I pretty much stay away from any of the recent horror movies because it became stale for me. I also hate it when they have to rely on so many jumpscares with sudden loud music just to get a reaction from the audience. One notable movie franchise that used this technique was the Insidious series. But at the end of 2024, I decided to give horror movies another shot and check out what I've missed in the past few years.
Plot First on my watchlist was Abigail. It's about a young ballerina, who was kidnapped by hired mercenaries in exchange for ransom. But in a sudden twist of fate, their roles were reversed and the abductors became prey to an unknown evil.
Review
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Without knowing much information about the movie beforehand, I initially thought that it was going to have a serious tone. And I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it actually has a horror-comedy vibe. The "group of people trapped in a house while being hunted one-by-one by a sneaking murderer" trope has been used to oblivion by so many horror movies. But somehow, the movie made the scenes fresh enough that I did not feel bored while watching.
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The traits of each character were defined early on and I mostly liked their performances. The movie steered away from the dying one-by-one cliche and let some of them regroup and devise plans to team up and find a way out of their situation.
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The actress who played the titular character, Alisha Weir, did a great job portraying an innocent and scared child and as a murderous vampire.
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Kathryn Newton's character as a rebellious young lady was also very entertaining. Her scenes were my favorite in the movie. She also showed her acting range and dancing prowess when her body was completely taken over by Abigail.
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I was also pleasantly surprised to see Giancarlo Esposito in this film. And although he'll always be Gustavo Fring in my eyes, he also did okay in this one. But to be honest, I would have loved him to have played the role of Abigail's father, Kristof Lazaar, instead. His menacing serious face would have been a perfect fit for an ancient enigmatic vampire instead of being a servant.
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The film was so innovative that I didn't even expect how the ending turned out to be. There was an excessive amount of blood and exploding bodies which reminded me of another horror-comedy movie, Ready or Not. Overall, I would say that Abigail is a fun and refreshing horror film. I'd even consider it as something that the whole family can enjoy if not for the gore and profanity.