Abigail: Nosferatutu

In New York City, a team of henchmen abduct a young girl named Abigail (Alisha Weir) who is being held captive until her rich father pays her ransom. The abduction team was put together by Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) and none of them knew each other and to keep their identities secret, they all use code names based on the infamous Rat Pack.  Frank (Dan Stevens) is the team’s leader, Rickles (Will Catlett) is a sniper, Sammy (Kathryn Newton) is the computer expert, Peter (Kevin Durand) is the dumb muscle, Dean (Angus Cloud) is the getaway driver, and finally Joey (Melissa Barrera) is the team medic and child handler. Abigail is taken out of the city to a large, abandoned mansion and everything seems to be going to plan, until they learn that her father is an infamous and ruthless crime lord named Kristof Lazaar (Matthew Goode).  They fear retaliation by Lazaar’s hitman, Valdez and when one of them is found dead, they fear it is too late and Valdez has already found them.  But they soon discover that the real threat was never Valdez, but Abigail herself, who is in fact a centuries old vampire and the house has been sealed off to prevent anyone from leaving.  But can a group of people hired to kidnap a kid, learn to trust each other enough to find a way to escape and not become vampire chow?  Watch and find out!

Abigail is brought to you from the same creative team as the two most recent Scream franchise films, reuniting directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett with co-writer Guy Busick, composer Brian Tyler, along with actress Melissa Barrera. The film was originally titled Dracula’s Daughter which is the same name as a 1936 film that itself is supposedly based on an omitted chapter of the original novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker and later published as a short story in 1914 titled Dracula’s Guest. Although neither film, Dracula’s Daughter or Abigail bear any resemblance to the short story or each other. The movie was shot in Dublin, Ireland in July of 2023, but was put on hold during the SAG-AFTRA strike, luckily filming resumed relatively quickly and completed filming in December of that year. The film was theatrically released on April 19, 2024 receiving mostly positive reviews.  Angus Cloud who plays Dean finished his scenes at the end of July 2023, and died shortly after of accidental multiple substance overdose. The film is dedicated to him.

This film is a bloody mess, and I mean that in the most literal and positive way.  By the end of the movie everyone is quite literally covered in blood mainly due to the over-the-top way vampires explode when they are killed.  I am normally not a fan of gore, but in this film it works.  Although there is some other gore with multiple stabbings, body twisting, broken bones, and a decapitation, it really wasn’t that gross, just really bloody. The film combines a heist type action drama with lots of well-choreographed “vampire-fu” type fights and the classical vampire horror film with some good twists and plenty of spooky atmosphere. The script was good although the f-bomb I feel was a bit over used, and the story intriguing, although a bit predictable at times.  All the characters have their secrets and I liked that there was a reason why this group of people were chosen and how they are all connected, but what really makes this movie work is the cast and their performances.  Melissa Barrera shines as the tough as nails motherly kidnapper whose motives are pure. Alisha Weir is amazing as the centuries old little girl who knows how to play innocent and at the same time be pure evil.  She is both terrifying and graceful at the same time.  The late Angus Cloud is fun as the cute and loveable stoner dude, who is probably a sociopath. Giancarlo Esposito, Dan Stevens, Will Catlett and Kathryn Newton all play their characters well.  The one who stole the show for me was Kevin Durand’s Peter, whose character’s lack of intellect is both humorous and endearing. I found myself laughing out loud on several occasions from Durand’s dialogue delivered with amazing comic timing and pure sincerity. Overall, I was happily surprised by how much I enjoyed this film.