Abigail is the latest film from Radio Silence filmmaking team Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The film stars Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Angus Cloud, William Catlett, Kevin Durand, Alisha Weir, and Giancarlo Esposito. In the film, we follow a group of kidnappers who have teamed together to make 50 million dollars by kidnapping the daughter of an unknown wealthy individual. What they don’t know however is this is no ordinary girl, but actually a vampire. It quickly turns into a struggle to survive the night and fight for their lives.

The cast of the film really are definitely the strongest part of Abigail; They’re a stellar set of actors that really thrive and uplift one another in every scene. Melissa Barrera who plays Joey is the lead and is as great as she is in the Scream films that she previously starred in. Joey’s character is by far the most fleshed out of the group and she is definitely the group’s leader. Melissa commands every scene she’s in and pushes the story forward. Dan Stevens plays an ex-cop called Frank, and he’s someone that you can’t trust throughout the film. Dan has been playing these great characters as of late and its always exciting to see what he’ll do next. The rest of the cast from Newton to Cloud were also great and provided much of the comedic relief as well. Abigail who is played by Alisha Weir does a great job at playing almost two different characters throughout the film. Abigail fools the kidnappers into thinking they are just a helpless girl when in fact they are in charge.

The story is a pretty straightforward survival film for our characters and this simplicity can also make it feel repetitive. I did enjoy the first act of the film as it was almost like a heist movie and then it turns into a bit of a “whodunnit”. I think once we get to the second act and all the tricks have been revealed for the most part, it turns a bit stale. There are some great reveals and inspired sequences to keep you engaged, however. The final act really slams the foot on the gas, and this is where it truly shines. Abigail doesn’t hold back when it comes to the buckets of blood, and you can tell they had tons of fun in these moments. The action and comedy are truly where Abigail excels as it really showcases what Radio Silence does best. These ensemble survival movies are what Radio Silence have almost perfected, but the horror does lack in Abigail. There are plenty of jump scares, but the film lacks atmosphere and tension as we saw in other Radio Silence films like Ready or Not.

Overall, the misses are there but don’t take away from the fun of Abigail. The film’s star-studded cast really bring it home in the end with great performances. A great mix of laugh out loud moments with a bunch of gross out moments for horror fans. The inspired scenes and a blood-soaked finale deliver one of the best theater experiences of the year.

We Give Abigail a 3.75/5.

Abigail had its premiere at the Overlook Film Festival and will release in theaters April 19, 2024.