By Ica Hontiveros-Cheng
This review has been sitting in my drafts for sometime, I haven’t been able to finish it up since I’ve been really busy. If you follow me on my socials, you would know that there were a lot of screenings and events lately, and of course that means writing a review and posting content. Anyways, I didn’t want this draft to go to waste, so even if it’s been sometime since the movie was relesed, I am rushing to finish this. Afterall, there are still cinemas showing ‘Abigail’ so yehey!
I did not expect to laugh as much as I did, and it was a good kind of laugh. The one that you do when you are enjoying something, and not because you thought that the movie was absurd or silly, in a bad way. The film didn’t take itself seriously and was able to balance horror and humor well, which makes it an ideal movie to see with as many friends as you can. I loved that the plot was not predictable at all. Honestly, I wasn’t able to tell where it was going, and it kept me on my toes, and I like that.
Also, I had a funny Abigail encounter, after the ‘Arthur The King’ screening I went to the comfort room in the cinemas of SM Megamall, as I opened the door of the cubicle, I noticed the movie poster of Abigail plastered on the wall, and I thought: “Oh, how cute. Marketing.” but when I turned to close the door to the cubicle there was Abigail all teeth and fangs ready to pounce on me! Huhu. So, she stares at you as if about to eat you while you sit on the toilet and do your business. Like in most cubicles there is a hook where you can hang your bag, I had to smirk at where the hook was placed-right in the middle of Abigail’s forehead, so it was very ‘steak in the heart, but you know head’. Honestly I had my eyes cast down whlie I was relieving bladder, just so I won’t have to meet Abigail’s eyes. You can see the photo and my post about this Abigail encounter here.
So yeah, maybe Abigail was reminding me to get this long form review published and well, who am I to disobey a centuries old child vampire-ballerina right?
I knew it was going to be horror, I knew it was going to be gory and violent but I didn’t expect to be laughing so much. I really enjoyed myself more than I thought I would. Also, it turned out to be very bloody, please mind the R16 rating. Apparently the reason why it was so bloody is that they used blood canons, yup, you read that right. In a TikTok video that I saw, production used over 7,000 gallons of blood. Random stuff you find out on TikTok.
The world building may need some work, but I don’t mind. Maybe a prequel, or sequel can get that covered. I would definitely love to step into Abigail’s glittered sneakers again. The character reveal in the end was just a little underwhelming for me, but I think that’s just personal preference, since I was expecting a different kind of actor. And I will leave it at that, as to not reveal any spoilers.
Speaking of Abigail, Alisha Weir who plays the ballerina-vampire was so impressive in the role! She really ate and left no crumbs (literally) lol. The physical dedication that she had to put in the role must have been a lot, considering the stunts and all.
Also, can I give a shoutout to my boy Dan Stevens? At first, I wasn’t sure if that was him, it sure looked like him but the role wasn’t what he would usually play, I usually love to love him, but in this film, it was definitely love to hate. And I just recently saw him and sang praises for his hilarious, lovable and charismatic performance in ‘Godzilla x Kong’. You can check out my Godzilla x Kong review here or you can watch the YouTube review with Karen and Carl here.
And I wasn’t the only one who was happy with Dan Stevens roles lately, there is even a Variety article on it, which you can read here.
Best seen with as many friends as possible, since this one is that rare fun horror flick that will have all of you laughing and basking in all that gore and fun vampire tropes.