Midweek Mention... Abigail

On this episode of Bad Dads Film Review, the team reviews Abigail (2024) — a gleefully gory vampire horror-comedy from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, starring Melissa Barrera, Alisha Weir, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, Giancarlo Esposito, and Matthew Goode.In this episodeWhy the poster and streaming artwork spoil the film’s big vampire revealUniversal’s monster-movie legacy, from the failed Dark Universe to The Invisible Man, Renfield, and AbigailThe heist-movie setup: anonymous criminals, Rat Pack aliases, a creepy manor, and a 24-hour ransom jobAbigail’s Swan Lake opening and the early clue that she may not be as young as she looksThe crew: Joey, Frank, Sammy, Rickles, Peter, Dean, and LambertGiancarlo Esposito airport-chat, Terry Waite hostage tangent, and the inevitable Bad Dads detoursKristof Lazaar as the film’s Keyser Söze figureDean’s pantry death, the Valdez misdirection, and the vampire reveal everyone at home probably already knew was comingFailed vampire defences: holy water, crucifixes, garlic/onions, stakes, sunlight, and general criminal incompetenceThe corpse pool, puppet-dancing, flying vampires, exploding bodies, and the increasingly messy final actDan Stevens as Frank, Alisha Weir’s excellent monster-child performance, and Melissa Barrera grounding the whole thing as JoeyParent-child horror: Joey’s absent-mother guilt versus Abigail’s desperate need for her father’s attentionBad Dads consensusSidey: Strong recommend — enjoyed the daftness, gore, performances, and vampire lore playDan: Strong recommend — expected something scarier, but found it funny, silly, and much more enjoyable than fearedReegs: Positive overall — liked the craft and cast, compared it to From Dusk Till Dawn, but felt the ending dragged and got messyCris: Not a recommend — thought it was too long, not funny enough, and stranded between comedy, horror, and thrillerFinal takeAbigail works best as a polished, knowingly ridiculous locked-house monster movie: criminals in a mansion, vampire ballerina on the loose, and enough exploding blood to repaint a stately home. It is not subtle, and the ending overstays its welcome, but for most of the dads the cast and energy carry it.You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com. Until next time, we remain... Bad Dads