Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Abigail Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Justin Dekker July 10, 2024

Radio Silence's modern vampire tale 'Abigail' makes its Blu-ray debut with this Collector's Edition courtesy of Universal. Alisha Weir stars as Abigail, alongside Dan Stevens (Frank), Melissa Barrera (Joey), William Catlett (Don Rickles), Giancarlo Esposito (Lambert) in a small but important role, and Angus Cloud (Dean) in what would be his last on-screen appearance. Special features include an interesting mix of featurettes including deleted scenes and a feature-length commentary, among other segments. The film has received an excellent 1080p transfer and a solid English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio track. It is packaged with a DVD and an embossed slipcover. A Digital Code redeemable through Movies Anywhere is also included.

Early in my formative years, one snowy Saturday afternoon I turned on the television and happened upon an episode of The Twilight Zone. I instantly recognized Billy Mumy from the numerous episodes of Irwin Allen's Lost In Space that I had seen, so I quickly settled in to see what he was doing here. Mumy portrayed a six-year-old named Anthony Fremont who possessed fantastic mental powers that he used to control everyone and everything in his small town in the third season episode It's a Good Life. Regardless of age, the town's inhabitants lived in constant fear of displeasing the boy as those who did were transported to the "cornfield" where they would soon, doubtlessly, meet a horrible doom. Mumy's character conducted himself as a being of pure id without fear of repercussion; he was all-knowing, all-powerful, and seemingly unconquerable. Ever since seeing that particular episode, films centered on evil or creepy children regardless of whether or not they exhibited supernatural or otherworldly power, such as Don't Deliver Us From Evil, Village of the Damned, and Let the Right One In have struck a chord with me. Abigail joins the ranks of the best of this particular subset of films.

Abigail was shot in Dublin which is fitting in its way as the city was the birthplace of Dracula author Bram Stoker. The film wastes no time at all in creating a connection to Bela Lugosi's landmark Dracula (1931), opening with the lilting Swan Lake dominating the sound field just as it did in that classic film. Here the song plays out as young Abigail, looking immaculate and innocent from her perfectly coiffed hair down to her pointe shoes, takes the stage in an empty theater. She dances skillfully and gracefully, with the camera ultimately shooting her from above as she transitions into some extremely batlike movements as the song builds. Her pale skin and white attire are in stark contrast to the black stage floor. While the viewer knows she's dancing, from this vantage point it appears as if she's flying. If anyone had any questions about it, within the first moments of the film, Abigail (Alisha Weir) is unequivocally revealed as a vampire.

As Abigail dances, we are introduced to a gang of criminals intent on kidnapping her and holding her for ransom. While they do not know the identities of either the girl or her father, they know she is the pathway to a $50-million-dollar payday. Unknown to each other as well, they are assigned Rat-Pack-inspired codenames by Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad), the man who organized the mission. Abducting her from her own stately mansion after she returns from her nocturnal dance practice, they, per instructions, take her to another mansion to keep her sequestered for the night. However, this location is much more sinister. It's filled with a dimly-lit labyrinth of winding corridors, infested with cobwebs and rats, and bizarre statues, paintings, and bits of taxidermy haunt it's rooms. In other words, it's a classic haunted house in virtually every respect. The diverse and excellently cast team of kidnappers consists of Dan Stevens (Frank the ex-cop), Melissa Barrera (Joey the junkie), William Catlett (Don Rickles the ex-marine), Kevin Durand (Peter the muscle), Angus Cloud (Dean the wildcard), and Kathryn Newton (Sammy the bored rich girl hacker). Each is deeply flawed and reprehensible on some level, but as the blood begins to flow and the bodies begin to pile up, one can't help but root for this amalgamation of misfits. But one thing quickly becomes clear; it's a long time until dawn.

While the influence of Dracula is clear, Abigail also draws from a number of other films. When the identity of Abigail's father is revealed as the mysterious and legendary underworld kingpin "Lazar", Joey and her compatriots respond in much the same way as Gabriel Byrne's Keaton and his team in The Usual Suspects when they learn that they've run afoul of Keyser Soze. There are equal quantities of disbelief (as some believe such a person can't exist) and terror (as they know no one can cross Lazar and live), and there are several subsequent scenes that feel like direct allusions to that film. The characters also exhibit some similarities. Melissa Barrera's Joey exhibits a similar calm and collected comportment and "take-charge" attitude as Byrne's Keaton, Dan Steven's Frank has a similar energy to Kevin Pollack's Hockney, while Cloud's Dean delivers every one of his quirky lines with the same mush-mouthed style and projects a similar low-fi demeanor as Benicio Del Toro's Fenster. One would not be remiss in noting some inescapable comparisons with Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None which the film confronts head-on by directly referring to the book in a creative, funny, and wholly appropriate way.

That Abigal succeeds as a horror film is a result of several key factors. First, Alisha Weir does a wonderful job in her role as Abigail. This young actor displays serious dancing skills on stage during the film's opening and is proficient enough in this regard that her dance training factors into much of her movement and fight choreography, granting her a more ethereal and "not-of-this-earth" presence. As an actor, she gains the audience's empathy as a frightened kidnapping victim and earns our terror as a vampire. Secondly, the creepy mansion where much of the film is set is a deliciously macabre character in its own right. Shot in Dublin's Glenmaroon House, most recently an old hotel that was once the home to the Guinness family, the empty mansion was transformed into a fantastic haunted house, that seamlessly transitions from merely a Scooby-Dooesque spooky domicile to a grim and inescapable abattoir. Its indoor swimming pool, one of the first in Ireland, is wonderfully and gruesomely repurposed for one of the film's most memorable scenes. Using an actual house for the set also allows for more creative set-ups as each interior location is truly a 360-degree set with which each character can fully exist and interact. Thirdly, the reliance on practical effects is always a treat. Abigail wears contact lenses and prosthetic limbs and teeth to complete her transformation into a vampire. During the many confrontations with Abigail, gallons upon gallons of blood repaint the set and the actors. And the blood-drenched final fights are reminiscent of the climax of Peter Jackson's Dead Alive albeit on a much smaller scale. Finally, the cast is impeccable. Though most characters are relatively one-dimensional and purposefully so, Melissa Barrera's Joey and a few others are fleshed-out enough to have a certain amount of depth and engender a greater connection to the audience. All of these factors, along with a liberal dose of humor, combine to create one of the best modern horror films I've seen in quite some time.

Unfortunately, tragedy marred Abigail's production. Filming had to be halted due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, and during that break Angus Cloud (Euphoria) passed away due to an accidental overdose in July of 2023. As filming for him was completed by the time the strike stopped work on the film and no effects wizardry or stand-ins needed to be employed, it still definitely impacted the cast and crew when shooting eventually resumed. While he supplied the voice for the character Snickers in 2024's The Garfield Movie, Abigail marks his last on- screen appearance, and viewers will note that the film is dedicated to him. On a different note, later, in November of 2023, Melissa Barrera's comments on the Israel-Palestine conflict resulted in her being fired from Scream 7 some few months before Abigail's theatrical debut. While this film's ending certainly leaves some potential room for Abigail's story to continue, the true fate of the rumored Abigail 2 remains to be seen.

Abigail Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Abigail is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal with an AVC-encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Given the subject matter, Abigail is a very dark film. Black levels are deep and satisfying, but can occasionally absorb detail. While one is never at a loss to understand the action of the scenes in question, it is worth mentioning. Inside the mansion that serves as the primary setting, rooms are typically warmly lit, casting an amber/golden hue to most interior spaces and impacting skin tones and environmental elements, It's not a flaw in any respect, it's clearly an intentional decision. Fine detail is typically incredibly high, making it possible to investigate the incredibly well-appointed and overstuffed rooms, the stubble on Dan Steven's face, and the innumerable flyaway hairs on Kathryn Newton's golden mane once the events of their seemingly simple task go south. Fabrics, such as Abigail's fleece jacket and Joey's mask sport a realistic tactile presence, as do the various ornately carved doors, decaying walls, and other structural elements of the house. Reds, especially blood, are deep, rich, well-saturated, and frequently on display thanks to the filmmakers' reliance on practical effects. The transfer is free from noise, banding, and other defects or anomalies. It's a very attractive transfer.

Abigail Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Abigail's English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio track is more than up to the task of handling the almost two hours of vampire action. Music is reproduced very well and is best evidenced by the delicate and precise handling of the opening strains of Swan Lake as Abigail begins her dance routine in the empty theater. As the music swells, the surrounds envelop the listener nicely without threatening to overwhelm them. And this is the case as the film progresses. Surrounds are used to great effect to immerse the viewer and provide ambient noise and generate mood in various scenes, but restraint is the watchword for the track. Dialogue is traditionally kept front and center, and is properly balanced, always sitting on top of music and mayhem. Sound effects are a place where the track truly has a chance to shine. So much of the vampire action is dependent on squishy practical effects, and every oozy, gooey, and squelchy sound effect, whether coming from a bite, torn flesh, stab wound, and any of the other myriad acts of violence and carnage, sounds amazingly clear and realistic, with bass providing the required weight and depth to heavy wooden doors, gunshots, and explosions. Given the volume of on-screen mayhem and the occasional goofiness of the film, a more bombastic sonic experience could easily have been justified, but the approach taken here grants the film a bit more class.

Abigail Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted and Extended Scenes (6.52) - Three scenes are included here and play in sequence without a menu to select a specific scene. This collection starts off with Abigail's full, uncut and uninterrupted dance from the film's opening, the moments after Joey's first meeting with Abigail where she meets Angus Cloud's Dean, and a late film scene beginning with Abigail talking to Joey,

• Gag Reel (9.41) - Goofs, gaffs, blunders, false starts, and riffs on scenes included in the film from the cast of Abigail.

• Blood Bath (7.04) - Cast and crew talk about the use of practical effects (including prosthetic necks and limbs) and the copious amounts of blood on display in the film and how it aids the performances of the actors. The gleeful call for "more blood" is heard again and again throughout the feature.

• Hunters to Hunted (5.36) - This featurette covers casting, the roles of the members of the criminal gang, weapons training, and what each brings to the table in the kidnapping plot.

• Becoming a Ballerina Vampire (4.29) - The directors and Alisha Weir discuss the transformation of Abigail from a normal little girl to a vampire, including both her dancing and her fighting style.

• Directing Duo Matt & Tyler (5.40) - The directors address what appealed to them about the project and other cast members drop in to quickly discuss their takes on the project. The pair discuss their effort to modernize vampires and to directly confront the vampire movie tropes while adding doses of humor throughout the film.

• Feature Length Commentary - In this commentary filmed approximately two weeks prior to the film's April 19, 2024, theatrical debut, Directors Matt Bertinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and Editor Michael P Shawver discuss locations, special effects, fight choreography, the all-important casting of the titular Abigail, and a host of other topics. Much of their discussion is more focused on the making and editing of the film than it is on anecdotes, so it provides a wealth of behind-the-scenes information about the production and the challenges they faced in bringing this story to the screen.

Abigail Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Funny, scary, and gory, Universal's Abigail drips as much in atmosphere as it does in blood. Alisha Weir's performance as the "young" vampire earns her a spot in the pantheon of nightmare-inducing underaged cinema monsters, though the script affords her the chance to display a broader range of emotions and skills, from vulnerability to comedy and more. Matt Bertinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's seventh film together may clock in at 110 minutes, but it feels nowhere near that long with the film careening toward a bloody end as soon as the opening dance comes to a close. Serious fans of the film will want to rewatch the film with the commentary, but fans of every degree will be pleased with the excellent 1080p transfer and energetic and immersive audio track. For horror fans both new and established, Abigail deserves a spot in every collection and comes highly recommended.