Abigail (2024)
A group of criminals with nicknames, à la Reservoir Dogs, find that a girl they kidnapped is a lot more than they bargain for in the new horror-comedy film Abigail.
The six crooks (led by Dan Stevens) kidnap Abigail (Alisha Weir) with the hopes of securing a $50 million ransom from her father. The man who hired them (Giancarlo Esposito) tells them they have to watch over Abigail for 24 hours in a secluded mansion, and then they will collect their money.
The previews and commercials give away the plot twist that occurs about 30 minutes into the film, but suffice to say Abigail is more than a match for her increasingly panicked captors. Blood flows—lots of it. The leading character is Joey (Melissa Barrera), a former medic and recovering drug addict who tries to stay alive while keeping her colleagues from both getting killed and killing each other.
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet made another one-location comedy horror with 2019's fun Ready or Not. Abigail is not quite as good as that one, but it has a sense of fun and some scares. Many of the characters meet horrible fates, but since they're kidnappers, the audience is unlikely to shed too many tears over it. Even though Stevens' Frank is not a good person, Stevens lends the character an acerbic wit that makes him watchable.
The finale ultimately devolves into over-the-top silliness but does contain a development that was genuinely unexpected. While the end result is not a film that withstands a lot of post-screening thought, it zips along at a nice pace and is fun to watch along the way.
