Abigail

The Radio Silence collective, and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett in particular, don't take a lot of time off. After releasing two "Scream" sequels in as many years, they're back again with an original tale, similar to (and practically as good as) their previous hit "Ready or Not". "Abigail" isn't a masterpiece of cinema, nor is it the most innovative or best vampire movie in history, but it's massively entertaining to watch; - especially together with an outrageous crowd of horror fanatics (like I did at the Brussels International Film Festival).

"Abigail" starts off with a clichéd premise. A group of criminals that don't know each other, and each with their own area of expertise, are brought together for a special assignment. They must kidnap the ballet-dancing daughter of a wealthy person and babysit her for 24 hours until daddy pays the ransom. The kidnapping went easy, and the babysitting is supposedly the easiest part because - honestly - what could a 12-year-old girl in a cute tutu do against six heavily armed and professional criminals, right?

After the derivative but mandatory first half hour (criminals showing off, traumatic background stories, pinky swears, ...) "Abigail" turns into a fast-paced and gore-soaked horror crowd pleaser with funny one-liners and superior make-up effects. The vampires don't look like traditional counts in cloaks, but more like demons with filthy teeth and blood red eyes. There are good performances from familiar faces (Kevin Durand, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton) and particularly the young Alisha Weir is impressive as the titular monster in her uncanny ballet dress. Good splatter fun, nothing more but certainly nothing less.