Abigail Blu Ray Review (Universal)

Abigail is a 2024 horror film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Scream franchise, Devil’s Due, Southbound, Ready or Not, and V/H/S). It was written by Stephen Shields (Hunted, The Hole in the Ground, and Zombie Bashers) and Guy Busick (Ready or Not, Scream franchise, Castle Rock, and Stan Against Evil). Actor Angus Cloud unfortunately passed away before this was released, it’s his 2nd to last performance. The budget was $28,000,000 and it grossed $42,400,901 worldwide at the box office. Ballet dancer Abigail (played by: Alisha Weir from Matilda: The Musical, Wicked Little Letters, Darklands, and Don’t Leave Home) is abducted by six criminals which includes. She is taken to the secluded Wilhelm Manor, their leader Lambert (played by: Giancarlo Esposito from Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, The Boys, The Usual Suspects, Do The Right Thing, MaXXXine, and Mo Better Blues) instructs them to guard Abigail for 24 hours. They are promised a $50 million ransom paid by her father Kristof Lazaar (played by: Matthew Goode from Watchmen, The Imitation Game, Stoker, The Offer, Self/Less, and The Lookout). The group all use fake aliases to hide their real identities under the names: Joey (played by: Melissa Barrera from the Scream franchise, Carmen, In the Heights, and Keep Breathing), Frank (played by: Dan Stevens from The Guest, Legion, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, The Call of the Wild, and The Rental), Sammy (played by: Kathryn Newton from Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Lisa Frankenstein, Freaky, Blockers, and Supernatural), Rickles (played by: William Catlett from Color Book, Constellation, and Black Lightning), Peter (played by: Kevin Durand from X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Robin Hood, Swamp Thing, The Strain, Smokin Aces, Resident Evil: Retribution, and Lost), and Dean (played by: Angus Cloud from Your Lucky Day, Euphoria, Freaky Tales, and The Garfield Movie). Joey is given the job of personally watching the young Abigail. A simple gig quickly becomes a complicated nightmare. The criminals start getting knocked off one by one. They suspect that one of them is really Lazaar’s legendarily violent enforcer Valdez hiding in plain sight. The kidnapping crew is figuring out that this crime wasn’t worth it at all. As the criminals become a smaller group, they must work together to survive this chaotic night before no one is left!!!! Abigail is one of the best horror films of the year so far. It will mostly likely make my top 5 list of the year and it’s still early on. I will say that it’s a prime example of why marketing and promo gives away too much information these days when it comes to cinema. It has a really great twist but it’s clearly been spoiled through artwork, trailers, and all that so I guess it’s not much of a secret at this point so I don’t feel bad talking about it here. There’s still a few mysterious moments here that are a nice surprise so I won’t mention those. It’s a nice resurrection of the blood sucking vampire sub-genre which is rarely done these days. Abigail is a great mix of vampire meets crime. It’s basically two movies into one which is always awesome if done right. The script is top notch, I can see why so many talented actors joined this project. I really enjoyed how all the criminals were named after the Rat Pack and their associates. Abigail is loaded with gore, violently visual kills, and non stop violence. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are no strangers when it comes to horror, they just keep getting better. Abigail keeps it suspenseful and tense especially during the finale. Alisha Weir as Abigail steals the show with an acting cast of heavy hitters. She shows a few different sides of her character which very interesting to experience. When she gets full evil, it’s over. There’s so much potential for a prequel or a sequel with what happens here. Dan Stevens as Frank is a very complicated role. He can either be your best friend or your greatest enemy in Abigail. It’s one of his best performances, he reminds me of a younger Cary Elwes in this. His mannerisms and speech are spot on to The Princess Bride and Saw star. Melissa Barrera as Joey is the most likeable person in this entire situation. She actually cares and she wants to get back to her normal life. She brings a little humanity to all this chaos. It has a very skilled cast that includes Giancarlo Esposito, Matthew Goode, Angus Cloud, Kevin Durand, Kathryn Newton, and William Catlett. Abigail is a blast, it’s very entertaining and the replay value is very strong. It’s currently streaming on Peacock, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Universal Pictures! This 1080p (2.39:1) transfer is very impressive. It has excellent cinematography, quality production design, and top notch fx that really shine in HD. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1, and French: Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 on the UHD. Abigail is action packed when it comes to the audio. All of the dialogue is crisp, the bloodshed is elevated, and music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles. This is one of better technical horror releases on blu ray lately. It has an “Audio Commentary” with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett and editor Michael P. Shawyer. They provide lots of information and share some stories on this track. They go over their experiences on the production. They go into great detail about how the main character Abigail was cast in this. They chat about the other cast members, the fx, the action, characters, locations, and so much more. 3 different “Deleted and Extended Scenes” is almost 7 minutes. It has the full and uncut opening dancing scene with Abigail. There’s some more additional moments with the main character plus others here. It has almost 10 “Gag Reel” featuring some hilarious and entertaining goofs from the set. “Blood Bath” is a little over 7 minutes. It has interviews with the cast and crew. It focuses on the practical special fx. It’s a cool inside look for the violence in Abigail. “Hunters to Hunted” is almost 6 minutes. It has interviews with the crew and cast. This one displays the casting of the main criminals for this horror feature. They chat about their roles in this kidnapping scheme. They talk about going through weapons training for this. “Becoming a Ballerina Vampire” is a little over 4 minutes. It has interviews with the directors and lead actress Alisha Weir. They chat about the changes the character goes through for the movie. They talk about her dancing. They go over her fighting style. “Directing Duo Matt & Tyler” is almost 6 minutes. It has interviews with the cast and crew. They chat about what brought and made them interested in Abigail. The actors talk about working with them and their take on it. The film makers discuss approaching the vampire sub-genre with a more modern vibe. They bring up balancing the horror with humor. There’s a good amount of special features on this disc. All of the extras are shorter on this collector’s edition but they are full of information and stories. It also comes with a slipcover, a digital code, and a DVD copy of the release. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!