Dublin teenager Alisha Weir's great big-screen run continues. First Matilda the Musical, then turn-the-air-blue comedy Wicked Little Letters, and now staking her claim to horror in this night of the vampire.
Weir plays a crime boss' daughter who is snatched by a motley crew of kidnappers - Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens playing the leader, former Scream alumnus Melissa Barrera his foil - with a $50-million ransom in the offing. They're told it's "a 24-hour job and the hard part is already over". Ah yes...
Scream/Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are out to give horror fans their fill here. Mixing buckets (and buckets and buckets) of blood with bits of ballet, Abigail alternates between scares and snarkiness as it goes for the neck. There's a strong cast that includes Big Little Lies' Kathryn Newton and the late Euphoria star Angus Cloud, but this is truly Weir's movie from start to finish as she bosses all the grown-ups with her acting, and action, chops. She's not the only one flying the flag: Abigail was filmed in Dublin with a script co-written by Irishman Stephen Shields and Castleknock's Glenmaroon House also ready for its close-up.
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett go too crazy on the claret towards the close (remember when Gary got sick in Team America: World Police?) and the film could have been brought in at 90 minutes. Still, Abigail remains good knockabout fun that deserves its cinema stopover. Now, let's see what Weir gets her teeth into next.
