Abigail (2024) * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

Starring:  Alisha Weir, Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Giancarlo Esposito, Kathryn Newton, William Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, Matthew Goode

Abigail begins promisingly, but then tips its hand too soon and devolves into a bloodbath with exploding bodies and blood and guts flying everywhere.   It's another tired movie about vampires with characters played by actors who try desperately to give them dimension and a reason to care about them.  They attempt with all of their might, but no dice.  It's the type of movie in which we relish when characters are knocked off one by one so we know it is that much closer to ending.  

The promise of Abigail begins when a pre-teen ballerina named Abigail (Weir) is kidnapped by six criminals who don't know each other's true identities (a la Reservoir Dogs) and taken to a remote mansion.  They are met there by a shadowy man named Lambert (Esposito), who tells them all to sit tight for 24 hours while the $50 million ransom is delivered.   They are all given fake names so they can converse with each other, but then the members start biting the dust.  The rest find they are locked in, and further find that Abigail is a vampire.   Why were these poor folks chosen to kidnap Abigail only to suffer a horrendous fate?  It turns out each has a connection to Abigail's ruthless father, who remains offscreen until the very end.  

The only member of the group who seemingly shows any kindness or mercy towards Abigail before she is revealed to be a monster is Joey (Barrera), a recovering addict with a son she lost custody of long ago and thinks the money will help her start over with him.   If, of course, she survives the night with Abigail and company.   Once the vampire angle is introduced midway through, then Abigail loses all hope of being anything interesting.  Vampires or those turned into vampires bite each other, blood splatters everywhere, and everyone is covered in blood, guts, and gore.  Who wants to witness this?  Surely not I, but there is a market for these movies which is why they continue to be made, even if they are boring and inert.