a row? Well, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett decided that they should take on a different kind of horror subgenre that holds a special place in the hearts of horror aficionados with Abigail.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Abigail follows a group of criminals individually recruited for a job by their leader Lambert (played by Giancarlo Esposito), wherein they must first kidnap a young ballerina (the titular character played by Alisha Weir), who is supposedly the daughter of someone powerful, then bring her to a secluded mansion, which they then must protect at all costs for 24 hours. Hoping to secure a huge payday as members of the crew are, first, a perceptive recovering drug addict nicknamed Joey (played by Melissa Barrera), a young hacker nicknamed Sammy (played by Kathryn Newton), a harsh former detective nicknamed Frank (played by Dan Stevens), a driver nicknamed Dean (played by the late Angus Cloud, in his final film role), a former Marine nicknamed Rickles (played by Will Catlett), and, finally, a slow-witted enforcer nicknamed Peter (played by Kevin Durand). When they, however, start being picked off one by one and are locked inside the mansion, they must work together to figure out what’s going on and how to survive.

Thus far in the review, I have deliberately danced around the film’s central hook, which would reveal the horror subgenre that this film is a part of. Frankly, I think this film would probably be even more of a great time than it already is (because Abigail is definitely one of the most entertaining films of the year thus far) if you don’t know what is going on before you see it. I say this because the trailers reveal something that the film only ever so slowly gets around to showing. You see, as the trailers have been revealing up front (this is your final warning to turn away and watch this without knowledge of what is revealed in the trailers. Still there? Good.), this is actually a film all about criminals being stuck in a big, glorious mansion with an actual mythical bloodsucker. The marketing has been very clear that this is a film about a ballerina vampire, which I can understand because it’s probably tough to sell this film without being upfront about that information, but it would’ve been such a great twist here, and it would’ve helped with the pacing, which can be challenging because you are a couple of steps ahead of the characters for quite awhile here simply because the marketing has revealed the twist beforehand. 

That slow first half is one of this film’s problems, but it isn’t the only element of the film that sort of works against it. Abigail also feels extra familiar because it certainly feels like the directing duo is retracing the very same steps that made Ready or Not what it was. This is once again a horror film about dark forces set inside of a mysterious mansion, and, once again, the film is built around a final girl (who is even played by the same actress who played their final girl in both of Radio Silence’s Scream films). They have, however, admittedly inverted the Ready or Not formula so that instead of one person being stuck inside a mansion full of people who want to kill you, here a lot of criminals are stuck inside of a mysterious mansion alongside one very murder-happy presumed innocent individual in the form of the title character.

Although it’s tough to get around the familiar aspects of the film, if you find the first half to be a little bit too slow, then rest assured that the rest of the film is all full-throttle genre filmmaking that is over-the-top in the best way for a horror film that is undeniably infused with a lot of comedy. The directing duo does a phenomenal job of balancing the tone, as they both manage to make bloody horror violence and imagery and construct laugh-out-loud scenes repeatedly. Had the filmmakers held their cards closer to their chest (and maybe changed the title), it might have even succeeded as a whodunnit with fangs. 

It is the kind of film that will have its fans immediately look forward to the first rewatch, and this is because the comedy and the cast work super well. Alisha Weir is incredible in the title role which allows her to showcase her talents as both an innocent girl and a devilish and playful vampire with a performance that definitely earns the ‘ballerina vampire’ descriptor. Melissa Barrera is solid as a criminal with a conscience, and she has a great moment where her character showcases her people skills, while the writers utilize smart expositional dialogue that doesn’t take you out of the film. Dan Stevens, who always seems like he has a great time with genre films, plays a very cynical, condescending, and sarcastic character, and he gets to take his character to some fun places. And then there is Kevin Durand who steals scenes away from his capable cast — all of whom have moments to shine — with his note-perfect comedic delivery. 

Admittedly, it does have some issues with familiarity and pacing (also, the ending doesn’t fully work for me), but there is more than enough here in this gleefully bloody vampire horror-comedy to make it worth seeing. For the Radio Silence directing duo, it doesn’t quite reach the level of Ready or Not or Scream (2022) (perhaps it could’ve if it hadn’t been kneecapped by the revealing marketing), but I think it works a little bit better than their previous effort, Scream VI, did. Betttinelli-Olpin and Gillett definitely understood the comedy inherent in the premise, and the film works as another example of them carving themselves their own little corner of modern horror filmmaking in America. I’m excited to see what they do next.

7.5 out of 10

– Review Written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.