A tale of vampire vengeance in the blood-soaked ‘Abigail,’ starring Alisha Weir, Dan Stevens and Melissa Barrera
By Sarah Vincent/Boston Movie News
“Abigail” aims to be the “Megan” of 2024. A group kidnaps a 12-year-old girl (Alisha Weir) for a sizeable ransom, but things go wrong from the beginning. The group doubles down, hoping her father will pay the money. As the group gets picked off one by one, they discover that their titular hostage is a vampire who has imprisoned them. Will any of them get out alive?
Like 1992’s “Reservoir Dogs,” Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), the team’s mastermind, names each member after a Rat Pack singer instead of using their real names. Joey (Melissa Barrera) is a mom, the team medic, and the hostage handler. Frank (Dan Stevens) is Lambert’s controlling right-hand man with a short fuse. Rickles (William Catlett) protects from overhead with a scoped rifle. Dean (Angus Cloud) is an unfocused wheelman who is more interested in hitting on Sammy (Kathryn Newton), a hacker. Peter (Kevin Durand) provides the muscle.
Even if you have seen all the previews, “Abigail” holds surprises. It is too bad that most will go into the movie knowing it is about a child vampire ballerina; otherwise, it would have been a neat surprise. The first act shows the team executing their job with a few snags. The second part introduces them as individuals and shows them sizing each other up and unwinding, waiting for the ransom to roll in. The final third focuses on their growing realization that they are in danger as they discover Abigail’s dad’s identity. As team members get picked off, the movie revs up a notch as Abigail reveals that she has them trapped in the mansion, not the reverse. The team scrambles to figure out how to stop her and escape. The movie becomes fun as the team functions as audience surrogates, running down a list of vampire lore and fact-checking their information in real time. Some more twists and turns are best left for you to discover.
“Abigail” is apparently a remake of “Dracula’s Daughter” from 1936. This film makes no obvious allusions to Dracula except in a very esoteric, remote allusion based on Abigail’s father’s first and last name, which is an abbreviation of a Hebrew name related to resurrection and a play on Christ. There may also be a roundabout connection to “Dracula 2000,” especially when he is referred to as the Antichrist. There are a lot of dragons stenciled on the artwork and family crest.
The writers mix some new mythology with some classics. Vampires still love blood, and there is one new weapon that reliably knocks her out. Instead of human teeth with fangs or pointed ends, Abigail gets rows of shark teeth. The secluded mansion is decorated with artwork pointing to her actual age and monstrous identity—an imposing, dark sculpture of a man with a little girl in a period dress underneath a partially shuttered round frame window in a circular-shaped library, a wall painting rendering her. The renderings of her father’s face are not visible, but his size makes her seem small in comparison, and they cannot handle her. There is a ticking clock that if dear old Dad finds them, they are done, and they will be lucky to make it long enough to meet him, considering that they are no match for Abigail. She is smart, preternatural, and experienced, and the kills are increasingly gruesome and sanguine.
It is a relief that a child actor was not equated with pulling punches on gore. The writers never prose dump to cover Abigail’s history, but she alludes to her history with enough vagueness to evoke equal parts sympathy and fear. It is a relief that the film does not over-rely on the vampire kid ballerina gimmick other than for aesthetic purposes and to give a sense of Abigail’s personality and personal history.
Ballet has carried different connotations through the centuries. Ballet dancers were usually male, and the first ballerina hit the stage in 1681. Now, it is considered elegant, hyper-feminine, and the realm of the privileged, which is how Abigail presents herself in the film’s opening. However, the historical reality for Abigail may have been very different. Ballet dancers often face verbal abuse and are plagued with physical strain. Still, Degas’ famous subjects were also young, working-class girls and women who were called petits-rats while training and were treated like strippers or sex workers for wealthy men to enjoy. Abigail has an exchange with Frank that suggests she has a special reserve of disgust for men who like hurting young girls, and it may not just stem from theoretical solidarity. The story could imply that her sire may have rescued her from that life, though she did not know that becoming a vampire was part of the deal. It was a father-daughter relationship, and there was not even a whiff of sexual tension between them, so no minds in the gutter on this one. While Abigail is a predator, she is also someone who seems to enjoy recreating a possible trauma in which she gets to turn the tables on people who not only displeased her father but have no moral qualms about hurting little girls, which makes her a fun, bad guy.
Because most of the ensemble cast is teaming with good actors, they make the most of their archetypal characters, and there are unexpected emotional notes of warmth and humor amidst the horror. Light a candle for Barrera, who manages to overcome the usual eye-roll-inducing trope of a sympathizer with this character because she is a mother without filling in many other details. The parent-child theme is the weakest aspect of this story, though the narrative is supposed to revolve around it. Barrera is convincing as someone who reads people easily, fears few, and never stops changing course on the rollercoaster job. When she starts to wear down, the stakes feel real.
Stevens leans heavily on the “Queens” accent and attitude but is always a joy to watch playing sleazy, dissolute characters. It is a surprise when he shows rare flashes of humanity. Newton is the flashiest character who gets to chew the scenery and gets some of the funniest moments. It is nice to see her embrace a trend of accepting roles as over-the-top characters, starting with the protagonist in the recent horror-comedy, “Lisa Frankenstein.” Durand has a lot of experience playing an imposing vampire hunter from appearing in the television series “The Strain,” but in this round, he is the comedic relief and more of a gentle giant. Catlett, who delivered an amazing performance in last year’s “A Thousand and One,” is oddly inert in this role. Cloud, who died before the release of “Abigail,” plays according to type. Esposito does not get enough screentime, but he still makes a strong impression.
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and co-writer Guy Busick teamed up on “Ready or Not” in 2019, so if you want that film replicated except bigger and badder, you may be disappointed. This film is a different beast though “Abigail” shares similarities with their prior brainchild: people expect one situation then get another where they may have to fight for their lives against the odds. This film sports a new member of the writing team, with Stephen Shields taking R. Christopher Murphy’s place in the creative team, and he is a great addition. If you are coming for vampires, you will have a great time.
“Abigail” is a diluted “30 Days of Night” meets “The Usual Suspects” with a sense of humor. It is an entertaining gore fest that will make any vampire movie fan a happy camper.
‘Abigail’
Rating: R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, pervasive language, and brief drug use.
Cast: Alyla Browne, Ryan Corr, Penelope Mitchell, Noni Hazlehurst, Jermaine Fowler, Robyn Nevin, Silvia Colloca, Danny Kim
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Writer: Stephen Shields, Guy Busick
Running time: 1 hour 49 minutes
Where to watch: In theaters April 18
Grade: B
Sarah G. Vincent is a freelance film writer who writes for Cambridge Day, In Between Drafts, and sarahgvincentviews.com, her blog. She is a regular contributor on WGBH News’ Morning Edition and has made guest appearances on NECN/NBC 10. She is a Tomato-approved critic and a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics. She is originally from NYC and was introduced to repertory cinema while working at the Harvard Film Archives.
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