- Date of Release: 19 April 2024
- Genre: Horror, Thriller
- Language: English
Abigail
Introduction
Horror as a genre has gone through a massive transformation from the last millenium. Gone are the days when just a one note horror film was served with a bunch of jumpscares to give you some cheap thrills. It has in fact expanded to innumerous sub-genres like the slasher genre or even the vampire genre, to even an amalgamation of the two like in the case of Abigail. But at its core, the writing should be such that it should engage the viewers, not solely relying on the cheap scares with gallons of blood which is often used as a by-product. And this is where Abigail fails as a film to an extent! I did have a good amount of hopes from the film given that it was from the makers who were at the helm of things with a couple of films from the Scream franchise. So then how does Abigail stand in front of the Scream franchise, and more importantly does it manage to impress, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
Abigail follows the story of a group of criminals who kidnap a 12 year old girl in exchange for a ransom worth 50 million dollars. But as the girl is kept captive through the night, each one from the group begins to dwindle without an iota of realisation that the girl is indeed a vampire. The story here is good and definitely scores well on paper but the idea was to take this interesting premise and convert it into a nail-biting horror film, something that the writing and the execution doesn’t quite allow it to happen. There are moments of brilliance buried under the clout of mediocrity, and that was the biggest letdown of the film that definitely had potential on paper. The screenplay standing at about a 100 minutes is taut but quite absurd with its writing and even so with its logic that it didn’t quite allow me to buy into this world.
The drama opens with a quick glimpse of all the principal characters, each one of them supposedly a criminal who are shown to plan the kidnapping of a 12 year old who is shown to be learning ballet as a dance form. The kidnapping does go as planned even as the group bring the little victim to a mansion wherein they are asked to babysit her in exchange for a ransom of 50 million dollars. What seemed like a quiet little night out, soon turns out to be a violent one even as each one of them starts to get hunted down by an unknown entity. The twist in the tale arises when the remaining members of the group realise that the 12 year old is no ordinary girl but actually a vampire!
I quite enjoyed the concept of the hunters being hunted one by one but I couldn’t help but fathom the fact that the writing was weak with a very weak storyline. The limitations of the location where the entire film was set, also threatened to pull the plug on its viewers given that there wasn’t something entirely new or innovative to offer. Yes, there were moments of brilliant featuring a character moving towards another only for the head of the latter to fall off, in a classic scene from the horror fiesta. In a separate event, the members of the group being stunned at the revelation of their victim being a vampire with no real weakness in sight. But the genre demanded more from the script, with a few more twists and turns to keep you invested.
My biggest gripe here was the writing that lacked even a basic sense of logic to the proceedings while being too simplistic and monotonous. While the twists and turns were deprived of a shock value, the entire motivation of one of the principal characters was ridiculously flat that did nothing to elevate the drama. That character which was supposedly a marquee character but so sketchy in its writing, that there was no real impact created even in times of combat. The events leading to the final hour are decent with gallons of blood in store but also absurdist with its writing that did not go above the ordinary. While the final face-off was good, the twist post that was ridiculous and almost laughable, something that made me question on why was it introduced in the first place. Overall, the screenplay has its moments but often overshadowed in a wave of mediocrity that doesn’t quite leave a desired impact.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are adequate but nothing much to shout about here. The music and particularly the BGM is haunting and gets the vibe of the drama just right. The cinematography is good capturing frames of gore with panache while also briefly inculcating a sense of fear in the minds of the viewers. The editing is decent but I did feel a sense of lag at a few junctures which could have been ironed out for a crisper watch. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olp and Tyler Gillett manage to do a decent job but the direction ought to have been much better for a higher impact. The direction felt loose at certain places that exposed the shortcomings of the writing even more.
Performances
The performances are quite good here by the ensemble cast. Angus Cloud in probably his final onscreen outing as Dean does manage to leave a mark. William Catlett as Rickles, Kevin Durand as Peter and Kathryn Newton as Sammy are first rate and lend dependable support. Dan Stevens as Frank is terrific and plays a perfect nemesis to the protagonist. Alisha Weir as Abigail is good but her character doesn’t quite blossom due to the one-note shades related to the characterization. Melissa Barrera as Joey has a good screen presence and definitely leaves a lasting impression.
Conclusion
Abigail is a classic case of a good premise marred by weak writing and average execution that doesn’t fully live up to its potential. It is watchable with bouts of brilliance but I couldn’t help but question the weak writing of the film that didn’t fully convince me about the motivations of the character. Decent, but nothing great to offer here!
