MOVIE NEWS – Abigail has won over critics, scoring an impressive 85% on the RottenTomatoes review site ahead of its upcoming release. There is a consensus that it has revitalized the vampire film genre, featuring a minor, delicate ballerina at the top of the food chain, preying on a group of makeshift criminals.

The film has also made strides in the art of inventive bloodshed, convincing viewers that the production’s claim—about directors repeatedly apologizing to actors for having to perform ankle-deep in fake blood—is not just a marketing gimmick.

Every critic highlights that Alisha Weir, who portrays the ballet-dancing vampire girl, could carry the film on her slender shoulders even if there were no other attractions in it. “A new movie monster is born!” exclaims Sharai Bohannon, host of the horror podcast Nightmare on Fire Street. “Weir is the film’s great discovery, dominating the entire widescreen with astonishing ease, transforming from an innocent, helpless child into a cruel, deadly humorous apex predator,” says Michael Gingold from Rue Morgue Magazine.

Experts are cautiously estimating Abigail’s opening weekend revenue in North America to be between $12 and $22 million, indicating significant variability—meaning the film could be an instant hit or may not be as well-received. Optimistic voices are in the majority, suggesting that this third attempt by Universal Studio could be successful. Last year, attempts like Renfield and The Last Voyage of the Demeter tried to redefine the Dracula myth with high ambitions and original ideas, working with relatively large budgets, yet they did not live up to expectations. As SlashFilm points out, Abigail might provide compensation, as perhaps what’s needed for truly thrilling vampire action is not the eccentric, mad-eyed Nicolas Cage of Renfield but a 38-kilogram ballerina.

(Abigail –  April 25, 2024.)