There have been a few films like Preadtor (the hunter becomes the hunted) or Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (the con becomes the mark) where the tables are turned on its characters. The best thing about these types of films is where the bad person does not know they are the ones in trouble until it is too late. And sometimes, it gets worse.
Abigail is the latest film from Ready or Not director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (Ready or Not) alongside Scream’s Tyler Gillett. The cast here includes Alisha Weir, Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, William Catlett, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand, and Angus Cloud where a criminal crew led by Frank (Stevens) and Joey (Barrera) kidnap a child named Abigail (Weir) and bring her a mansion in a very remote location. The plan is to hold the child for twenty-four hours until the ransom is paid, but as time rolls on they realize that the child is the daughter of a powerful mobster… and a vampire. Once this is discovered, the criminals actually have the tables turned on them where they become the hunted.
Since the cast is basically Abagail and the six criminals, it is important for them to have good chemistry, which they do. My shout-out definitely goes to Weir as Abagail; I loved how she started off as the innocent and scared child and then turns into a killer: conniving, a deep thinker, and a planner. For a horror film, the acting is good overall, but the story and look made it that much better. The majority of the film takes place in the mansion, and it is shot in a way that reminds me of Disney’s Haunted Mansion by making that a character itself.
The story here is impressive overall with a good twist of being more than just a vampire film with lots of carnage in a combination of Blade and Suicide Kings. There is great mix of gore and comedy that works well with its and plot twist. If I have a gripe it would be that the script flows well until the last ten to fifteen minutes where it gets too complicated and tried adding some unneeded twists. Of course, be aware that there is a lot of gore and adult situations, but for a horror film it is a lot of fun. As in the past, Abigail is one of those films where seeing it in packed theater at night will have a different experience than it would be watching at home by yourself during the day, so check it out opening weekend in the theaters the cheapest way possible.
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