FRIGHT FEST: UNIVERSAL FINALLY GETS ITS DARK UNIVERSE MOVIE WITH ABIGAIL

 Ain’t no party like a vampire party!

In Abigail, a group of un-professional criminals kidnap the daughter of a wealthy businessman. They hide out with the daughter in a mansion, waiting for him to pay up the fee. When their co-horts start to drop like flies, the remaining members of the group find  that all exits have been barricaded. Much to their horror, they realize that the daughter has been hiding a deadly secret: she is a vampire, and they are her prey. Let the fun commence!

Abigail stars Melissa Barrera as Joey, Dan Stevens as Frank, Kathryn Newton as Sammy, Kevin Durand as Peter, and Alisha Weir as Abigail. Most of the cast shine in their roles and are very memorable. It’s great to see Dan Stevens back in a horror film, and it’s clear he’s enjoying himself here. Melissa Barrera is better than she was in the Scream films. Kathryn Newton gets some memorable lines and a killer dance scene. Kevin Durand is much fun as the burly dum-dum.

Naturally, this is Abigail’s film and Alisha Weir (who previously played Matilda in Netflix’s Matilda the Musical) puts on a career-making performance. She’s having a lot of fun playing the pint-sized menace who enjoys playing with her food. She’s also fantastic at ballet and dancing. It’s easy to buy her as a centuries old monster masquerading as a child, and Alisha puts plenty of gleeful menace and snark into her role. There’s no doubt about it, Abigail easily emerges as a new horror icon!

Radio Silence (the maestros behind Scream V, Scream VI, and Ready or Not) are responsible for Abigail. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet direct. Stephen Shields and Guy Busick Penn the screenplay. Both the direction and writing are superb. Abigail takes itself seriously enough, but isn’t afraid to crack some great jokes on occasion (don’t be surprised if you get some hearty laughs at times).

Produced by Universal, Abigail sets out to be a modern re-invention of the vampire mythos/lore. It’s too much fun watching Radio Silence put their own creative spin on vampires, their weaknesses, and their strengths. The production design by Susie Cullen is aces as well. The mansion Abigail is set in is rich, elaborate, and gorgeous. Much like its titular antagonist, the mansion also comes with a few secrets.

Imagine if you mixed together Return of the Living Dead, The Ransom of Red Chief, Dracula’s Daughter, and the atmosphere of a Hammer horror film. The intoxicating mixture would result in Abigail. It takes 40-45 minutes to get to the meat of the movie, the third act has some twists which don’t land perfectly, and there is a good deal of CGI blood (there are practical effects featured as well), but these minor nitpicks aren’t enough to stake an otherwise gory good time at the theater. Horror freaks and vampire fans should  find much to enjoy here. With The Invisible Man, Abigail, and the upcoming The Wolf Man, I’d say Universal’s modern re-invention of their classic monsters is finally hitting all the right notes.

4.5 STARS