"Abigail" is a 2024 vampire horror comedy, allegedly a reimagining of a Universal Classic Monsters film of 1936 titled “Dracula's Daughter”. While the background of psychology in some parts is present and the plot indeed involves kidnapping too, “Abigail” comes across more like a synthesis of the above mentioned supposed sequel to the classic “Dracula” of 1931 and the 2019 survival horror comedy “Ready or Not”. And what do we see on IMDB? Apprently, “Ready or Not”’s screenwriter Guy Busick had written “Abigail” alongside 2016 horror mystery flick’s “The Hole in the Ground” co-writer Stephen Shields. To me every bit of this information makes sense; a nice budget and distribution by Universal Pictures for a movie the screenwriters of which are a relatively “safe bet” since the aforementioned movies had been generally well received by both, reviewers and the audience, with “Ready or Not” being among the top horror flicks of 2010s. If you know “Ready or Not”, watching “Abigail” will likely be with a sense of familiarity. All the more because both directors of “Abigail”, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, had also directed “Ready or Not”. Other titles most of the aforementioned creatives had worked on together include recent horror movies “Scream” and “Scream VI”.
At the center of the new survival horror flick is the 12 year old Abigail, ballet dancer and daughter of a very wealthy man named Kristof Lazar (Matthew Goode). Six characters, who work as a team while not even knowing each other’s names, kidnap Abigail for ransom. The team is led by Lambert, portrayed by “Breaking Bad”’s Giancarlo Esposito, who is supposed to take care of everything related to ransom money, but doesn’t disclose to his team of kidnappers the name of Abigail’s father. Then he leaves while the team is supposed to ensure Abigail is safe while kept in a rather lavish mansion. All this “setting the scene” part happens in a fast paced, dynamic manner, typical of any action thriller. The tone changes right after Lambert leaves as the movie begins getting to "the meat of it all" (pun intended here).
Giancarlo Esposito as Lambert in "Abigail". Source
WHAT I LIKED
- Strong opening scene with the Swan Theme from “Swan Lake” ballet. It introduces the title character with perfect visuals: light, colors, framing and the sequence of angles. It sets the hopes high regarding cinematography and production design; the movie in its totality manages to live up to those standards. The result is such, where music from “Swan Lake” had never sounded more heinous and fatal. The merging of music, costumes and cinematography in “Abigail” is perfect. This is all especially interesting to note as initially the ballet wasn’t intended to play any significant part in “Abigail”’s visual storytelling, but the “Matilda the Musical”’s star Alisha Weir through discussions with the production company’s Radio Silence team, and her choreographer Belinda Murphy altogether changed the role of the art form in the movie.
- The real quality of the screenplay shows during the scene, where characters are introduced, and it’s the way it happens that makes it a pure gem of screenwriting. While there is a lack of “show don’t tell” approach to this aspect in “Abigail”, a rather fair way around that had been found. Basically the characters are introduced to the viewer, when they introduce themselves to each other. This is where psychology, mentioned earlier on in this write up, plays a significant part. As it turns out, two of the characters have significant experience and training in certain fields that require knowledge of that kind. One of them manages to raise intrigue by demonstration of what can be achieved with excellent observation skills while the other of the two responds in kind, making the former experience some uncomfortable moments. Amidst all this bouncy and buoyant camaraderie a truly fascinating demonstration of how people with fine muscles and a lack of intellect are one’s that pay money to those who got knowledge and education. Kevin Durand’s (Frederick Gideon from “Locke & Key” series) Peter had been chosen as the character, who’s the key in that demonstration; one would feel almost jealous watching the easy-going vibe of the character there; particularly his lack of care or even awareness. All in all, characters in “Abigail” are very well developed, solid; a fact, which is also reflected in title character’s direct speech. Alisha Weir and her lines had become one in this vampire flick. This aspect wouldn’t be so important if the title was different, and the ambition of the movie wasn’t to bring something different to the screen as far as vampire cinema would be concerned. The way I see it, the young Irish actress has passed an exam there with distinction; someone please give her her next horror role!
- One thing leads to another; the intrigue gets gradually increased throughout the first half of the movie with new revelations occurring from time to time. This aspect of the movie makes up for its finale, which, even if falls short of expectations, is therefore forgivable, especially if the requirement there had been to tie in the whole project to the original “Dracula’s Daughter”.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
- The subject matter concerning abandoned children leaves an impression of it being dragged into a party with a vibe unfit for the purpose. There’s a strong sense of lack of a solid backdrop and foundation for it there.
Melissa Barrera as Joey in "Abigail". Source
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