There is no way to review a movie like Abigail. You either don’t like it. Or you like it just enough not to really want to watch it again. It’s good background noise for about 100 minutes if you ever need it. There was criticism that the twist was given away in the trailers and commercials but anyone can really guess the other twists a good hour before they even happen.
A group of criminals are hired to kidnap a tween girl, Abigail (Alisha Weir), who is also a young ballerina. They go out to the boondocks with an old mansion Wilhelm Manor where they are told by Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), a criminal mastermind, that all they have to do is wait 24 hours until they get the $50 million ransom. Because the criminals don’t know each other, Lambert gives them all names of the Rat Pack.
Joey (Melissa Barrera) is a former combat medic and recovering drug addict. Frank (Dan Stevens) is a corrupt former police detective. Sammy (Kathryn Newton), is a young computer hacker. Peter (Kevin Durand) is the muscle man who is French and from Montreal. Then there’s Don Rickles (Will Catlett), a former Marine. Finally, there’s Dean (Angus Cloud), who was the getaway driver.
It’s no surprise the movie is a juxtaposition of famous horror tropes. After the disappointment over Renfield, it’s hard to go into a vampire movie without any sense of terror. This movie plays not only on the vampire trope, but also the haunted house and the slasher. You can guess upon meeting every character when each one dies. It’s no surprise that Frank finds a copy of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None thinking he can activate a secret compartment.
The movie is directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, of Radio Silence, who have a history of making horror movies including the last two Scream movies and a wonderful segment in the first V/H/S. They add some of that fun action and humor to the movie as the criminals must battle a vampire. I would even say there’s a hint to Quentin Tarantino with the criminals having aliases and also realizing that a simple criminal job isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Imagine Reservoir Dogs meets From Dusk Till Dawn.
But there’s not many surprises as the blood starts popping on the screen. Stevens seems to play his Queens tough-guy accent and persona for all its worth. And Durand comes off as the Lenny to his George with an “Aw Shucks” gullible attitude that makes it all the more fun. It’s obvious the two read the script and decide to dial up the outrageousness to 11.
However, Newton does little with her performance that she didn’t already do in Lisa Frankenstein and Freaky. Cloud died of an accidental drug overdose after filming his scenes and the movie is dedicated to his memory. But it’s a throwaway role. The same can be said for Catlett who at first seems like there’s going to be the appearance his character might be different but instead falls in the same tropes.
Barrera and Esposito milk their performances for all its worth and I have to hand it to Weir as she attempts to look menacing. She has too much fun with the role. And when the blood starts spattering, you start to take it less and less seriously with each drop. It’s not a bad movie. It could’ve been a tighter well paced movie. But it still manages to work for the most part.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 