Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Starring Melissa Barrera, Alisha Weir, Dan Stevens, and Angus Cloud

Abigail has tried to do for vampire films what Scream did for slashers, it’s a pastiche lovingly made and indulgently critical of the formulaic narratives plaguing the uber-popular vampire movies of the 2010s.

In the film a ragtag group of token mercenaries are hired by a mysterious third party and tasked with abducting a target for ransom. What isn’t explained prior to the kidnapping, however, is that their target is Abigail, a 12-year-old girl who may well be the daughter of Dracula, though he’s not named in the film. The wheels fall off the group’s loosely oiled machine sooner than expected and they are left to fend for themselves against the brattiest vampire cinema has ever seen.

Abigail succeeds in redefining the typical landscape of a vampire movie, and in doing so, subverting the expectations of its audience from start to finish. It’s not that the stereotypical tropes of vampire flicks aren’t on display, but it’s more that directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett –fresh off wrapping up Scream VI – take massive liberties with which rules they are willing to follow.

At one point one of the mercenaries-turned-prey wonders aloud what the characters in Twilight would do to survive and from there they create a plan of action to survive the night. Similar scenes can be found in Scream but the difference here is that the monster is a pre-pubescent ballerina. The movie’s tagline is that ‘children can be such monsters’, and this is used as a fun excuse for the directors to create their own spin on the formula, because what kid listens to rules anyway?

Speaking of Abigail, actress Alisha Weir carries her weight better than most child actors tasked with juggling the dual roles of little girl and 200-year-old monster in one. Her performance flickers from hostage and victim to patronising hunter, who enjoys making a mockery of the naive adults who abducted her in the first place, which often leads to comedic gold.

As far as the other characters go, the film is unexpectedly generous in sharing the screentime around its supporting cast, bar one or two who meet their demise earlier than expected. As the audience wraps their heads around what traditional monster rules Abigail is going to follow, so too do the mercenaries who either accept their doomed fate or madly try to piece the mystery together themselves. A moment towards the end of the film hilariously showcases one human shifting from active planner to hopeless cog in the machine after they’re confronted with such a ridiculous series of events that they quietly exclaim ‘what the f***’ as they slowly exit the scene. This serves as Abigail’s best moment in that it never goes too far into nonsensicality as to get frustrating but aggressively pushes everyone to stop trying to outsmart it and just to enjoy the ride instead.

Abigail however perhaps overindulges in itself at times. I was surprised to find that it was only 109 minutes as the credits rolled because the movie somehow felt much longer. It’s not a massive complaint as there aren’t many wasted moments during its runtime, but a little bit of executive tightening could’ve really helped it make every minute count.

This film doesn’t take itself seriously and punishes those who do. To go from a good movie to a great movie, however, I think more could have been done to really home in on the three things that made Scream such a classic: humour, confusion, and gore. Abigail has all three in spades but never really gives any one enough time to shine.

Abigail is showing in cinemas across Australia from April 18th.

Moviedoc thanks Universal Pictures for the invitation to the screening of this film.

Reviewed by Zak Wheeler for Moviedoc

©