Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (Scream VI) and Tyler Gillett’s (Ready or Not) new film Abigail is a remake/remix of 1936’s Dracula’s Daughter. In the teaser trailer, and poster of a young girl with blood on her ballerina dress, it’s no surprise that young Abigail (Alisha Weir) is a vampire.

In this version of the tale, Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) brings a ragtag group of criminals together to kidnap a young girl so her father pays a $50M ransom. Each member of the group has their special set of skills – Joey (Melissa Barrera) is the only person to communicate with the girl, Frank (Dan Stevens) is the leader, Rickles (William Catlett) is the lookout/sniper, Sammy (Kathryn Newton) is the hacker, Peter (Kevin Durand) is the muscle, and the late Angus Cloud plays Dean the wheelman.

After the kidnapping is successful, the crew heads to a remote estate. The second half of the lan requires them to watch the girl for 24hrs and they will receive $7M each for their troubles. Like Reservoir Dogs, none of these criminals have connections to each other or know each use fake names to communicate. The crew doesn’t even know Abigail or who her very wealthy father is.

Very early on, Frank learns the girl’s father is a man known as Kristof Lazar. The name alone sends chills up the crew’s spine. Lazar is spoken about with a level of fear and reference like John Wick or Keyzer Soze. Frank even refers to Lazar as the “antichrist”. Immediately a few of the crew want to leave but they ultimately decide to see this kidnapping through for the ransom.

After one crew member is found brutally decapitated, it’s clear the crew is in over their heads and trapped in this mansion with a vicious killer. When they go to check on Abigail, she’s the real threat. What they thought was an innocent 12-year-old is actually a bloodthirsty vampire. Similar to Gillett’s Ready or Not, the rest of the film is a ballet of bloodshed and brutality as the crew attempts to survive Abigail.

Abigail is wildly entertaining horror comedy. It has the perfect mix of jump scares; laugh out loud moments, and exploding bodies. Yes, there are lots of exploding bodies. None of what happens in surprising. There is a twist in the film that will remind you of a famous film in mid 90’s. Even with some of the plot points telegraphed, they are executed in a way that makes them incredibly entertaining.

The casts is what makes this film work. Alisha Weir is great as Abigail. It’s really fun watching her switch between scared child and killer vampire. Melissa Barrera may not want a career as a scream queen but she’s excellent in horror films. Barrera is awesome as a kidnapper but even better when the story calls for her to have more emotions in the film’s reveals in the third act.

The film isn’t all blood and bumps in the night. It also packs a lot of humor as they crew plays cat-and-mouse with Abigail. One oif the funnier scenes is them trying to remember what kills vampires and going to execute their plan. It’s even funny when the reveals slowly bleed out as tension builds in the house.

Abigail is incredibly entertaining and more fun than it looks. As chaotic as the film could be, it’s beautifully orchestrated chaos that delivers some great kills for horror fans. The story respectful to vampire lore while trying a few new tricks. It even has a lot of heart for a film that asks the audience to cheer for a group of people that kidnapped a child. Abigail is a great addition to the rapidly expanding horror genre. I’m already ready for Abigail 2.

Grade: B+