Abigail is directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett who directed the last two Scream films and also the enjoyable horror film Ready or Not (2019), they return with another gore filled horror film.
Abigail follows Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) as he teams up experts to pull of a kidnapping, however, they do not know who they are kidnapping, and are all given code names to hide their real identities from each other. The team consists of the smart medic Joey (Melissa Barrera), the ex-cop Frank (Dan Stevens), the rich hacker kid Sammy (Kathryn Newton), the muscles Peter (Kevin Durand), ex-military Rickles (William Catlett), and the sociopathic driver Dean (Angus Cloud).
The group kidnaps a twelve year old ballerina Abigail (Alisha Weir) who turns out to be an ancient, bloodthirsty vampire. Now this isn't a spoiler for the film as we already know this plot twist from the trailer, the fact that Abigail is a vampire is how they chose to market this film. However, the group do not know that she is a vampire and that they have actually been led into a trap and brought Abigail to her own house. The team demand 50 million dollars from her father for his daughters release unaware that Abigail is the daughter of a powerful underworld figure, and is actually a vampire ballerina. Eventually Abigail stops pretending to be this innocent, scared child and goes on a murderous spree for her own entertainment and enjoyment.
Apart from Joey and Abigail all of the characters are more caricatures than people with not much depth to them, this is because they are there to be picked off by Abigail but also to bring well timed humour to the gory fight scenes. However, this ensemble drives the film, they all have their moments and work humorously well together; you could just tell the actors were having fun making this film. Abigail is filled with smart, witty writing and slapstick comedy (especially from the character Peter who had me laughing in every scene he was in) this accompanies the hilarious, gruesome bloody explosions which add a shock value to the scenes.
Abigail is a perfect blend of horror and comedy, filled with great performances from Alisha Weir and Melissa Barrera as Abigail and Joey, who are accompanied by a good supporting cast who add much entertainment to their scenes. The plot is unique which is fresh to see as it takes the usual vampire tropes but adds a twist to them which is a refreshing choice. This film is a fun ride and if you are looking for a perfect mix of horror, gore and comedy then this film is for you!
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