ABIGAIL

Don’t watch the trailer. Try not to look at any marketing for the film at all.

I appreciate that 99% of you will have already done so, but for the 1% that haven’t, don’t.

Because there is something that has been used liberally in the marketing that the directors - Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not, Scream)- have clearly meant as a reveal. And while knowing going in didn’t ruin the movie the for me, I think going in blind would have enhanced my experience.

That being said, it does make it rather difficult to write a review. Usually I would say that anything disclosed in the trailer and marketing is fair game for a reviewer to talk about, but on this occasion I’m breaking that rule. I won’t mention it or allude to it. I’ve even chosen the most spoiler free poster to use on this review of all available posters (I’ve even gone in a removed the tagline from it!)

Seriously, go into Abigail knowing as little as possible.

What can I talk about then.

Abigail doesn’t waste any time getting us into the action, introducing us to a crack team of kidnappers breaking into a high security mansion to abduct the titular Abigail (Alisha Weir). They take her to a spooky manor house where Giancarlo Esposito’s Lambert tells them to hold her while he waits for a $50,000,000 dollar ransom to be paid by Abigails crime lord father.

While there… things don’t go to plan, as the fathers assassin starts to pick them off one by one. 

That’s as far as I’ll go with the story.

The cast here are great, and the film does a great job of naturally having Melissa Barrera’s Joey give a great exposition dump to help us get to know them.

As she goes around each in turn, showing off her gift of perception, giving the audience just enough about each character to know who they are. It’s a moment that in weaker hands may have felt forced, but Barrera manages to pull it off. As she does for the whole film. She is utterly convincing when things begin to turn and the films twists and turns present themselves.

Dan Stevens is having a lot of fun as the gangs de facto leader Frank, leaning heavily into the films overt silliness, and Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand and the lat Angus Cloud all ham up their characters tropes to suitable levels. Each giving enough to make it fun, without tipping over into full on caricature. 

The real star though is Alicia Weir. Seeing as the film is named after her character I don’t think I’m giving too much away by saying it gives her a lot to do. And she handles all of it exceptionally well. She would have been 13/14 when the film was shot, and is compelling in everything she is asked to do. She is going to be a star.

Elsewhere, some of the costume design and make up is really when put together, and there are some fun set pieces along the way… but I can’t really talk about that.

I think horror aficionados may, however, be put out slightly by how… not scary this film is. Anyone who knows me, or has read my reviews of horror films, will know that I scare easily. And Abigail didn’t scare me at all. 

It was really good fun though. A genre film that injects just the right amount of silliness into its script.

There are some brief nods towards world building, indicating that sequels could be made if anyone were to want them, but they are subtle enough that the film works just as well as something stand alone. 

Living in an age where franchiseability seems to be shoehorned into just about anything, with studios constantly setting up the next thing and the next thing and the next thing after that, it is refreshing to a film with a more take it or leave it approach. It works on its own, but you could build on it if you wanted to.

Overall, Abigail is a fun, if not scary, horror movie, with a great cast. And that is really all I can say about it. 

Frankly I’m amazed I was even able to write this much.

Go see it. I would really recommend it. But if you can, go and see it knowing as little as possible.