Abigail-An Entertaining Gothic Single-Location Horror Film

Abigail finds the filmmaking duo Radio Silence returning to their roots, returning to the single-location horror concept of Ready or Not for an enjoyably bloody and entertaining experience. Like with Ready or Not, that commitment to its single-location concept made Abigail so successful for me. Aside from the kidnapping scene at the start, Abigail takes place in one location. Radio Silence makes excellent use of that single location, with many tense, bloody, and incredibly entertaining sequences set in cramped hallways and single rooms.

The script by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick also gets excellent mileage from the single-location concept. The film explores all the paranoia, mystery, and double-crossing from its concept of multiple morally dubious people trapped in a house together. The writing is quite sharp, leading to some delightful moments of banter that add depth and immense humor to the film.

All the performances here are pretty fun. There's a unique mix of subdued performances, such as Melissa Barrera or William Catlett, and completely over-the-top performances, such as Dan Stevens's enjoyably hammy exaggerated Brooklyn accent, Kevin Durand having a fun time playing an exaggerated tough-guy with an equally over-the-top accent, or Kathryn Newton playing the kind of snarky characters she's typically good at playing. The best performance of the film, though, is Alisha Weir as Abagail, who manages to play up the innocent little girl act of her role in the film's early sections and the enjoyably profane, violent monster act in the rest of the film. She is the actress most attuned to the film's tone, with a delightful camera-winking performance, which is incredibly impressive given her age.

The film's two-hour runtime does begin to show at times. As enjoyable as the film's banter could be, some scenes of characters bickering and fighting began to feel dragged out after a while. The way the film handles its exposition could also be pretty clunky, with dragged-out scenes of characters spouting mindless information about themselves, each other, or the story. It's the third act, though, where the film felt the most dragged out. The film continues to throw different climatic reveals and set pieces within the third act, to the point that it begins to feel cumbersome. When the film reveals the most integral plot element in its final few minutes, with everything it has thrown at the viewer, it comes at a whimper.

Abigail isn't perfect, as there are plenty of flaws regarding its script and pacing. But as a piece of Gothic, single-location horror, the film is incredibly entertaining. With sharp writing and even shaper performances, combined with its fun, bloody kills, Abigail shows what Radio Silence can do with a single-location concept.

Now Showing in Theaters in the U.S.