Abigail is a good, blood-soaked time at the movies. In addition to top-notch work from the hair and makeup department, not to mention the practical effects artists, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett‘s horror movie is a crowd-pleaser with a few surprises. Unfortunately, the surprise was spoiled by the marketing.
A group of criminals kidnap a mysterious kid (played by Alisha Weir). After 40-minutes of guessing games, it’s revealed what the trailer and posters already told audiences: the child is a vampire. Then the fun and games begin, but the ride is a tad bumpy at the start, knowing what’s coming a long time ahead of the characters. No dread or curling up for the shoe to drop, just waiting for what we know to happen.
It’s a problem with the experience, not so much the movie itself.
Recently, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett told the ReelBlend podcast why the marketing spoiled the film. “We would always encourage people who are fans of something to try to go in as blind as possible,” Gillett said. “We do that with movies that we love, and are anticipating. I refuse to watch any trailer for the new Alien movie, just because I want to have that experience in as blind a way as possible. But I think once we really landed on the very iconic image of Ballerina Vampire, we knew that it was going to be the biggest part, or the most memorable part, of what the marketing of this movie would be. What it ultimately ended up doing was, I think it challenged us to just make sure that everything that comes before and after that very specific twist has to really matter, and be really fun and really entertaining.”
The Radio Silence team do deliver on the fun and entertainment value. In the end, that’s what matters most, but in the beginning, it’s an itchy nitpick. All we can do now is envy (or be happy for) those going into Abigail blind.
Abigail is now playing in theaters.
