Plot: What’s it about?
Abigail is the sort of film that I imagine advertising execs hate. What I mean by that is that there’s a pretty big twist about midway through, but I can see it being a somewhat hard film to market. What might’ve been a good secret in the pre-internet (or internet infancy) and especially pre-social media days seems like something that would have been spilled regardless in today’s world. I am reminded a bit of From Dusk ‘Til Dawn and a tad from The Usual Suspects. Who’d have ever thought those two movies would have a hybrid? Many films have done this, or misled audiences, but I keep wracking my brain on how I would approach it. Before I go too far down that rabbit hole, I will assume most people reading this review will know the film’s big twist. With that said, if you don’t and would like to remain in the dark then I would suggest you not read further.
The plot is rather simple: A group of criminals are brought together by Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) for a high-paying job. They don’t know one another and assume aliases (think Reservoir Dogs). The twist is that these are members of the “Rat Pack.” We’ve got Frank (Dan Stevens), Sammy (Kathryn Newton), Joey (Melissa Barrera), Peter (Kevin Durand), Dean (Angus Cloud) and Rickles (Will Catlett). This is a different variety than those of Ocean’s Eleven. Their mission is rather simple – to kidnap a 12-year old ballerina named, you guessed it, Abigail (Alisha Weir) and then demand millions for her wealthy father for her return. Of course, there’s a snag and what the group finds out the hard way is…(spoiler) the child is a vampire. And not just any vampire. To further complicate matters, the house they’re hiding out in has been locked down for 24 hours, so like it or not – they’re committed.
The film gets a lot of things right. I liked how the characters tried to work together and even escape, with some offering to forgo their cut of the loot, preferring to escape and remain anonymous instead. All of this is good stuff. It’s the film’s second half where things slow down a bit, but where the film also throws too much at us. There are just too many twists here and character moments that would’ve worked better with simplicity instead. I appreciated that it doesn’t dispose of the characters too quickly and keeps things a bit unpredictable, but it reaches a point of exhaustion before long. This would’ve felt so much more effective with a leaner running time rather than the final product which starts to drag. There’s still more than enough good here to recommend, but it becomes more exhaustive than entertaining before long.
Video: How’s it look?
This isn’t a bright and cheerful movie both in tone and its physical representation on screen, but that’s not to say that it doesn’t look good. Darker tones take the lead with this 2.39:1 HEVC 4K image, it gives more of an open sense of space in the huge mansion the film takes place in. Contrast, I found, was strong with equally impressive black levels. Detail, as we might expect, is top notch. That may be a good thing or a bad one depending on seeing someone getting their throats eaten by a vampire. It’s a step up from the original Blu-ray, but honestly unless you’re doing an A/B comparison, I’d find it difficult to believe anyone would ever know which version is which.
Audio: How’s it sound?
I’d expressed “concern” about the original Blu-ray and why it didn’t have an Atmos track. That concern has been alleviated with this version as the Dolby True HD track has been replaced by a superior Atmos track. What’s included doesn’t necessarily sound bad though, not by any means. This track effectively utilizes every speaker in your setup. From some low LFE sounds to the surrounds adding a creepy aura of “weirdness” during a few scenes. I have no idea what the appropriate sound is supposed to be when biting another person’s neck, but for the time being we’ll just assume they hit the nail on the head. Suffice it to say this too leaves little room for improvement.
Supplements: What are the extras?
We get some more supplements with this version including a new audio commentary, though we lose some of those included with Universal’s Blu-ray.
Disc One (4K)
- Audio Commentary – Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett and Editor Michael P. Shawyer make a for a decent commentary track. The usual topics are discussed, but I found it odd that there’s a lot more technical talk about the production design, the look and feel of the house and whatnot. At any rate, any fan of the film will enjoy this one.
- Audio Commentary – Film critic Drew McWeeny chimes in with his take on the film. While it’s a bit far removed from the above track, his thoughts are of a different mindset, but compelling nonetheless. I enjoyed this track a bit more than I should have.
Disc Two (Blu-ray)
- Audio Commentary – Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett and Editor Michael P. Shawyer make a for a decent commentary track. The usual topics are discussed, but I found it odd that there’s a lot more technical talk about the production design, the look and feel of the house and whatnot. At any rate, any fan of the film will enjoy this one.
- Audio Commentary – Film critic Drew McWeeny chimes in with his take on the film. While it’s a bit far removed from the above track, his thoughts are of a different mindset, but compelling nonetheless. I enjoyed this track a bit more than I should have.
- Deleted & Extended Scenes – There isn’t a lot to see here as we’ve got nearly seven minutes of deleted scenes. They’re not labeled and don’t have much context. I didn’t find much value in these.
- Interview With Co-Writer Guy Busick – I’m not really sure why this segment couldn’t have been combined with the one below, but alas…we get a brief conversation with Guy Busick, one of the co-writers on the film as he gives us his .02 on writing the film, some of its influences and working with Bettinelli and Gillett.
- Interview With Co-Writer Stephen Shields – Essentially the same as above, but with a few other somewhat amusing anecdotes.
- Interview With Production Designer Susie Cullen – Cullen gives us her take on the overall look and feel of the film (hint: very dark and gloomy), the dimly-lit atmosphere and how it added to the film as a whole.
- Interview With Director of Photography Aaron Morton – Morton tells us of the feel that the film has, some of the extreme close-ups found within as well as “creating a claustrophobic” look to the movie.
The Bottom Line
Abigail has some good moments, to be sure. But any movie-lover knows that in a film with an ensemble cast, particularly in a horror movie, we’ll see them picked off one by one. I always try and guess the order. And I’m always wrong. If you were a fan of the film, but Univesal’s Blu-ray left you wanting a 4K image and an Atmos track (and a new commentary track with some technically-oriented supplements) then the wait is over. If not, then Universal’s disc should be enough to keep you satisfied.
