Movie Breakdown: Abigail
Pre-Screening Stance:
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have been on a pretty solid roll – they directed the last two Scream films + Ready Or Not – and Abigail feels/looks like it will be another hit for them.
Post-Screening Ramble:
I had a lot of fun with Abigail. The film gets underway with a team of criminals making quick work of breaking into a very large home and kidnapping the titular little girl (Alisha Weir). Once the group reaches the drop-off point, which is another very large home (but creepier), they’re tasked by a fella named Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) to hang tight and keep an eye on Abigail while her super rich father is delivered a ransom request. The whole thing seems simple enough but Abigail isn’t actually a normal little girl and none of her Rat Pack-code-named babysitters – Joey (Melissa Barrera), Frank (Dan Stevens), Rickles (William Catlett), Sammy (Kathryn Newton), Peter (Kevin Durand), Dean (Angus Cloud) – are prepared for it.
There’s a bit of slow roll to be had in the beginning section of Abigail, but I think that’s because you already know going into it (via the trailers and everything else) that the crew is up against a pint-sized vampire, so waiting on that “reveal” somewhat works against the first act. Thankfully though, once the first head finally rolls, the movie quickly ramps up from there. And I don’t mean it just shifts into jump scares and general mayhem, there’s also some fun character reveals and twists that really help to keep the film moving and feeling fresh. Abigail is also assisted nicely by its cast. The team at risk features some rather distinct individuals and everyone involved looks like they’re having a great time playing up their characters against each other. What good fun.
You should get yourself some quality action horror via Abigail when it hits theaters this Friday, April 19.
One Last Thought:
I very much appreciate that someone as good-looking as Dan Stevens prefers to endure as a character actor. He could easily make a lot of money starring in bad rom-coms and generic action films.
