Abigail (2024) – Biting

Released: 22nd March
Seen: 11th May

Radio Silence is the name given to a group of filmmakers, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Justin Martinez and Chad Villella who have become power players in the modern Horror genre. They were introduced to the world through their segment of the original V/H/S movie titles 10/31/98, AKA the one where a bunch of friends in Halloween costumes visit a haunted house. Since then they’ve made several smaller films and taken part in other anthologies but got their big break when they released the 2019 gem Ready or Not which got massive critical praise and was probably the film that got them their biggest jobs yet, taking over the Scream franchise after the passing of Wes Craven. It’s safe to say that this little troupe of filmmakers could do anything that they want to do and clearly what they love doing is making big silly fun horror films intended to just be pure over-the-top entertainment and by god that’s exactly what Abigail is.

Abigail begins with a kidnapping, specifically the kidnapping of the titular Abigail (Alisha Weir) who is the daughter of someone very rich. The people who are kidnapping her are a ragtag group of assorted experts functioning under pseudonyms for this gig. Joey (Melissa Barrera) is tasked with keeping her eyes on Abigail and making sure she’s as safe and comfortable as one could be in this situation, Frank (Dan Stevens) is the de facto leader who is charged with keeping everyone in line, Rickles (Will Catlett) is the security who will sit on the roof with a sniper rifle to keep everything safe, Peter (Kevin Durand) is the muscle of the team, Sammy (Kathryn Newton) is the hacker who can get through any tech issues they run into and Dean (Angus Cloud) is the driver. Everything seems to go well at first, after all, it can’t be that hard to keep your eyes on a small child who is handcuffed to a bed right? Well, it wouldn’t be that hard if she was a normal child but nope, these guys seem to have kidnapped a ballerina vampire who is slowly picking them off one by one.

Abigail is without a doubt one of the most fun horror films of the last year, it knows how silly its core idea is and doesn’t shy away from it. There’s no way to pretend this is going to be some serious intense horror film, the trailers gave away the punchline and it’s not a punchline you can make into something dramatic so instead Abigail leans into the silliness and plays with it. It’s a banter-filled ride that’s pushing for laughs more than for just pure horror (though it has at least a few genuinely creepy scenes, the people making this are talented enough to pull off that tonal shift) and more often than not it lands. There’s a sense of playfulness throughout the film like a roller coaster ride just seeing how much mileage they can get out of their silly idea. If there’s a gag you can do with vampires, this film is going to try and do that gag and make it even funnier because it’s a small child as the bloodthirsty creature.

What also helps is how much time Abigail puts into making sure you know and love every character. With only half a dozen humans and our titular vampire, every single person in the film is well fleshed out and easy to understand which means that once the carnage begins and people start dropping, it’s easy to care. It takes a skilled hand to make sure every single kill in a horror movie feels impactful, usually the first or second ones tend to feel like they killed off a filler character in order to get things going, but not this film. This film takes its time to let the main cast of characters get to know each other and explore who they are just enough that they feel like actual people, which in turn makes it easier to care for them later on. Sure a few of the characters created are stock horror characters (The asshole, the himbo, the tough final girl, etc) but they’re well-crafted stock characters who you will love in no time.

The real heavyweight here is Alisha Weir who you might know from her role in Matilda, she really just owns the hell out of the movie. Again, the big reveal of what Abigail is was put in all the marketing and a tiny part of me wishes it wasn’t because the moment she does the grand reveal is a truly glorious moment that should’ve been a total surprise. Even without that, Alisha is devouring every scene of this movie. A joyful bit of horror camp that completely sells the central idea. If Alisha didn’t bring everything this film wouldn’t work but any scene where she’s getting to flex and be the focus of the proceedings is pure gold. She’s aided by the rest of her fantastic cast, special points to Melissa Barrera for giving the film an emotional center and to Dan Stevens for being a joyous asshole, but the film belongs entirely to Alisha.

Even though every poster/trailer/bit of advertising has spoiled the big first reveal of this movie it still finds a way to pull off some fun twists in the final act. Abigail builds better than any other film this year, just slowly piling on the insanity scene by scene until the final absolute last scene where the blood-soaked insanity reaches a delightful crescendo. You can probably guess where this film is going to end but you probably won’t guess how it gets there, it’s just a wild ride that’s going to have a lot of fun with you for 90 minutes. It’s the kind of good old-fashioned fun horror that’s slowly becoming more common nowadays, just switch your brain off and enjoy the gory entrails as much as you can.

Abigail is just pure high-energy fun from start to finish, taking its time to set things up neatly before going buck wild and treating the audience to one hell of a show. It’s a testament to the talent of the entire cast and crew that this film works so well, there isn’t a single wasted frame and every joke lands just right. It’s the kind of film that’s so fun you can’t help but have a big stupid smile on your face by the time the credits roll. It’s hard not to have a great time with this film, it sinks its teeth into the audience and doesn’t let go until it’s done having fun and that’s something that is really needed right now.