MOVIE NEWS – Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s film Abigail can be one of the successful, frightening children-focused horror movies of the last few years.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have already given a modern classic to horror with the movie Ready or Not, which, like their latest work, Abigail, is both unique and wears its inspirations on its sleeve. Regardless, their two Scream movies naturally refer to the past even more obviously.

However, while Scream has always sought to imitate several past horror films, Abigail is actually a reimagining of just one, 1936’s Dracula’s Daughter.

However, the director duo’s film differs from Dracula’s Daughter in at least two important respects. On the one hand, Abigail is as bloody as a vampire film has possibly ever been. Two: Gloria Anna Holden was in her thirties when she played the title character in the Universal classic. Here, however, Alisha Weir, who plays the title role, is only 14 years old. Still, the terrifying nature of her portrayal conveys intimidation as well as the mentality of someone who is much, much older than her physique suggests. However, her outstanding performance in the film is not the first of its kind. What’s more, instead of the thirties, it’s enough to go back to some recent works to see how we got to this point.

Friends of Abigail: The Modern Children’s Horror Inspiration

In the second half of the 1990s, Japanese horror (also known colloquially as J-Horror) inspired one of the golden ages of the creepy children’s subgenre. At least as far as the American releases go. It may have peaked early with The Ring and The Grudge, but the concept could still be monetized, such as the Jennifer Connelly-led Dark Water in 2005. However, the latter only tangentially belongs to the subgenre. In terms of camera handling and editing, the film draws from the likes of The Shining.

Then there’s Jaume Collet-Serra’s terrifying Orphan. It’s both extremely well-cast (especially young Isabelle Fuhrman for her dignified performance as the murderous Esther) and shocking, and that alone proved there’s still gas left in the scary-puppy subgenre. Now, with Abigail, the horror subgenre continues to find success.

From a $28 million budget, Abigail has taken in more than $17 million at the worldwide box office after its opening weekend – if it can keep up the pace, it could be a blockbuster.

But it doesn’t just make money at the cash registers. The film, which is Angus Cloud’s last role, also stars Weir, Melissa Barrera, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand, Dan Stevens, and Giancarlo Esposito. Plus, it was a huge success on Rotten Tomatoes. The film achieved a very impressive 84% among critics, and an even higher value of 87% among viewers! Reviews generally say that while the film is not for everyone, it is a particularly entertaining piece of cinema. It seems that the subgenre of creepy pups, especially when it comes to Universal’s monsters, can still find an audience.

The film has been showing in cinemas since yesterday.

Source: Screen Rant, Reddit