This movie is a hoot. The trailers give away far too many twists, but even with those elements spoiled, this movie was a hilarious creature romp. There is a stellar ensemble cast, Melissa Barrera makes a great lead/‘final girl’ and Dan Stevens is having a great year filled with villainous roles allowing him to go over-the-top camp. But the standout is Alisha Weir playing the titular character, a little girl vampiric ballerina, and she is obviously having a blast alternating between sweet, savage, and at times utterly deranged. The movie walks a very fine line between camp and horror, more often embracing camp, but there are some horrific moments and gratuitous gore. There is nothing particularly scary, but the film isn’t really going for frights, more like a love-letter to genre tropes. It’s smartly written and funny, there is some great action choreography, and very slickly directed and produced by the duo known as Radio Silence. This is certainly the best vampire film the year has to offer (at least until Nosferatu is unleashed), and a highly enjoyable thrill ride that never feels stretched, despite a 2 hour runtime.
Abigail (2024)