Abigail

Abigail is an original concept and offers a fresh take on the vampire genre. The main idea of the story focusing on Dracula’s daughter, could’ve been derived from the 1936 film “Dracula’s Daughter” starring Gloria Holden, but the whole story and plot are entirely different. Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett.

The story revolves around six criminals who thought they’ve scored big when they snatched a 12-year-old ballerina named Abigail, assuming she’s the daughter of a major crime boss. They hide out in a remote mansion, expecting an easy payday with a $50 million ransom. But things take a wild turn when they realize Abigail isn’t just some helpless kid—she’s actually a centuries-old vampire. As the night goes on, the hunters become the hunted, with the crew getting picked off one by one by the creepy little girl they seriously underestimated.

Characters

The castings were great, I have no issue about any of them. Actors and their performances were phenomenal. The following however made more impact than the rest:

• Rickles (played by Kevin Durand) is the comic relief of the bunch. If you’ve watched the series “The Strain” more or less he is the same way here. Acting is great, and his facial expression when running away from Abigail cracks me up. His presence as the comic relief was fluid and natural, nothing felt forced.
• Sammy (played by Katherine Newton) has an underrated performance here. First, she appears to be that rich kid, tech wiz, introvert girl. Towards the latter part of her role, her personality quickly shifted to be that of the same with Abigail’s.
• Last, and definitely not the least, Abigail (played by Alisha Weir, Matilda: The Musical 2022). Appearing as the graceful yet helpless little girl, and quickly transforms to her bloodthirsty personality. Her performance brought everything together. The highlight of hers was when she was dancing, her facial expression was very memorable. It sort of felt like a sadness and a longing for someone, and she dances so elegantly and graceful.

Dialogue

This is a perfect blend of horror and comedy, and I’d say Abigail did it better than Ready or Not (2019). The script was good as well, conversations flowed naturally and not as fillers. The comedic insinuations that they do, specially with Rickles’ character, was on point.

Music

Their choice of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake (Suite), Op. 20 a, TH219 was perfect. The music paired with Weir’s performance made it all the more great.

What I didn’t like (Spoiler Alert)

The ending was a bit predictable, even though I had no idea how it will come to be. And its the usual bad guy turns good and there’s one final girl. I mean, she’s centuries old, yet she got beat by a greenhorn vampire, and then she turns to the human for help. I’d rather all of the humans d1ed and make a twist towards the ending.

Cinematography and Setting

They were able to display Weir’s gracefulness when dancing. The best part for me was when she was dancing on a platform with a headless corpse.

The lighting was perfectly balanced. Even though the movie called for a dark tone based on its genre. They displayed darkness sparingly, more on towards the house itself. The Victorian-esque interior added that sense of history and antiquity.

Conclusion

A fun vampire film with an original concept and story. Perfect casting of characters coupled with great performances coming from each of the members. Weir’s portrayal of Dracula’s daughter was great. Music score fits perfectly. Definitely recommended. It’s not really that scary to be honest, more of creepy and eerie.