'Abigail' movie review: Entertaining Horror comedy that gloriously descends into Kitsch soaked in gore

Still from Abigail

Film: Abigail
Cast: Alisha Weir, Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Angus Cloud, Kathryn Newton, William Catlett, Kevin Durand, Giancarlo Esposito
Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Rating: 3/5
Runtime: 109 min.

The film opens quite alluringly - with a little girl practicing her ballet routine in a theatre and then settling down to go back home. Parallel to that we see a group of 6 assembled criminal experts, unknown to each other, prepping themselves for the assignment of kidnapping the little ballerina for a heavy ransom. We may guess that she could be the daughter of a multi-millionaire and so do they criminals. But they've been given their orders and the booty is just enough to shut out their curiosity regarding the victim. The deed is done and the group just about make it out of the girl's home, taking her to the appointed place several miles away.

The premise is unsophisticated, cliched, but what happens thereafter makes it interesting. It's supposed to be a 24-hour job and each is looking at $7 million as pay-off. The lure is strong enough for them to stay captive in a mansion that literally turns on them. In the first two hours itself they find out that she is the daughter of a badass who goes by the name of Kristoff Lazaar. Urban Legends have him as an omnipotent power who can accomplish even the impossible. But Lazaar is not the only problem they are facing…

This film is a blast. The plot may not have a complex bent but the bare-bones story is enough for the team to work up a flood of blood and gore - the kind that we've rarely seen before. This team has made ‘Ready Or Not' and two ‘Scream' movies before this and has proved themselves as genre efficient. The characters, though they are not supposed to identify each other and are given Rat-pack names, play a guessing game and their backstories are inadvertently revealed. Then comes the action and once that starts there's just no letting up. The blood starts flowing with absolute gusto! The comedy lands even in the midst of all that red slush, blood sucking and decapitated bodies galore. The action/gore sequences are exactly what the horror fan would have ordered. And there's no evading that spill…

Melissa Barrera, shines as the main protagonist whose story draws you in and allows you to empathise with her plight. Dan Stevens as the unpredictable foul-mouthed former cop does well to lend an edge to the proceedings, Kathryn Newton as the gum-chewing computer nerd brings on the laughs even when she is battling the biggest horrors. Giancarlo Esposito and the late Angus Cloud also do well in smaller roles. Ultimately it's Alisha Weir as Abigail who steals the show with her vulnerability and vampiric power. She is so believable that she makes the entire experience a totally fun one! The sfx, blood, guts and gore hit you in the face post-interval. And it's just not something any of the characters can run away from. The narrative managed to stay supple, engaging, fun and camp with the scare factor coming in at a lower but mandatory score. The Radio Silence collective, and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, have together created a most entertaining watch even when it descends into kitsch soaked in gore!