This genre (vampire and horror) does not appeal to me. The film began to watch because of Dan Stevens, who has not seen on the screen for a long time. I thought that in the garbage he is not removed, and the film even unloved genre will be something unusual. The expectations were not met. The unusual thing was that I did not immediately recognize Stevens, because he had changed beyond recognition: as if faded and lost all his former attractiveness. It became clear why he starred in such garbage. At first it was interesting until the vampires showed up. And it got boring.
Usually, films about the abduction of children present criminals as pure evil and this is not surprising, because such crimes blatantly cross all the boundaries of morality and law. However, as the new horror from Universal Studios Abigail shows us, in some cases children can be much more dangerous than a gang of the most notorious thugs.
This story begins with the fact that someone Lambert planned to pull off a very dangerous case with the abduction of 12-year-old Abigail, seemingly an ordinary girl who is the daughter of a famous crime boss. And he can pay a very large ransom for his blood. So Lambert thinks through every aspect of this case and hires a team of professionals who must perform everything in the best possible way.
A key part of the team of kidnappers is the girl Joey, who works as a doctor and can find a common language with the child. Joey must be the key link between Abigail and the kidnappers. It would seem that after the abduction everything should go smoothly, but it turns out that Abigail is not just an ordinary girl – she is a vampire and just comes her time. Mercy from her should not be expected and in the mansion begins a real bloody mess without compromise.
There are a lot of violent and really shocking scenes in the film. I was pleased because for a long time Universal films in the horror genre were toothless in terms of horror plot and failed at the box office. “The Mummy”, “Dracula” and “Ranfield” with an intriguing idea were boring and banal horrors for one view. However, Abigail is the film that shows us the real nightmare of vampire history and I really liked this approach.
Of the cast, I remember Melissa Barrera from the last installments of The Scream. She plays Joey, who is part of a gang of kidnappers and certainly does not intend to die prematurely. Barrera plays a pretty pretty girl in terms of character, and although she is on the side of criminals, you really care about her. Katherine Newton from the third Ant-Man. She played a hacker here and I will not say that her game is unique, and nevertheless Newton confidently keeps in the frame and with her participation there are a couple of spectacular episodes.
Overall, "Abigail" came out quite a remarkable horror, which I recommend watching. In the film there are many cruel scenes and a really cool ending, from which just goosebumps run.
Matthew Bettinelli and Tyler Gillett, the directors of the last two “Scream” and “Ready Or Not”, in their signature manner and with their post-modernist handwriting, once again issued a black comedy, while inscribing in the framework of history and horror. This is the case when the illegitimate son of the aforementioned "I'm going to look" and "Ten Negroes" and "Dracula". Yeah, with a lot of cliché and self-irony. Yes, with minimal thoughts, but with maximum entertainment. The degree of insanity now scales even higher, and this can not but rejoice.
To begin with, it was a good decision to make the picture chamber. In the best traditions of the first “Resident Evil” from “Konami”, our eyes are not sprayed on many side branches, and the narrative is focused on a group of young (and not so) guys who have only one goal – to get out of the mansion alive, because among them there is a vampire, tearing all the guilty to pieces. Amid all this bloody, and sometimes ridiculous, madness lurks a completely mundane and universal parable of “fathers and children”, where fathers are understood as parents in principle. Every child wants to be loved by their ancestors. Everyone wants attention and care, as well as their approval from the outside. I like the way the movie is written: a hard-hit thriller with a bright action duration of 'forty hours', which will not make you miss until the final credits.
Acting works are pleasant: Barrera, Stevens, Weir, Catlett, Newton, Durant, Cloud and Esposito - all in their places and act out archetypal collective images to fit the genre content. Operator work and installation of high-quality and modern. Sound and post-production at a high level: the picture sounds good and voluminous at its introductory.
The posthumous tribute to the overdose Angus Cloud, who passed into the other world at the editing stage, turned out to be a finished "switch" and with an open ending, within modern America and for buzzers / alpha. A film that loved and left only positive emotions. This work is neither worse nor better than those that came out before it: the duo of directors has grown together and produces a completely modern and fun movie that can capture your attention for almost two hours. Enjoy your visit.
Directors Matthew Bettinelli and Tyler Gillett directed a fascinating black comedy called I'm Going to Search. However, this undemanding horror does not cause any positive emotions, let alone delight.
Violence in modern cinema has become one of the main forms of social communication, presenting a grotesque mirror of "hypernaturalism." The authors “saddled” the dominant of violence and galloped in the bloody prose of everyday absurdism, urging the viewer not to think, not to reflect, but only to have fun with “bulging eyes”. Such primitivism is the case, especially if the author is unique and has his own charisma. In this case, we witness a hypertrophied childish image in musical and choreographic performance.
And as we can see from the positive feedback from teenagers and grown-ups of Peter the Pens, this approach resonates, and we hear deafening cheers of admiration. But do not worry, puberty is passing, although it can be delayed.
The leitmotif of the picture is a sucking candy, a children's delicacy, and in the picture it is not connected with anything, most likely, it is something personal. The makeup of the heroine is very striking, a very contrasting makeup, apparently, they tried to rejuvenate the actress or make up flaws.
The beginning of the film is worthy: diverse heroes, an interesting non-standard plot, a good acquaintance with the characters through a verbal portrait that characterizes them, but all this is only up to the main turn. The basis of the film, or rather its drawback, lies in the main scene of the action: endless pursuit of the victim, games of "catch if you can." They are too primitive in both implementation and design. A rare humor saves the situation, but it is sorely lacking. It lacks subtle humor to mask straightforwardness and simplicity. Although they say that brevity or simplicity is the sister of talent, but in this case, it is a characteristic of a different order, it is rather a flaw.
The acting is not praised: the directors are too carried away by the demonic running of a young psychopath after adult outsiders. The plot is based on an element from the series “Outside” – a box with a dancing ballerina, well, at least someone was inspired by this mystical “Santa Barbara”, with an incoherent conceptual pile of underdeveloped ideas, in which even the authors themselves are unable to understand.
Dan Stevens, who played the role of a former police officer, stands out. His character stands out for excessive neuroticism, apparently, the directors convulsively came up with a justification for his hidden antagonism, but apart from annoying tantrums, they did not find anything better.
In second place is Melissa Barrera. As I mentioned, her defiant makeup and close-ups are aesthetic abuse. However, pain is the basis of this “bloody drama”, the sacred nature of everything that happens. She plays moderately, if at all. She shows observation and determination, and sensitivity and guilt convincingly justifies the author’s decision.
The third most important character is Abigail, the young actress Alicia Weir tried very hard, and her diligence is noticeable. The ability to gracefully bend and tap with false “fangs” can not be every teenager. Unfortunately, her play “sucks” at the moment when she reveals the essence of what is happening to the characters, but otherwise she manifests herself as an energetic and promising actress, and copes well with the director’s task.
A special impression was made by the image of father Abigail, the best acting in this film - Matthew Goode showed a master class. His episodic role was brighter than the whole film.
Viewing this picture, for me personally, can be compared to the senseless feat of Sisyphus: I regret the time spent on this laid-back bloody ballet, which lacks the ability to experience and even think.
It so happened that with a difference of half a day, two two two-hour new rentals with a rating of R: 60 million "Ministry of Ungentleman Affairs" and 28 million "Abigail". Oddly enough, the winner in their non-existent fight was the creation of Radio Silence! And that happens.
The rating, by the way, fully justified itself. Judging by the dubbing, in the original version, the characters often used uncultured speech, especially Dan Stevens. His hero, a neurotic and an alarmist, which only suffered, without spoilers to write about his misadventures in the script will not work. And the greater impression is the abundant use of fake blood, it was clearly used ruthlessly. After Samara Weaving in the film “I’m going to look for /i” and Jane Levy in the film “Evil Dead: The Black Book” from now on, Melissa Barrera can boast of a heroine drenched from head to toe with blood.
In 'Abigail' so much blood, meat, morsels, entrails, crunch of bones, that appetite plays out. Click and order chicken legs with KFC wings to rip them apart with your teeth. In terms of bloody fun, your new hire keeps a confident and cheerful pace, which does not drown out a somewhat wild scenario with many turns. At the end, believe me, comes a fierce bacchanalia, the final chord of which is the appearance of one famous actor of the year. I didn't expect to see him! You understand that the sequel cannot be avoided.
Believe me, the trailer shows only the tip of the iceberg, a tangle of secrets unravels gradually. Alicia Weir, despite her young age, perfectly played the role of a terrible bloodsucker. And in the case of her, everything worked out – as in the time with Rorschach from that very film: “I’m not locked up with you, you were locked up with me!” Losers who get into juicy trouble will get excellent cardio training with multiple stab wounds. It’s funny to watch their efforts and suffering, so the combination of horror and comedy works well. Execution at the highest level, of course.
Since directors Matthew Bettinelli and Tyler Gillett, due to unforeseen circumstances, did not give the audience the seventh part of "The Scream" to the world, the Universal studio caught up in time and pulled them into their project about a vampire ballerina. Despite good assessments abroad, this project language stretches to call taste. Most or all of it is unlikely to fly, as usual there will be questions to the logical component in the scenario. But all this is not so important when almost the entire filmmaker catches the eye of the seductive neckline of the lady.
The ladies, played by Melissa Barrera, with scandal left the new trilogy "Scream". So much sweat, dirt and blood withstood her neckline, that during the viewing you are sick for the fact that the chitoba did not kill her prematurely. The acting ensemble, by the way, was quite pleasant. It was great to see Kevin Durant, still in great physical shape. Katherine Newton gets the most unenviable fate there when her character falls into one bad place in a trap house. Dan Stevens in fashion glasses all the time reminded Bradley Cooper. Well done for this movie.
The film is dedicated to the memory of the star "Euphoria".
A gang of thieves kidnap a girl of a famous authority, hoping for a huge ransom. Everything would be fine, but only they discover that the young girl is not as innocent as she seems. She's a vampire.
Actors: a separate praise of the young Alicia Weir, who in her fourteen years already perfectly played the role. At the beginning of the film perfectly performs Bekichev’s libretto to the accompaniment of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, which already judges her innocent character. . Her Abigail, at the same time, pretends to get what she wants. Stanislavsky would be proud.
I will say right away that all actors perform absolute cynics, but they decide to change something in their lives for the better. They are just bags of blood to the antagonist.
Dan Stevens is already a frequent guest on the screen, so it is not surprising his nasty character.
Melissa Barrera is a good actress. Here, her character has more motivation to return to normal life. The only way to start over is to find the money. Soon she will realize that there is no easy money, and the price of freedom is high. She performed the role well.
It’s nice how the heroes are dragging their time to the end and trying to delay the inevitable pursuit of the otherworldly creature. The meeting of different thieves in the same house reminded me of the meeting of unrelated individuals (of Mad Dogs), who are not obliged to reveal their secrets to each other. In the course of the story, however, they reveal. The game between them looks good, who and who? But the best part is the antagonist. Thanks to the truth about the past, they could quarrel, but decide to go to the end.
It is a joy to watch the play of Catherine Newton, whose heroine does not want to get his hands dirty. But she'll have to sweat. Her character is responsible for pop culture about vampirism. She gets into the dirt and becomes an understanding character. The actress performed the role very well.
Everything else: Directors Matthew Bettinelli and Tyler Gillett familiar in the reimagining of the Wes Craven franchise decided to take a breather and pause production (an already terrible sequel). Fortunately, Guy Busik (known for I Go Searching) borrows the style of his interesting hide-and-seek film. This gives the impression of a relay.
The idea for a young vampire movie is not new (remember Let Me In!). Still, I want to praise the authors for their enthusiasm for the idea of survival in the confined space of an old house with little danger. At the same time, the idea of delivering victims sounds fresh.
The only unpleasant character is Angus Cloud. Like he was invited not to work, but to fool around in the frame. He fools around, but in the end he seems to give out a great fear of reprisals. Kevin Duran (a dumb rocker who wanted to change his life) looks much funnier.
Impressions: an interesting version of horror caught my eye. Interesting horror for the evening, although the idea is worn out.