It was initially thought of as a sort of modern revisitation of the great classics ofUniversal Classic Monstersin the wake of what was done with The Mummy (2017). But after the sensational flop, with critics and audiences, of the film with Tom Cruise – here is our review of The Mummy – this modern and very free update of Dracula’s daughter (1936) took a very different tone. In the last months the myth of the vampire par excellence has experienced a new glory on the big screen, just think of two very different titles such as Demeter – The Awakening of Dracula (2023) or hilarious Renfield (2023), with an irresistible Nicolas Cage as the bloodsucker par excellence (if you want to know more, check out our review of Renfield).
Precisely with the latter Abigail has something in common, that is, the tone characterized more by lightness without forgetting healthy gender violence. But here even more marked is thattypically slasher accentwith the group of unfortunate characters who, against their will, find themselves dealing with an imminent and completely unexpected massacre.
Abigail: an identity question
The story is set in New York, but the metropolitan context is very relative since almost all of the story takes place within an enclosed space. At the beginning of the film, the very young Abigail, a talent in classical dance, is kidnapped by six criminals and taken tosecluded estate of Wilhelm Manor. Before leaving, the leader of the Lambert gang gives instructions that the girl be monitored for twenty-four hours, at the end of which the various members of the group will receive the ransom of fifty million dollars, paid by the girl’s father.
Each of them has a different skill and boasts a dramatic story in one’s past and immediately conflicts emerge that risk undermining that obligatory coexistence until the following day. Soon, however, what seemed like an easy mission risks becoming complicated, with suspicions about the real identity of the kidnapped hovering and raising the level of tension. But even these hypotheses paradoxically fall on deaf ears, since Abigail will soon reveal that she is hiding someone else disturbing and scary secret and for the kidnappers it will be the beginning of a waking nightmare, in which they will not be able to trust anything or anyone.
With open mouth?
The trailer and the poster, as well as the official synopsis, already hinted at the twist that effectively revolutionizes the entire narrative axis, reversing the role play and the roles of victim and villain, triggering that horror soul that was precisely inherent in the daring premise. And so we too play with our cards exposed in the analysis phase, without revealing important details on the actual showdown but investigating thisvampire aura which characterizes the hundred minutes of viewing. An aura as mentioned imposed on tragicomic tones, where hemoglobin violence is accompanied by a standard splatter entertainmentas the related sub-strand has now become widely accustomed to us over the years.
Therefore, once the initial partial surprise has vanished, the game begins to appear excessively tired and repetitivedragging on a series of clashes and about-faces that follow one another without stopping until that involuntarily ridiculous epilogue, the sum of an operation that deliberately never takes itself seriously but which he seems to want to absolve himself because of his rambunctious soul, without finding actual original ideas. Genre fun pops up here and there, let’s be clear, but there is a lack of solutions that manage to make it stand out Abigail amidst the crowded modern horror-comedy genre. Among the positive points we certainly highlight the performance of the very young Alisha Weirrecently seen also in the delicious Mischief at home (2023), and the Grand Guignole bloodiness of the special effects, which they guarantee a crude and brutal aesthetic at the right point.
The rest of the cast – we report in a small role Angus Cloud’s last performance before his untimely death – does not excel when dealing with openly stereotyped characters, starting with Melissa Barrera who returns to collaborate with the pair of directors of the latter Scream – that is to say Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett – here not supported by an up to par script. If it is in fact true that the modus operandi at Ten little Indiansnot surprisingly also mentioned in one of the dialogues, is always interesting especially if applied to scary dynamics, the management of the various pawns put into play ends up being too much of a caricature and prevents the spectator from really becoming fond of these papier-mâché figures, solely bound to a destiny already written and easily understood.
For other films available in theaters, read our column on May 2024 cinema releases.
