Movie Review: ‘Abigail’

by | Apr 22, 2024 | Featured Post, Movie Reviews, Movies | 0 comments

If you are reading this, it might be too late for this warning, but avoid previews for Abigail if you can. Because the first half of the movie would be more suspenseful and thrilling without knowing what is about to happen in the latter half, which was the focus of most of the previews I saw. Even Wikipedia gives away any suspense in their opening description. With that being said, it is difficult to discuss this movie without some spoilers. In general, this is a horror comedy with a classic movie monster directed by the same people that directed the last two Scream films. There is plenty of character development to make you care about and/or understand many of the characters, both good and bad. And you can expect plenty of gore in potentially unexpected ways.

The movie opens with a ballet dancer performing a somber performance to an empty theater (a metaphor for her life maybe). Afterward, she goes home, but her night is just beginning as a group of semi-organized kidnappers are waiting to abduct her. They take her to a secluded mansion where they are told to hold her safely for 24 hours at which point they can expect millions to be paid by her undisclosed wealthy father. The group members are given aliases based on the Rat Pack (a reference I am sure younger horror fans will know) and are told to not share personal information, but through bets and observations, some details (and character development) emerge. Obviously, given that this is a horror movie, these few personal details are the least of their worries.

Now, for the first half of the movie, the horror is fairly limited to a couple of jump scares and an unseen force taking on the first few kills. If you haven’t seen any previews, you might be wondering who or what is terrorizing the house (which unexpectedly goes into a secure lockdown to prevent anyone from leaving) and maybe what their connection is to the title character. But it is not long before the movie reveals the main villain and starts to ratchet up the horror, the gore, and the creepiness with literal bloodbaths and plenty of twists to keep you on the edge of your seat.

The movie is entertaining if you like horror (and a lot of gore). There is enough humor to keep the tone light, but not so much that it becomes a spoof, almost on par with the Scream films. Most of the actors were great, even the ones with little screen time, like Giancarlo Esposito. This is Angus Cloud’s last film, and he gets a dedication at the end. The family drama subplot was an interesting way to almost humanize the main villain. Only one potential plot hole kinda annoys me in hindsight (too much of a spoiler to bring up here), but I could probably find a plausible explanation when I see the movie again, which I suspect I will at least once (when it comes to Blu-Ray or streaming).

Bradley Smith
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