Cast:
Melissa Barrera (Joey), Dan Stevens (Frank), Alisha Weir (Abigail), Will Catlett (Rickles), Kathryn Newton (Sammy), Kevin Durand (Peter), Angus Cloud (Dean), Giancarlo Esposito (Lambert), and Matthew Goode (Abigail's father) Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (#1268 - Ready or Not)
Review:
You know, it is funny, I picked this movie a few weeks after it was released because it just seemed like the kind of interesting little horror film you can encounter in the spring without needing too many audience members around (if one is paying over $8 for a theater experience, would you not take that chance?). Of course, it also helps particularly if you favor the directors, who, well, were behind Ready or Not (as released in 2019, although I suppose those two "Scream sequels" might be more familiar to certain folks). Perhaps not surprisingly, that film was also co-written by Guy Busick, who wrote Abigail with Stephen Shields (heh, a movie involving one controlled setting of a big house and trying to stay alive when presented with the fear of death, go figure). When it was first announced as being a production for Universal Pictures, it probably wasn't a surprise because of the fact that they were into the idea of just making a horror movie that could take loose inspiration from their previous history involving monsters to mold into something that would be along the lines of The Invisible Man (2020) rather than say, The Mummy (2017). With this in mind, one could be forgiven for thinking of this film as asking how one would do Dracula's Daughter (1936), which in it of itself was a very loose interpretation (read: little to no faithfulness) of a discarded chapter of the original Bram Stoker novel. And, well, I suppose I am making up for not watching Universal's two distributed vampire flicks in 2023 in Renfield and The Last Voyage of the Demeter.
The way one crafts the routine matters to enjoying what gets pulled for a film experience, particularly when it comes to horror, which gets plenty of flak from those who sure love other genres for playing to cliches just because they don't have "icky gore". But we aren't here to crap on people for their taste, we're here to see if a film seems worthwhile to spend time watching for 109 minutes. It delivers pretty much what you would expect from a film spent mostly in one location with a group of briefly describable characters and a title threat that is compelling enough to lend its ride to satisfaction. Weir (born and raised in Ireland) gets to play both sides of the coin that arises from a true wolf in a den of sheep that makes for an imposing presence in the fact that age and size is not the only way to spark terror when it comes to gnarly teeth and tone to go with it. She takes a playfully skilled approach to peeling off the illusion of being an outmatched youth with the endearing sense of fun theatrics. The ensemble around her (one that name drops And Then There Were None, to the surprise of probably nobody) does pretty well in the art of being picked off but having the tone of commitment a notch above staid. Barrera handles it best with useful timing that is generally worth rooting for when being in the house of the rising blood. When it comes to that old "final girl" trope, her worthwhile interest in the art of balancing "run!" and "it may be a vampire, but it's not a total monster" is solid for driving the film along, particularly when compared to the other key presence in Stevens in conniving engagement with baring opportunistic fangs. The others deliver a chuckle or two in their moments spent in the cast, such as Durand getting to play it naturally Canadian (with a bit of dim touch) or a silly Newton. As a whole, it is pretty standard type of gore, but it handles all the trimmings required of a well-oiled one-setting machine with the gore and pacing required to make for a solid curiosity piece. The setup for just what a vampire work just fine here (sunlight, ack!) to lend the climax a worthwhile execution when it comes to making decisions and, well, exploding splatter. Regardless of whatever may be next for Universal in playing it loose with familiar monsters or for the directors at large, I'm sure whatever lurks around the corner has a good chance of being solidly ready for viewing in the horror realm.
Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.
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