You can’t really go wrong with vampire ballerinas, can you?
From the directors of the last two Scream movies and Ready or Not comes Abigail, which essentially flips the script of Ready or Not—which was about a young woman trapped in a mansion with a bunch of people trying to kill her—and has a bunch of people trapped inside a mansion with a girl who happens to be a bloodsucking vampire… ballerina.
If you enjoyed Ready or Not, Abigail is much the same (the movies share screenwriter Gary Busick). There’s some witty if not entirely sharp humor. The gore is explosive (albeit in a CGI kind of way). And it stars a tough as nails female protagonist (Melissa Barrera)… two if you count the title character (Alisha Weir).
Weir is great as the playful killer, her thirst for blood equal to her cravings for psychological torture. The story does her dirty in the end, but that’s hardly her fault.
Barrera makes for a likable Final Girl, even if she along with everyone else isn’t exactly worth saving—every person in the film is either a vampire or a criminal.
Casting aside, Abigail is a lot of fun. The story takes its time setting the stage—arguably too long—before getting into its violent middle. Some of the deaths are quite satisfying, with blood shamelessly splattered everywhere. While it’d be nice to see the filmmakers use practical effects over CGI, the end result of the gore is still grossly funny. And once Abigail unleashes her fury, the rest of the movie slides like flesh off a fresh kill.
At nearly two hours long, Abigail does begin to feel a bit long in the fang. By the time the climax rolls around, the violence has become a tad rote. The climax itself is entertaining but not incredible, your typical “let’s go big” versus something that leans into its premise in more clever ways.
Oh well.
Bloody and deliciously fun, Abigail has a lot to offer: entertainment, gore, and eternal life. And a vampire ballerina, of course.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.