Vampires are nothing new in film, but it's not everyday that we get a little girl vampire who's also a ballerina in
Abigail. The titular character, initially acting like an innocent child, gets kidnapped by a group of criminals who are unaware of what she is and only know that Abigail is the daughter of a powerful figure. Things start to go wrong when the house they're in locks them in, Abigail reveals herself as a vampire, and the bodies start dropping. This film is a complete riot thanks to the combination of strong writing, directing, acting, effects, production values, and cinematography. Stephen Shields and Guy Busick craft a fun and terrifying script that manages to take an overused premise and give it great spins, while also having very three dimensional characters with very witty and informative dialogue. Coming off of the last two
Scream movies, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett continue to prove why their unique touch and style are perfect for the horror genre. As Abigail, Alisha Weir is fantastic and terrifying, proving to be such a formidable and fun actress despite being in her early teens. Alongside her you also get strong and believable performances from Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, and Kevin Durand. All of them manage to take the already great writing of their characters and install charm and likability to them. The minimal and small locations helps to give the effects, production values, and cinematography a sense of great detail despite its limited setting. A movie as fun, good, and absolutely bonkers and terrifying is not always easy to make, but
Abigail manages to do that in spades. Over all: 100%
2024 top list so far:
1. Dune: Part 2
2. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
3. Abigail
4. Monkey Man
5. Late Night with the Devil
6. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
7. The Book of Clarence
8. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
9. Drive-Away Dolls
10. Kung Fu Panda 4
11. Lisa Frankenstein
12. Argylle
13. Mean Girls 2024
