Film review: Abigail (18) - seen at The Light Cinema, Wisbech
Starring: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Alisha Weir, William Catlett, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud and Giancarlo Esposito
Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett Run time: One hour, 49 minutes
I don’t know if ‘great fun’ is a term you would often expect to be used when describing a horror film, but that’s exactly what Abigail is.
Think perennial Christmas favourite ‘Home Alone’ but with blood and teeth, perhaps any haunted house movie, but with a bit of gruesome murder thrown in, and you might get the picture.
This horror thriller is totally self-aware too and doesn’t try to be anything more than an amusing, fast-paced, bloody romp - with a fair dose of comedy thrown in for good measure.
The story centres around the kidnapping of 12-year-old ballerina Abigail, who is snatched from her family home and taken to an isolated mansion, where a group of criminals must keep her for 24 hours while they await the £50million ransom to be paid.
But what they don’t reckon on is that Abigail - played superbly by Alisha Weir of Matilda fame - is actually a vampire.
The motley crew of criminals assembled by kingpin Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito of ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul’ fame) are one-dimensionally brilliant. We have the beautiful but flawed Joey (Melissa Barrera of ‘Scream’ fame), the ditsy, rich blonde Sammy (Kathryn Newton), the dim muscleman Peter (Kevin Durand), the stoner Dean (Angus Cloud), the sharp former cop Frank (Dan Stevens) and the enigma Rickles (William Catlett).
The fast-paced plot has enough twists and turns to keep the audience on its toes and a particularly bloody - but ultimately - happy ending.
There’s a few bits that may leave you feeling a little squeamish but on the other hand a bit of comedic light relief is never far away either - and the way Abigail pirouettes into her attacks is quite unique and wonderful.
Rating 8/10
