'Abigail' Review: Blood-Soaked, Campy Mayhem With Plenty of Bite
Radio Silence has another twisted tale for audiences with Abigail, a new horror comedy that is destined for everyone’s yearly halloween movie rotation.
After their impressive work on the last two Scream films, Radio Silence directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are back with Abigail, a horror film that focuses on a group of criminals hired to kidnap the daughter of a powerful figure, completely unaware that she’s not an ordinary child, but something else entirely. The directors have assembled a terrific cast including the likes of Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kevin Durand, Kathryn Newton, Giancarlo Esposito, Alisha Weir, William Catlett, and the late Angus Cloud.
Radio Silence has had a knack for balancing humor and horror through their Scream entries and Ready or Not, a criminally underrated horror comedy. Fortunately, that talent is on full display yet again here, fully utilizing the unique concept at the film’s core, delivering fun, over-the-top action sequences, gruesome blood and gore, and laughs aplenty. Their handle on tone helps the film stay on course, never veering too heavily into horror or comedy. Their trademark blend of humor and thrills, coupled with some stellar production design and atmosphere help the film truly stand out in a sea of wannabe horror classics. It also helps they’ve gathered a terrific cast that is more than game for the material.
Every member of the cast knows exactly what kind of film their in and they calibrate their performances perfectly as a result. Barrera, who delivered strong work in both Scream and Scream VI, gets far better material to work with here. She’s likable, badass, sympathetic, and a final girl absolutely worth rooting for throughout. Stevens, whose versatility seems to know no bounds, delivers another deliciously larger-than-life performance, getting plenty of juicy material to work with and capitalize on. Durand is also an offbeat comedic delight, delivering the brawn and pitch-perfect, goofy line delivery in equal measure. However, the standout of the film is Weir, who not only nails the fearful innocence of Abigail early on, but absolutely captivates once her well-crafted facade slips away and the monster beneath literally and metaphorically takes the stage. She’s commanding, funny, terrifying, and simply delightful as the flesh-eating antagonist, making the most out of any scene she’s in, cementing herself as an actress to keep an eye on going forward.
The storytelling is also a treat, taking swerves and risks as the body count gets higher and higher. It plays with the audience’s expectations consistently, especially in regards to most vampire lore they’re used to, subverting a lot of tropes and facets of that lore. The climax of the film in particular is immensely entertaining, delivering the horror goods, upping the stakes and delivering twists at a break-neck pace, delivering a wonderful sensation of whiplash. This is a genre film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, embraces its influences, and goes for broke, leaving nothing on the table. The horror genre needs more of this kind of storytelling, plain and simple.
However, the film isn’t without its flaws. First and foremost, it takes far too long setting up its central concept, a reveal that has been heavily marketed to audiences already. The players and atmosphere are set up nicely, but the first act struggles to take off, trying to create a compelling initial mystery that the viewer has already solved before they walked into the theater. Also, the film had the potential to be extremely scary, but there were countless missed opportunities for effective jump scares and thrills on several occasions. The jump scares here feel cheap and poorly executed, a surprising disappointment considering in the excellent scares implemented in Radio Silence’s past efforts.
With countless horror films vying for audience attention these days, it’s difficult to stand out amongst the overwhelming pack. Fortunately, Abigail is able to do so with its refreshingly original concept, strong performances, and fantastic balance of laughs and gore. This vampire film has more than enough bite to not only satiate the appetites of horror fans, but those uninitiated into the genre as well.