Abigail (2024)
Abigail
A gang of criminals is hired to kidnap a twelve-year-old girl named Abigail, daughter of a powerful crime boss and a dance enthusiast. Intending to hold her for a ransom of 50 million dollars, the group will soon discover that the real challenge will be to survive.
Abigail, let’s say it right away, is an entertaining film. In a way, it’s like watching a fourth chapter of From Dusk Till Dawn: it starts as a heist movie and ends in a bloodbath. I assume you’ve already seen at least the trailer, so you know that all strategies to keep the film’s surprise hidden have gone to waste (and with vampires involved, it’s never a good deal!). In fact, the little Abigail, played brilliantly by the “Matilda” Alisha Weir, is actually a rather venomous little vampire who dances with her victims. The Tarantino flavor is not coincidental: there’s at least one obvious reference to Reservoir Dogs when our Hermano, Giancarlo Esposito, finds himself with his gang after the kidnapping and nicknames them: Mr. Pink, Mr. Blonde… no, even more Tarantino than Tarantino. Gillett & Bettinelli-Olpin make a double reference. The identities will be those of the Rat Pack heroes: Dean (Martin), Sammy (Davis Jr.), Peter (Lawford), Joey (Bishop), and of course, Frank (Sinatra), who in 1960 starred in one of the quintessential heist movies, namely Ocean’s 11. To reinforce the reference, before leaving his criminals in the house, Esposito calls them “Rats,” they are mice, trapped mice.
Not Dogs, but rats at work
For me, who savor references like a sommelier savors good wine, I make myself comfortable in my chair and move on.
In the house where they keep Abigail captive, there are a thousand references to the fact that the girl is actually “something else,” and the actors’ lines are pretty predictable (like in the hacker scene: “We’re in!”), but in return, there’s a solid cast with talent and charm: Melissa Barrera (Scream VI), Kevin Durand (star of a truly memorable flying tackle – when will we see a biopic on Elon Musk?), Kathryn Newton (recently seen in Lady Frankenstein and Freaky), Angus Cloud (Euphoria), who unfortunately passed away in real life due to a lethal mix of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamines, and benzodiazepines, and that wonderful “Britpop” face, Dan Stevens (The Guest, Downton Abbey, Legion), an always capable actor but with a career marked by uncertain project choices.
Barrera and Stevens, an interesting couple
The first part of the film is more subdued, but a keen eye can catch reminiscences, like the Ed Wood-like reference when Frank enters the girl’s room without a mask and covers half his face with his jacket. It’s well known that postmodern cinema makes a trait of its contaminations and references, but I find it to be a spectator game that always offers additional stimuli for viewing.
Now with what eyes will you watch “Matilda”?
The second part of the film comes after the “Abigail Pandemonium revelation” (yes, I’m a little vampire, but also the killer on behalf of my father, an urban legend that scares criminals more than Batman!). The little girl was just playing with the poor unsuspecting souls, and after decapitating and disemboweling a couple of them, who disappeared from the house in an Agatha Christie style, true blood begins to flow. A copious torrent that reminded me of Ready or Not, which was poorly distributed here but had cards to play.
This is where Alisha Weir does her part, dancing after the ragtag gang, who only want to negotiate for their freedom and apologize to return to their messed-up lives. Essentially (I won’t reveal the other references and the ending), Abigail is a decent work, with a high entertainment factor, which will engage those who can play along with the grand guignolesque game of the duo Gillett & Bettinelli-Olpin, who once again managed to do their job with style, but without any shocking punches.
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