I attended a pre-screening of the movie “Abigail” and as someone who enjoys horror films, I was curious to see what the plot of this movie was going to be about. The film didn’t blow me away, but it wasn’t disappointing either. 

“Abigail” is a horror-thriller following the kidnapping of a 12-year-old ballerina by a group of criminals, who later find themselves trapped with her in a secluded mansion, unaware of what that tiny little dancer really is.  

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet, founders of the horror collective Radio Silence, known for their movies “Scream”, “Ready or Not”, and “V/H/S”, who have cemented their style in this genre. “Abigail” brings together a talented ensemble cast featuring actors such as Dan Stevens (recently in “Godzilla x Kong”), who portrays a cocky alpha male; Melissa Barrera (recently in the Scream franchise) as a medic; Kathryn Newton (recently in “Lisa Frankenstein”) as a ditzy computer hacker; Angus Cloud (known for his role in “Euphoria” who passed in 2013) as a clueless stoner; William Catlett (recently in “Constellation”) as a taciturn enigma, Kevin Durand (recently in “Dangerous”) as the muscle and Giancarlo Esposito (recently in “Parish” ) as Lambert, the brains behind the operation. And let’s not overlook the standout performance by Alisha Weir (known for her role in “Matilda”) as the bloodthirsty ballerina who danced her way through the movie. 

As for the film itself, I thought it would lean towards a more serious tone, but the added comic relief gave “Abigail” the much-needed push to make it worth spending 1h 49m of your day. While it’s evident that Barrera’s character is set to survive from the start, she happened to be the character I liked the least. Unlike the other characters who injected the movie with their joking and dimwitted remarks, Barrera’s character maintained a more serious tone that for me didn’t quite align with the overall vibe of the film. Personally, I would have preferred it if the ending had a twist, maybe where the character played by Catlett ended up surviving and Barreras character was dinner.  

And of course, let’s not forget the horror side of the movie. Personally, there was very little horror; if anything, I would say it leaned more towards a thriller with the building of suspense as the characters started dying off. However, what they lacked in scary scenes, they made up for with splatter, or should I say large explosions of gore. There’s a particular dancing scene that added a nice macabre touch. 

It seems that vampires are making a comeback with multiple vampire movies having been released in the past year, including the Nosferatu remake towards the end of the year. And while “Abigail” may not go down in history as a horror classic, it still managed to deliver a solid dose of entertainment while it lasted.  

As for the rating I would give it a 3/5