Premise wise, Abigail could have been this year's Don't Breathe with a twist. Except that twist got ruined in the trailer. Why would they do this? It's so stupid. Just tease us but never reveal pivotal elements because 100 percent of the time that gets in the way of your enjoyment.
Fortunately, for the audience, there are some redeeming elements. The cast. Kevind Durand, Dan Stevens and Melissa Barrera definitely elevate events. Kathryn Newton (Freaky) to a lesser degree. Giancarlo Esposito is even more useless, as he adds nothing. He literally could have been played by an unknown, and it wouldn't have mattered. Angus Cloud was problematic. There is a memoriam at the end credits. Meaning that he died (drug overdose). I don't want to be cruel, but he sounds like he is heavily drugged up. It's very distracting, and makes you wonder why they allow that to happen. The blood and gore is glorious. So you will be entertained. Thing is, this film easily could have been better. If they kept things mysterious, they could have built up tension and dread. The premise demands it. Not sure why they neglected to do this. They changed some of the rules. But not enough. If you are going to change these, then why not go all the way? It's something that would add surprise and therefore make events more thrilling. Unfortunately, the pacing is bad. Too many moments where things slow down and obviously to artificially prolong the length. Another decision I will never understand.
The one thing I will never forgive, this film and previous films before, that they don't treat the subject with respect. I don't mind if they change the lore. Actually, I would embrace that if it would mean that these beings would be more scary and dangerous. Now, they are being played off like a joke. Maybe that could be credited to What We Do in the Shadows (2014). These beings should terrify you. For what it's worth, Abigail is entertaining enough, just minimize your expectations if you have hope for this to deliver true horror goodness!
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