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Abigail Movie Review

Name: Abigail Movie Review
Item: Abigail
Rating: 2.5
Author: Pradip Bhat

Abigail Movie Review English Movie Review

Written by

Review for the film " Abigail"

Runtime: 02 Hours 00 Minutes

Certificate: A

Released: 26-04-2024

Genre: Horror

Similar To: Zombies Vs. Robots, Zombieland 2, Buzz Cut, The Negotiation

Critic Review
User Review

2.5 / 5.0

3.55 / 5.0

CAST & CREW

Rich Delia

Brian Tyler

Kathryn Newton

Melissa Barrera

Dan Stevens

Giancarlo Esposito

Kevin Durand

Matthew Goode

MORE CAST & CREW

Producer:

James Vanderbilt

Paul Neinstein

William Sherak

Chad Villella

Tripp Vinson

Editor:

Michael P. Shawver

Director:

Tyler Gillett

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

Screenplay:

Guy Busick

Stephen Shields

First Assistant Director:

Daire Glynn

Second Assistant Director:

Tanya Rosen

Karen Byrne

Director of Photography:

Aaron Morton

Executive Producer:

Ron Lynch

Macdara Kelleher

Second Unit Director:

Wade Allen

Assistant Editor:

Gabriel Diaz

Script Supervisor:

Sinéad Lillis

Louise Gaffney

Gaffer:

Barry Conroy

Music Editor:

Ben Zales

Matthew Llewellyn

Foley Artist:

Dan O\'Connell

Casting Assistant:

Amy Costa

Costume Assistant:

Annie Peachey

Location Manager:

Eoin Holohan

Makeup Artist:

Cara Hannah Sullivan

Aimee Plant

Liz Byrne

Stunt Coordinator:

Giedrius Nagys

Stunt Double:

Aoife Bailey

Hannah Behan

Jokubas Nagys

Yeray Morillas

Jacek Jagodka

Rachelle Beinart

Visual Effects Coordinator:

Vikas Patnaik

Anna Escoda

Digital Compositor:

Adrià Ruiz

Eloi Bartolomé

Compositor:

Duncan Key

Samantha Bailor

Camera Operator:

Mick O\'Rourke

Electrician:

Rob Atkinson

Assistant Art Director:

Robert Barrett

Lighting Technician:

Sean Conroy

Eimear Ennis-Graham

First Assistant Editor:

Diana \'D\' Yip

Production Coordinator:

Cian Boyne

Costume Supervisor:

Niamh Buckley

Digital Imaging Technician:

Sean Leonard

Graphic Designer:

James Doyle

Patricia Douglas

Production Assistant:

Roisin O\'Donoghue

Title Designer:

Matt Curtis

Key Grip:

John Connon

Actor:

Giancarlo Esposito

Kevin Durand

Dan Stevens

Angus Cloud

Matthew Goode

William Catlett

Actress:

Alisha Weir

Melissa Barrera

Kathryn Newton

Art Direction:

Aisling O\'Callaghan

Production Design:

Susie Cullen

Story:

Stephen Shields

Original Music Composer:

Brian Tyler

Costume Design:

Gwen Jeffares Hourie

Third Assistant Director:

Nicola Jackson

Fight Choreographer:

Jessica Grant

Casting:

Rich Delia

Stunts:

Isaac Cairns

Alessandro Romeo

Isaac Finken

Jennifer El Damasi

Seth Collins

Supervising Art Director:

Shane McEnroe

Unit Production Manager:

Niamh Gale

Production Secretary:

Ciara Walsh Clancy

ADR Mixer:

Patrick Christensen

Foley Mixer:

Tavish Grade

Assistant Location Manager:

Jack Farrelly

Best Boy Grip:

Karl Roche

Grip:

Oisín Kelly

Property Master:

Mick Flood

Concept Artist:

Peter Delaney

Hair Designer:

Linda Gannon

Prosthetic Makeup Artist:

Paddy Hoyne

Executive In Charge Of Production:

Cristen Carr Strubbe

Assistant Director Trainee:

Chelsea O\'Toole

Oisin McDermott

Alan Elbakidze

Props:

Fabien Oman

Production Sound Mixer:

Hugh Fox

Head of Layout:

Huck Hur

Compositing Supervisor:

Gudjon Kristjansson

Lighting Artist:

Pablo Franquebalme Álvarez

Stunt Driver:

Chris Dowling

Orlaith Doherty

Paul Thompson

Fionn Condren

Stephen Mullen

David Byrne

Dennis Healy

First Assistant Camera:

Alan Butler

Luke Murphy Gilligan

Clapper Loader:

Sean Green

Camera Trainee:

Daniel Kinney

Bailey Hayden

Greg Murphy

Elena Larionova

Lighting Programmer:

Barry Hehir

Second Assistant Camera:

Howard Jones

Shane Rowan

Richard Lacey

Epk Camera Operator:

Esme Pum McNamee

Dailies Technician:

Zach McParland

ADR Voice Casting:

Mark Sussman

Patty Connolly

Costume Standby:

Lindsey McClurg

Audrey Lynch

Nicola Flynn

Ciara Deery

Location Assistant:

Tessa Davis

Orchestrator:

Jeff Toyne

Picture Car Coordinator:

Anthony Pattison

Assistant Production Coordinator:

Donal Duffy

Production Trainee:

Harry Loakman

In Memory Of:

Angus Cloud

Click Here For Full Cast & Crew

Abigail is a horror film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Stephen Shields and Guy Busick scripted the film’s screenplay. This film features Melissa Barrera Bio coming soon... >> Read More... (Joey), Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan aka Dan Stevens is an English acto >> Read More... (Frank), Alisha Weir (Abigail), Will Catlett (Rickles), Kathryn Newton Kathryn Newton is an American actress born on 8th >> Read More... (Sammy), Kevin Durand Kevin Durand is an artist if nationality Canada. K >> Read More... (Peter), Angus Cloud (Dean), Giancarlo Esposito Giancarlo’s full name is Giuseppe Alessandro Espos >> Read More... (Lambert), Matthew Goode Matthew Goode, also known as Matthew William Goode >> Read More... (Abigail's father), and others. Brian Tyler has given the music for this film. The producers of this film are Macdara Kelleher, Ron Lynch, Paul Neinstein, William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, Chad Villella, and Tripp Vinson. Aaron Morton is the cinematographer of this film. Michael P. Shawver is the editor of this movie.

Plot

The story is centered on a group of criminals who are hired for a kidnapping. Their target is Abigail, the young, ballet-loving daughter of a rich and powerful man. They pull off their assignment easily and take their target to a remote house, where they're met by Lambert. He tells them to keep an eye on Abigail, to wait for 24 hours, and to not disclose any personal information to one another. They're left with food and a fully stocked bar, and they begin to pass the night. But this scheme to get rich almost immediately turns into a demented bloodbath once they discover that the mansion safe house they're keeping her in is actually a trap, and this kidnapped child is a hungry vampire with a penchant for sarcastic one-liners and dancing with decapitated bodies. The stories unfold the mysteries as further.

Star Performances

Alisha Weir effortlessly fluctuates between a terrified ballerina child at the center of a kidnapping, a ruthless killing machine with feral rage, and a sarcastic sense of humor with jokes wise beyond her years. This is an exhaustingly demanding role for even the most seasoned actors, and she makes it look not just easy. Barrera gets the less fun role of being the film’s moral compass, she brings a steely confidence and giant heart to the film that the story would be so much lesser without. Sadly is hardly anything memorable about her role, and so, not even her charisma and acting abilities can raise the bar for the movie. Dan Stevens also does excellent, and he might be the most exciting character, but sadly, the film takes him in a more clichéd direction, and we are left with just the basics once again. The rest of the cast does well, but they were given minimal screen time, so there is little to talk about their performances other than the fact that we have seen these actors play the same roles in different projects. Angus Cloud’s performance is a bit sad and underwhelming.

Analysis

Abigail, the new horror film directed by the duo from Radio Silence, goes back to the long-lost story of vampires and introduces a fun premise with edgy dialogue and a good dose of old-fashioned gore. The bloodthirsty creatures of the night have been in a bit of a slumber, as horror films were trying to create new mythologies, but finally, through Abigail, they made a comeback. At the start, Abigail presents itself as a very classic heist movie, with several criminals coming together and forming a crew to kidnap the daughter of a very important businessman. However, things don’t go the way they plan, and the target of the kidnapping ends up being something a lot more dangerous than just a twelve-year-old girl that loves ballet, and she is a vampire and the criminals become her new victims. This premise propels the movie from beginning to end, even if it stumbles a bit throughout its runtime. The filmmakers establish a tone that incorporates humor without distracting from the true horror of the situation. It doesn't betray anything, as the elements are melded together gracefully.

The dialogues are catchy and initially grab your attention, but over the time they start feeling odd. The characters in the film believe that they are part of a gritty crime story, and they act all tough. However, when they realize that they are actually in a horror film, things become pretty funny, as most of the jokes and observations are a hit or a miss. This hell0-ride that the filmmakers take us would have been far more interesting if the prior groundwork for characters was laid. The weakest part of the film is the characters themselves, which is not unexpected as in these film most of the characters die before the end. So, the writers don’t believe there is a reason to go deep into their motivations. Doing so would have had more impact on each death, but this does not happen in this film. The characters are also placed in cliched situations. All betrayals and alliances can be seen from miles away without surprises or twists. This makes the film dull at times, especially in the beginning when the movie is trying to set up the entire situation that will place the characters in the hands of the little vampire girl. The skillful cinematography enhances the visual appeal of the film, and except for a few quibbles, the editing is decent as well. The background score plays a vital role in creating a horror setting and making the audience feel more involved.

What’s There?

The acting performances of the film are pretty decent.
The movie’s cinematography is good.

What’s Not There?

The film has no significant sequences that are memorable.
It lacks a decent script, and its narrative ends up being a bland mix of every vampire film ever made.

Verdict

Though it may not create any lasting impression, Abigail is a fun watch. While it often veers too far into different genres, never pretty balancing the two, and it mostly ends up disappointing on both counts. However, its entertainment quotient is high. There are a couple of gory moments that are quite up there in terms of gore, but other than that, it seems this movie will be most enjoyed by fans of the genre who were waiting for a fun, bloody movie to watch.

TRAILER