Abigail is directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett or as some people know them as Radio Silence. They previously directed Devil’s Due (2014), Ready Or Not (2017), Scream (2022), Scream VI (2023) and various segments from some of the V/H/S films.
2024 is looking to be a repeat of 2022 in terms of fantastic horror films, it was a bit of a rough start but we have already gotten a bunch of memorable and quite excellent horror films this year such as Immaculate, The First Omen, Late Night With The Devil, Lisa Frankenstein and a few others. Abigail adds to that list and quite honestly ends up being one of the most fun releases so far this year.
Starting from the cast, we have another case where everyone just works incredibly well together. Nobody turns in any bad performances mainly due to the material that is worked with here. Melissa Barrera and Kathryn Newton continue to show that they are scream queens here to stay, both of them give excellent and fun performances that absolutely blends well with Radio Silence’s atmosphere and style. Dan Stevens continues to show he can bring so much fun and intrigue to almost any role he does, that especially applies here with his performance as Frank who much like Barrera and Newton matches the tone and atmosphere Radio Silence is going for.
Alisha Weir gives one of the best child performances I’ve seen in awhile, her as a vampire was just such an excellent casting choice, one that she naturally fits into without any issue. The humor that’s thrown into the mix also makes her character Abigail incredibly fun. Kevin Durand and the late Angus Cloud both give fun performances as well, there might not be much to their characters but the fact they are instantly fun characters makes up for that.
Abigail is another instance where Radio Silence does a lot of attention to detail especially with the makeup and sets. It’s very reminiscent of Ready Or Not where the attention to detail to the sets was instantly recognizable and made the film all the more natural and investing to watch. The same can be applied here with Abigail the many different rooms, the lighting and such really compliments the thrilling and humorous atmosphere that all blends together to make an incredibly fun film.
Abigail really felt like the natural next step of Radio Silence, it shares a lot of similarities to Ready Or Not but it does it’s own thing. It uses a lot of what made the film so investing to audiences and applies here, Abigail really does feel like the film that Radio Silence’s last couple films have been building up to. One key part in all of this is the gore which Abigail has…a ton of it, which is where a lot of the fun elements come into play. The kills have that signature brutal but absolutely fun feel that Radio Silence loves and I would argue that it works best here simply due to the characters and how quickly they match the tone.
Overall Abigail is another excellent film by Radio Silence, they continue to be some of the most exciting and one of most notable eyes for attention detail when it comes to horror film directors. I truly can’t wait to see what they do next.
Abigail is currently in theaters!
10/10 A+
Jerome Reviews... 