"Abigail" (2023)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s revenge thriller Abigail, with Melissa Vitello directing from a script by Gunnar Garrett.

Synopsis

In 1976 Alabama, Abigail (Ava Cantrell) and her mom Eve (Hermione Lynch) move to a new town for a fresh start. A precocious teen, Abigail befriends lonely boy next door Lucas (Tren Reed-Brown) and soon stands up to his bullies. As she takes him under her wing, the secrets of her past begin to surface. Though they take on the world together, he discovers she may have a more disturbing side.

The Good

Joseph: Abigail has several things going for it, including Cantrell’s intriguing performance as the titular character and the impressive direction by Vitello, who obviously knows her way around a horror thriller. Cantrell does a nice job going from seemingly innocent to violent as quickly as the snap of a finger, and Brown does a solid job as her newfound, initially reluctant friend. The film has the feel of a seventies drive-in headliner but with modern production values. It’s a twist on slasher movies — the cold open sees a killer in a burlap sack mask on the attack — with a bullied teen who has a troubled home life and his new next-door neighbor as the central focus.

Mike: Whether it was intended to be or not, Abigail would serve as a good second-step horror film. There are some more mature themes on display (such as gender stereotypes and racism) so it may not be ideal as a true gateway horror film, but there’s nothing truly graphic or disturbing on display.

While some performances are a bit more nuanced than others, all of the acting is fine enough for what the film is trying to accomplish. Cantrell is engaging as Abigail, able to shift emotions as needed and come across as likable or unlikable, as story situations may dictate. Her default look, if you will, is one of innocence so when sparks of anger surface, like when she defends her new friend Lucas against bullies, it’s an impressive shift in how she suddenly carries herself.

The Bad

Joseph: At times, Garrett’s screenplay seems to overly reach in its attempts to keep up its mystery and twists, but most everything will likely still feel predictable to seasoned genre-film fans.

Mike: The first thing that needs to be mentioned is that being that this is set in the 70s, there are some terms used that many today may find troubling or outright offensive. This may turn some people off, but hopefully people can look beyond that kind of stuff in a period film.

That said… There are other reasons to dislike Abigail.

The plot is incredibly predictable and a bit too “by the numbers”. To make any comparisons between Abigail and other movies that sound similar, even somewhat, may toe the spoiler line, so we’ll leave that bit alone. However, anyone who has seen their fair share of these types of films will probably be able to predict every story beat quite in advance of each one occurring.

The Verdict

Joseph: I was entertained and engaged throughout Abigail despite its predictability, thanks in large part to Vitello’s direction and the committed performances by its game cast members. Even though many might stay a step or so ahead of most of the proceedings, I still recommend this one to stalk ‘n’ slay aficionados and those who enjoy a decent genre chiller.

Mike: While a slight bit on the violent side for what may be the (possible) intended teen audience, the majority of it isn’t graphically shown on screen, and the language only barely slides into the PG-13 realm, mainly with some period-accurate insults. As a period piece, there are some elements that may step on some moral toes, but hopefully that alone wouldn’t be cause enough to turn away.

Abigail IS rather predictable to long time genre fans, but younger viewers may find some of the twists and reveals engaging.

This isn’t a game-changer of a film, and I suspect a lot of people will be underwhelmed, but that’s not to say it’s BAD. However, having some elements in common with other, somewhat similar — and many might say superior — movies only adds to the overall unoriginal proceedings.