Abigail – Movie Review
Director: Melissa Vitello
Writer: Gunnar Garrett (Screenplay)
Cast
- Ava Cantrell (Lights Out)
- Tren Reed-Brown (Unsung)
- Hermione Lynch (Succession)
- Gene Farber (Captain America Civil War)
- Karimah Westbrook (Suburbicon)
Plot: In 1976 a troubled teen befriends her bullied neighbour, seeking revenge on his tormentors, but her obsession turns deadly.
Runtime: 1 Hour 28 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Abigail starts when troubled teen Abigail (Cantrell) and her mother Eve (Lynch) move to a new town for a fresh start. She gets to meet her neighbor Lucas (Reed-Brown) and the two strike up a friendship. However, Lucas is the prime target of local bully Daniel (Talbot) who makes his life a nightmare.
What Daniel doesn’t realize is that Abigail is willing to fight back. However, this gets her in trouble as she needs to remember why they moved in the first place. This doesn’t stop Abigail from doing what she thinks is right to protect her neighbor and stop a bully once and for all.
Verdict on Abigail
Abigail is a horror thriller following a teenager moving to a new town for a fresh start. However, when she faces bullies, she brings out a much darker side to her personality. It ends up seeing her darker side taking over and the town facing a much bigger problem.
This is a fun little slasher-styled movie, it flips what we would expect to give us something more surprising. It tackles overcontrolling and abusive parents, as well as bullies being dealt with. However, it never makes the town feel lived in, as it only ever seems like the two and the bullies. If a more remote location had been used, it would have helped the movie reach the next level. Performance-wise, we have a great cast and we can enjoy seeing the bodies pile up.
Final Thoughts – Abigail is a great twist on the slasher concept.
