The Mostly Average ‘Abigail’ Still Packs A Wickedly Delicious Bite
Kicking off your horror movie with an eerily beautiful Swan Lake rehearsal is so much better than another family moving to a new house, even if “Abigail” does feature some very creepy digs. And the group featured is no family, found or otherwise, as they themselves are quick to indicate.
The movie makes it all about that institution anyway, in a fashion which has nothing in common with the source material it’s supposedly reimagining, the 1936 horror film “Dracula’s Daughter.” You won’t find this particular fact in the press notes though, no doubt because “Abigail” has so little in common with it. It would be a huge missed opportunity for a fresh take on a complex villain - who was also Hollywood’s first reluctant vampire - if “Abigail” wasn’t so cheerfully invested in a bloody good time. Who needs The Production Code when the industry insists on measuring goodness by proximity to a clearly defined version of family?
Anyway, the group of ne'er-do-wells have been promised a share of a $50 million reward for the kid they kidnap, who seems such a delicately embodied form of childlike pink femininity, ballerina bonafides and all, that her kidnappers dub her Tiny Dancer. Once they manage to whisk her away to the ominously looming mansion and all its retro accoutrements, they only have to conveniently surrender their phones and wait for her wealthy father to hand over the cash. Naturally, there are complications, and as various members start getting picked off, little 12-year-old Abigail (Alisha Weir) turns out to be more than they bargained for.
Ah, parenthood. Are any of us really prepared for it? Good thing the production design is enjoyably macabre (chef’s kiss to Susie Cullen of the “Little Women” miniseries and “Fate: The Winx Saga”), and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who were also the dream team behind “Ready or Not” and later “Scream” installments, are here to play. And they’ve got the perfect cast to hold it all together, going beyond their quickly revealed roles and the backstories which accompany them. And RIP Angus Cloud.
Universal Studios
Beyond a few beginning touches, which include making good use of the setting’s shadowy corners and history, it’s not that scary. There’s not much reason to fret though, since the real frights are mainly reserved for Dan Stevens’ psychopathic ex-cop, who reveals himself early on by holding a gun to the head of what he believes is a mere child, quickly spiraling to great effect, at least to those of us safe in our seats viewing.
But we know there must be a body count, and that means some of the cast, such as Giancarlo Esposito and especially William Catlett as an ex-Marine, are mostly wasted. At least Melissa Barrera gets to use her horror bona fides to much different effect as Joey, the most conflicted of the group, and Kathryn Newton gets to continue her streak of hamming it up in the genre after “Lisa Frankenstein.” The young Alisha Weir is really the one who must really hold our attention, and she does so with relish, flitting across the screen like the most dangerous black swan, who needs no psychotic break to justify her actions to herself or anyone.
If you’re fine with leaving certain questions on the back burner, the top one being why these idiots keep deciding to split up, you’ll have a bloody good time as a reward. Who is going to make it out is obvious from the beginning, but since “Abigail” saves its most satisfying casting choice for the end, it’s worth the wait.
Grade: B-
