**This post contains spoilers**
The Story- Tasked with kidnapping, Abigail (Alisha Weir), the young daughter of a wealthy crime lord named Kristof Lazaar (Matthew Goode), a team of six criminals successfully abducts Abigail from her home.
Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), the organizer for the operation, issues Rat Pack inspired nicknames for the crew to avoid any problems. Joey (Melissa Barrera), Frank (Dan Stevens), Rickles (Will Catlett), Dean (Angus Cloud), Sammy (Kathryn Newton), and Peter (Kevin Durand) all have one simple mission: “Babysit” and secure Abigail for twenty-four hours, and each member of the team will receive their equal share of the ransom money. Sounds easy enough, right? But the crew encounters a deadly surprise, when Abigail reveals herself as a ballerina vampire!
My Thoughts- Smart, devious, and a remorseless calculating mastermind, Abigail is a uniquely layered character. Sure, she’s been around for centuries, but Abigail still has the appearance of a little girl. Alisha Weir does a wonderful job of switching between the mannerisms of a scared and helpless kid to taunt or deceive the crew, to the vicious vampire, with a demented sense of humor, who enjoys torturing her victims. Mixing the ballerina moves in with Abigail’s attacks works as a quirky approach for some good laughs. It’s not just a game for Abigail. She’s also putting on a performance as a ballerina for her own amusement.
Yes, you could say Abigail is pure evil, but it’s rooted in heartache. When she’s not having fun tearing apart her prey, Weir can be vulnerable, humanizing Abigail, because she’s a child, who feels neglected by her father. All the killing, eliminating his enemies, people, who betrayed him, or others who made costly mistakes. No matter how hard Abigail tries, it’s never enough to truly impress her father for the seal of approval that she desperately wants from him.
The Rat Pack is loaded with polarizing personalities. Peter is an oaf, but be careful, because he’s a big guy, with a mean streak, if you push him too far. Sammy is spoiled and bratty. You’d have to drag Sammy kicking and screaming to work a nine-to-five, or a regular job. Dean, the wheelman and a carefree stoner, likes to joke around, and he’s more focused on his botched attempts at flirting with Sammy. And Joey pointed it out, but Dean has sociopathic tendencies. Rickles? He quickly realizes, when something’s wrong, the silent professional, who knows how to keep his composure.
One of the more intriguing conflicts throughout the movie involves a power struggle of sorts between Joey and Frank. Going back and forth to decide, who’s the best choice to lead the group, the bickering between Frank and Joey provides some funny moments. Dan Stevens is a good fit for the slimy and hard-nosed jerk.
Melissa Barrera’s Joey is tough, but she’s smart and patient. Frank initially tries an aggressive approach to dealing with Abigail, preferring a guns blazing style attack that fails miserably, but Joey is more levelheaded and strategic. Joey, a recovering addict, also realizes she’s made a lot of mistakes, but she’s motivated by a chance to possibly reunite with her son.
The kill count is high, but the bloodshed and the attacks from a seemingly unstoppable Abigail never feels tedious. The non-stop in-fighting within The Rat Pack, Dean’s shenanigans, Frank losing his cool, Peter taking one hit after another, because he’s an easy target to make fun of, and Joey struggling to keep everyone on the same page. The calamity to figure out a solution to defeat Abigail or survive her attacks, mixed in with a good variety of entertaining characters with depth really works, because Abigail never hits a dull stretch.
Lambert is working for Abigail? He’s basically her slave? Not too surprising, because it’s obvious Lambert was hiding something. Although, Abigail previously turning him into a vampire did catch me off a guard.
Frank double-crossing and killing Lambert after he was turned by Lambert? Yeah, not too shocking. It’s also not a surprise that Frank wanted to use his vampire powers to control a bitten Joey, forcing her to kill her own son. Frank was always a power-hungry scumbag, and Joey bruised his fragile ego. He was pissed, because Joey wasn’t a pushover, and she wasn’t scared of him.
Kristof Lazaar finally appears! Matthew Goode brings the necessary imposing presence for Lazaar. Goode’s also a bit goofy, when he interacts with Joey, resisting the urge to feed, because it’s getting close to “dinner time”. It’s heavily implied that Lazaar is Dracula. Remember, Abigail started out as a reimagining of Dracula’s Daughter (1936), and Lazaar himself told Joey that he’s gone by many names throughout the years. Simply going by Dracula obviously draws too much unwanted attention in the criminal underworld, so it makes sense to use aliases to protect his true identity.
Saving Lazaar’s only appearance for the aftermath of the big final battle makes perfect sense. Lazaar is supposed to be this mighty evil figure, stacking up a list of dastardly deeds for an urban legend. A man so terrible and powerful it’s almost hard to believe he actually exists. His only appearance should really mean something.
Joey and Abigail have a full circle moment together after teaming up to defeat and kill Frank. Joey honored her pinky promise to Abigail. The image of Melissa Barrera, soaked in blood, sitting in the van alone, with the lollipop in her mouth perfectly encapsulates the absolute hell she endured to escape as the sole survivor.
My only real complaint about Abigail is, it’s predictable. You know who’s going to be the sole survivor, and the attempted swerves were easy to predict. I understand marketing, and the need to promote a movie, but I really wish they never revealed Abigail was a vampire in the trailers, because it could’ve been a great surprise in the movie.
Still, Abigail is a fun and bloody horror comedy. Quick! We need garlic, wooden stakes, and crosses. Then, we can stop Abigail! Or maybe not? I love the one scene, where Frank, Sammy, and Peter ambush Abigail, planning to use some of the usual traditional weapons to fight a vampire. And what happens? The garlic has no effect on her, and she uses the cross and the makeshift wooden stake as weapons against the trio. Great stuff, and a playful approach for toying around with a few vampire movie cliches.
Abigail is consistently funny, loaded with some good gruesome humor. Abigail dancing with Dean’s headless corpse, and Abigail puppeteering Sammy with her powers, when Sammy attacks and kills Peter are two of my top picks. A solid supporting cast, and Alisha Weir is outstanding in the leading role.
Completely bonkers and over the top, it’s a vampire movie about a little girl, who’s basically a brat and acting out, because she feels neglected by her father. Lots of carnage, gallons and gallons of blood, EXPLODING vampires, and a satisfying finale. Abigail checks off just about every box you can possibly think of for an offbeat vampire flick, easily one the best horror films of 2024.
Rating- 8/10
