ABIGAIL (2024)

I used to be a massive purchased of horror movie magazines. Over the years I’ve bought all of them: Famous Monsters, Fangoria, Rue Morgue, The Dark Side, Fear, Samhain, Deep Red… far to many to list, and these mags were my window into films that formed a list of stuff I wanted to see.

Tragically, in 2025, magazines have become an unobtainable product. Rue Morgue and Fangoria are almost $30 each; that MORE that the price of some blurays, and there are so many sales on blurays it makes them REALLY. REALLY. Expensive. So, even though I am an avid supporter of physical media over streaming, streaming can have its place. For me, it’s where I see films that I may choose to purchase later… it’s an audition process for my physical media collecting process. This film, Abigail, I first saw on Netflix, and actively pursued it on home video.

Abigail was written by Steven Shields (The Hole in the Ground) and Guy Busick (Ready or Not), and was directed by the duo of Tyler Gillette and Matt Bettinelli-Olpen, from the production company Radio Silence, who were also responsible for the brilliant Ready or Not and Screams V and VI.

Abigail tells the story of a crew, Joey (Melissa Barrera) the medic, Frank (Dan Stevens) the brains, Rickles (William Catlett) the look out, Sammy (Kathryn Newton) the hacker, Peter (Kevin Durand) the muscle and Dean (Angus Cloud) the driver, hired by a fixer named Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), to abduct a young girl named Abigail (Alisha Weir) for the reward of $7,000,000 each.

They have a problem though: Abigail is a vampire, and the gang are trapped in a house, with no phones and no internet. Can they survive, or will they turn on each other before Abigail can even get started on them.

Normally in a review I’d try to resist spoiling main plot points, but Abigail’s secret is hardly a secret at all, especially when you consider that even the tagline suggests that ‘Children can be suck MONSTERS’. I must say I wish that I had not known the secret of the film and got the surprise that films like From Dusk til Dawn gave me. Normally I don’t care about spoiler but this would have been a nice but if fun.

This is essentially a modernised version of Dracula’s Daughter (1936), even giving the name ‘Lambert’ , the director of that film, to one of the characters. I don’t think I’ve seen the original so I can’t actually comment on any similarities but I can say that this film is a bunch of fun.

The actors playing the gang are so great in their roles, and the tension is palpable but the real highlight is Weir as Abigail. As a girl she’s fragile and delicate and after the reveal she is a scary as any monster in any monster movie, but without jingoistic catchphrases; she is just a deadly force to reckoned with dressed up in a 12 year old girl costume.

All in all, a fun film that, and this is contrary to almost everything I normally think, could be ripe for a sequel that pursues either Abigail’s lust for blood, or even Joey in her pursuit to destroy Abigail’s father… This was a marvellous film that proves that Radio Silence are amazing at what they do.

Extras: There’s a decent chunk of extras:

Deleted and Extended Scenes are, as is mostly true, better off not in the film. I still love that home video gives us the opportunity to see this stuff.

Gag Reel is, as usual, something that is probably more interesting for the cast and crew to reminisce on the fun days they had making the film. For us, it’s a curio, a distraction and little more.

Blood Bath takes a look at the amount of blood used in the filming of Abigail. I must admit that this is the generation of effects I really love: practical effects with just a touch of CGI to enhance it. The wonderful thing about this featurette is that everyone talks about how surprised by how much blood was used. Fantastic.

Hunters to Hunted looks at the design of the cast and how the directors fit them together, creating a world together.

Becoming a Ballerina Vampire is all about our titular beast, Abigail, and Alisha Weir who plays her so wonderfully.

Directing Duo Matt and Tyler unfortunately doesn’t discuss their history but does talk about the experience of making this film. I would have liked to have seen HOW two people direct a film together but as one would expect, it all relates to this film. My favourite line is that one of them says ‘we want to make movies WE like’ and I really LOVE that lack of cynicism.

Finally we have a commentary by Matt and Tyler, along with editor Michael P. Shawler, which doesn’t just talk about directorial decisions but also editorial choices. These people really love their jobs and it’s a great look at how important the roles are and how well Matt and Tyler work together.

Film: 7/10

Extras: 7/10

Rewatchability: 10/10

This Bluray was purchased from JB Hifi