Abigail turns Let the Right One In into a frenetic horror comedy

Vampires are some of our most malleable monsters. They could be lonely kids, lonely teenagers, misunderstood lovers, mass murderers, leather-clad drifters, regular guys, or just about anything in between. All that flexibility (and the ability to often pass as human) means that vampires can also come as a complete surprise to both audiences and the characters in the films themselves, waiting until more than halfway through a film before they really get their act together. sink teeth into it. That special and narrow niche of surprising vampire films, such as From sunset to sunrise or A girl walks home alone at nightis the exact landing point for Abigailthe hilarious new action-horror film from the directors of Ready or not.

Ultimately, as the trailers show, Abigail is about a ballerina assassin who also happens to be a vampire. But the film starts by presenting the crime story honestly. A group of criminals, each named after a member of the Rat Pack, kidnaps a rich person’s daughter. All they have to do to get their $50 million payout is keep the girl locked up in a mansion for 24 hours. It turns out that the girl’s father is one of the most dangerous crime bosses around, and he is known for dealing harshly with those who wrong him. And that’s where the child vampire comes into the picture.

I would be reluctant to even mention the vampire in this movie if that wasn’t the case a central force of the film’s marketing. Coming in without expecting any bloodsucking would be a fantastic treat, and it’s clearly something directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett had in mind. After playing their crime angle well for the first half, they treat the vampire reveal as a shocking twist, with absolutely hilarious reactions from the entire cast, followed by a telling conversation between them about what they all remember about vampire lore . The good news, however, is that even with the surprise in the trailer (en even in the official trailer thumbnail!), Abigail is still a stunner.

Once Abigail reveals herself as a deadly supernatural being, the film turns into more of an action slasher, rather than a scare. In this way, Abigail feels more like Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s earlier film Ready or not than any other vampire movie. Both films are usually set in heavily locked mansions where someone is being viciously and comically hunted. And both have a deep love for explosions of blood and guts. After Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s brief detour for two messy, chaotic, clumsy entries in the Scream franchise, Abigail proves that they are still excellent at creating tension in the hallways of enormous houses, and turning their horror into action in the blink of an eye.

But despite all the entertaining scares and surprisingly fun fight scenes in the film, AbigailThe film’s greatest strength is the sense of humor displayed by most of the cast. While the script, co-written by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick (one of the directors’ frequent collaborators) is often clever in itself, the cast manages to sell even the cheesiest jokes with their pitch-perfect performances.

The late Angus cloud (Euphoria) is excellent as the team’s stoner burnout, Dean, a charming creep who people can’t help but surrender to. Kevin Durand (Vikings) is hilarious as Peter, a muscular thug with a heart of highly tarnished gold, a great temper, and absolutely no thoughts in his head.

Image: Universal images

But none of them can compare to the film’s two brightest stars. The leader of the bumbling kidnappers, Frank, is played by Dan Stevens (The guest), who proves once again that he has all the charisma needed for stardom, with the looks of a leading man and all the instincts of some of the funniest actors in the world. Whether the camera is on him or not, Stevens is always on, casting askew glances at other characters from the background, or posing with hysterical machismo even after a 10-year-old has started beheading his team.

But even better than Stevens is Kathryn Newton (Bizarre, Lisa Frankenstein), whose every line demands a laugh. Newton plays Sammy, the team’s tech genius, with a perfect mix of defensive sarcasm and genuine joy at being around so many shadowy criminals. She plays drinking games with the muscles, teases Peter and pushes buttons with reckless abandon, which is always a pleasure to watch. But her real power is in her one-off reactions once the chaos begins. Newton always sells her cutaway jokes and one-liners just right, with clever deliveries that make even old lines feel fresh and funny.

The only real weak point in the otherwise great cast is Melissa Barrera (Scream 6, In the Heights), who is tasked with playing Joey, the stoic, straightforward member of the team, who has more empathy than the rest of them combined. It’s the kind of role that should be the soul of the film, an admittedly thankless task in most comedies. But Barrera is not up to the task. Her delivery is always disappointingly flat and emotionless, conveying nothing more than boredom and failing to communicate much of anything about the character.

Image: Universal images

Instead, the soul of Abigail ironically stems from the vampiric title character, played with equal parts venom, cleverness and vulnerability by Alisha Weir. It’s clear that the filmmakers are more than happy for audiences to root for the monster this time around, rather than one of his lovable, dim-witted criminals. Abigail’s backstory is just as tragic as the backgrounds of her victims, and is explored in more depth. It’s the same kind of longing for connection and human love that can be found in many vampire stories Let the right one in, another child-vampire story with surprising pathos. Like Lina Leandersson in that movie, Weir in Abigail is especially good at selling the real pain of a child vampire. Her history is never used as an excuse for her bloodlust; it’s only a vaguely sympathetic explanation for her anger.

AbigailThe most impressive quality is how perfectly measured it feels at every turn. While the film’s marketing keeps it from being a true entry in the surprise vampire canon, the creators uncover the surprises by switching between horror subgenres instead. It’s a comedy about self-serious criminals for as long as it takes, a vampire slasher for as long as it’s fun, and a story about a vampire who longs for love and attention towards the end, fluidly transitioning from one tone and genre to the next at just the right time. Even more impressive is that every version of Abigail is just as fun and bloody as the last one.

Abigail debuts in theaters on April 19.