I like heists. I like vampires. And well, I guess I also dig ballet now, too. Enter Abigail, who pirouettes into theaters, eager and armed to deliver on all three. From the clapboard of Radio Silence’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett—creators of modern horror staples like Ready or Not and the latest Scream installments—comes this zany tale that stitches crime caper with monster madness in a wholly original fabric. It’s a bold new take on the vampire genre, delivering blood-soaked violence and maximum horror hijinks for a dangerously delightful trip to the movies.
“…a bold new take on the vampire genre, delivering blood-soaked violence and maximum horror hijinks for a dangerously delightful trip to the movies. “
The setup is spooky, simple, and perfectly kooky: a ragtag gang of crooks plans the ultimate score—kidnapping a 12-year-old ballerina, Abigail, for a $50 million ransom from her nefarious father. But as they hole up in an isolated mansion to wait out the night, they realize too late that their hostage isn’t just a precocious kid pirouetting alone in her room. Oh no, she’s a full-on nocturnal, blood-draining vampire, and they’ve just locked themselves in with her for a night of high stakes and screams.
Our ensemble of hapless kidnappers, portrayed by a robust cast of modern horror all-stars including Melissa Barrera (Scream, 2022), Dan Stevens (Godzilla X Kong, 2024), and Kathryn Newton (Lisa Frankenstein, 2024), deliver performances that hit the mark, bringing both heart, humor, and horror to the screen. The young Alisha Weir as the titular Abigail is a phenomenon, flipping from innocent to insidious with a hypnotic charm that promises to make her a fixture in horror fans’ nightmares for years to come.
Where the film truly excels is in its action sequences. The directors juxtapose Abigail’s balletic grace with her brutal nature, crafting fight scenes that are as elegant as they are visceral. It’s a dance of death where every fancy pirouette could end in a fatal puncture, keeping you on your tippiest of toes until the final bow.
And too, Abigail plays in the land of vampire lore to create a creature that’s wholly its own. Thanks to the clever screenwriting by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick, Radio Silence takes liberties with what we (and our gang of misfit criminals) know and expect of the traditional vampire, executing these twists with infectious glee The enjoyment is palpable, whether characters are tossing futile bulbs of garlic or getting reluctantly drenched in gallons of blood.
However, while Abigail plays fast and furious with its thrilling premise, it does occasionally stumble over its storyline. The subplot involving Joey’s (Barrera) backstory tries to add depth but often feels more like a distracting and expected sidestep from the main event. This emotional throughline tugs too hard and ultimately derails the ending, delivering an awkwardly executed catharsis, rather than the all-out, bonkers, showstopper finale the premise so desperately begs it to be.
“Abigail is a blood-drenched blast.”
Overall, Abigail is a blood-drenched blast. It’s a film that knows its strengths and plays to them with ghoulish glee. Despite a few narrative missteps, it consistently entertains and surprises with its clever play on vampire lore. Radio Silence continues to inject hi-octane fun into the horror genre, and with Abigail, they deliver it with all the grace and poise of a vampiric ballerina out for revenge.
