Like I said in my comment on here... I was bummed they spoiled this hook cause after seeing the movie it was done well where it would have been a good mystery for a chunk of the movie... however 0 chance I see this in theaters w/o knowing the hook. Cause a generic "Kidnappers get more than they bargained for" movie isn't something that interests me.
@@Grimbear13 , I left the same comment above. But it still could have been marketed as bloody horror suspense with the right preview that shows everything EXCEPT the vampire girl. The one scene with the girl swimming across a pool of dead bodies alone would have spiked my interest. Just laziness and a lack of creativity from the marketing team.
@@ndogg20 Possibly, I'm not sure that would have been enough to make it a must see in theaters for me personally. Because the hook of the ballerina vampire is definitely what put it over for me. Guess we'll never know cause we don't have the other trailer and a time machine to see how I'd feel lol.
If there are people saying “Hollywood doesn’t put out good movies” or “Hollywood doesn’t put out original stuff” then I hate to wonder if these people actually care about what they say or are just engagement farming. Lots of good things get made, the problem is is that people focus way too much on the stuff that is bad and make that the crux of why they say that nothing good gets made.
@@mamadouaziza2536Honestly I’m sick of how big blockbuster movies suck up all the attention, and I feel as the likes of MauLer and The Critical Drinker are the worst offenders in that department online. Have to go after the most visible targets and call people who act otherwise cowards.
@@LinkMarioSamus I always hated that about them, literally a ton of great movies in Hollywood and beyond, especially 2024 was a great year of movies aside from a few studio stinkers. They focus too much on the major franchises and it's clear they don't focus on other movies that are much better
I remember back when they released the trailer for the reboot of Pet Sematary and showing it’s actually the daughter that gets killed by the semi truck instead of the son and Im like “Why would y’all reveal that in the trailer?!”
I forgot most of the trailer and could only remember wanting to see it. I’m glad you said to go and see it as blind as possible. I paused your video and immediately went to the next screening. I Loved it!
I try to go into most films I see without watching a trailer, and it's films like this where it really pays off. I doubt the film would have been bad knowing 'the thing', but it made it so much better as a first watch having no idea what the film was about. Overall the film in general was an absolute blast as well!
God, I wish I haven't watched the trailer. Hell, even if I tried to avoid it, the trailers are basically autoplaying themselves in social media nowadays. The talent behind it and your spoiler-free recommendation would've been enough for me to go watch it! Anyway, great video as always, Dan!
I 99% of the time always agree with your recommendations and I really wish I could go see this movie in theaters without knowing anything, but the reality of it is that tickets are so expensive and all of the bills I can only afford movie tickets for movies. I’m beyond excited for like Dune 2, Deadpool, joker 2. It is really unfortunate that even a regular ticket is still $15.
I enjoyed your review, because though I like vampire stories in literature, I don't like them in film and I don't watch horror, so your review was like a PG version of the story. The concept is very fascinating.
I have not seen a single trailer or heard anything about this movie until Dan Stevens started to post about it. I may check this out based on your review.
Despite watching at least a dozen hours of “movie UA-cam” per week, I have managed to completely miss anything about Abigail, other than its title and genre. So I’m going to take your advice! I’ve stopped watching the video, I’m giving it a like, and I’ll watch the movie before returning. Thanks, Dan!
I know many who use to attend movies at theater pre covid. In today's world, high inflation and short turnaround time to stream with a much cheaper price. They now just wait until they come to streaming service. I'm in that camp as well.
Update: A few minutes into the movie, I realized that I've already seen the trailers for this movie. That said, the trailer did give away the twist, but more than that, it made a promise. The movie itself delivered on the promise 🙂
I just saw Ministry and came out of the theater thinking "Eh... it's fine..." And now Dan seconds that. For a movie with lots of shooting and explosions, it felt kinda slow. They could have chopped 15-20 minutes out of it and it would have been a lot more exciting.
@@LEOIAMLEOONUA-cam Watching the start, you could instantly see that they had a problem. They did the cliche of opening with an action scene (a very slow action scene), and then jumping back to a few days earlier to explain "This is how it all started." My guess is that the movie originally started with him putting together a team, but they realized they needed some action up front and shifted the scenes around. But it starts low-energy and then slows down.
Yeah same thoughts, Ritchie shines when things go balls to the wall and I think it could've gone crazy. Not like King Arthur crazy but Gentleman and Man from UNCLE were decent in balancing the slow moments with action. I think it lacked the "big moment" Ritchie's movies are memorable for.
@@joelanthonylim6792 I have not seen many of his movies and so I don't know them well. But "Ministry" seemed like a director who was too caught up in his own style and lost the plot (there is a cruder way to put that, but you get it). For example, Henry Cavill's character has a silenced rifle and a nonchalant shooting stance, so he just walks along, silently shooting Nazis as they pop up. This is amusing the first few times it happens, but then he keeps on doing it for many long minutes. The joke goes from mildly funny to tedious. Ritchie needed somebody to tell him that he needed to cut a lot of that and move the story along faster. I also didn't find the humor all that funny. A lot of the jokes made me smile slightly, but then immediately think "That should have been funnier." It's not a bad film, but the trailer made it look like a romp, and instead it was a stroll.
Huh, I somehow missed seeing 'Fresh' and if I did know the turn I have long since forgotten. I'll have to take that recommendation and check it out as I'm now very curious what awaits.
I think we'll all remember Spring 2024 for its quality horror. I was skeptical at first because horror in the first months of the year tends to be awful, but the studios really bucked that trend!
Well yes. But that was to be expected. Its all of these GOOD horror also being released thats the unexpected part. And in first third of the year, not holding off til October @MVPMVE
Didn't know anything about the movie. But as soon as i saw the statue and painting in the mansion, i knew it was a vampire movie. It was a fun watch tho.
I had no intention on seeing Abigail, but because of reviews like yours and a couple others I went and saw it tonight. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and this is why I watch reviews for movies I don’t have any interest in, to find the occasional hidden gem. If Abigail doesn’t make my top 5 for the year we will have a fantastic year of movies.
I'm aware of the Abigail reveal and still interested in seeing it, though I may do Ungentlemanly Warefare first as I'd say I'm more of a Henry Cavill fan than a horror fan
I saw the trailer going in, so knew the twist but that did not affect my enjoyment of this film. Alisha Weir, Dan Steven’s and Melissa Barrera were all standouts.
I love that horror as a genre has more mainstream acceptance even if it doesn't get recognised at award shows like everything else. This cast is impressive for its variety of character actors as well as more well known types like Kathryn Newton and Giancarlo Esposito. Dan Stevens seems to be everywhere. If you haven't seen 'Legion' I'd recommend for his performance as well as an incredible turn by Aubrey Plaza in season 1.
I believe it's a setup that Abigail made to recruit Joey as her next Vampire guardian, as Lambert was tired of being an immortal and wanted to retire. So everything was setup this way to introduce to Joey what a true vampire is, and that they also keep their word. Vampires are old people who values loyalty and honor even when they are brutal, this is what they seek for a companion, it is hard to find. Even tho they have all the money and power, loyalty cannot be bought. So Abigail keeps looking for someone who is an overcomer like Joey, someone who keeps their word, and because she had a history of overcoming addiction she is unique and can't be glamoured or controlled by any vampire. She is of great value to the child vampire and is specifically chosen for this test because of her profile, a nurturing mother, an ex-addict, overcoming obstacles to go back to her child. She is exactly as Abigail wants as a pseudo mother. I think Abigail set this whole thing up as she is a master of deceit, she was never in danger to begin with. A very old vampire like that survived that long for their cunning and not merely for their power. If they are ever making a 2nd movie this is how I see this whole thing... Just a thought. I could be wrong.
Glad to hear Abigail is good. Going to get that in, along with MoUW in on Monday. I could not escape the trailer for Abigail, it played for almost every film I saw. So definitely not going in blind.
Originally just saw the poster, then I saw the trailer and I now have to see it. I usually like my spooky stuff in the Fall season. But this is an anytime vamp movie. Looking forward to it this weekend.
I was totally bummed by how much the trailer revealed, but Radio Silence movies have consistently been more about enjoyable characters (even The Core Four, I don't care what the haters say 😆) and great execution. Also, I agree that they need to retire the mansion setting - an apartment complex or corporate building could be interesting (a la The Raid or Mayhem).
This movie was freaking amazing. My new favorite movie, got back from the movie theater not even an hour ago, and I can't stop thinking about how good it was. This movie is FUN, if you don't like Gore, I still feel like you should see it, it's worth it. It's bloody in all the right ways, so much that it feels more fun than scary. Don't walk. 🏃♀️ RUN
I have a feeling that the Catlett character was supposed to be bigger in the film but by the time filming came along his role was reduced to give Durand's character more screen time. Catlett's character was the only one whose backstory was not fleshed out, he had a romantic connection with Barrera's character, and his rifle went missing and was never heard of again. I really think he had more of a part in the movie until a certain point.
Whenever I see people say "Hollywood never puts out anything original" it drives me nuts cause whenever I go to the theaters to see original stuff like Abigail or Boy Kills World my friend and I are like two of 10 people in the theater.
Question for Dan: What’s with the recent trend towards more directing teams? It seems that in the “old days” it was pretty much just the Cohen Brothers and maybe the Wachowskis. But it seems every few years there’s a new up-and-coming team. Does it have to do with the increasing complexity of film projects, etc.? Or am I off base and this really isn’t any different from the past?
Who else is there? Even with siblings guys like the Coens and the Safdies have gone solo, only of the Wachowski’s did the last Matrix, heck even Leitch & Stahelski only worked on one film before going seperate ways
I saw Abigail this week without fully knowing the plot - I saw like 15 secs of a trailer and assumed it was about a demonic/evil possessed girl. So for her to turn out to be a vampire was a pleasant surprise. Super duper early on, I clocked that the 24 hours / kidnapping was trap when Angus Cloud’s character sees a piece of artwork with what appears to be Abigail. And further clocked on that Giancalo’s character was in on it; when I remembered when he took their phones to ensure they won’t be tracked to the house?? Even tho they had travelled and were all ready at said location. good time all round.
Just seen it...think Hitchcock's mcuffin He often put the audience in a position of knowledge that the characters knew nothing about. Sure it might be better not to know, but I think it makes much differemce here. Because its all about guessing if it becomes the last girl standing or something else. No real surprises, just a fun ride with a great script. Best vampire movie since Near Dark and thats going over 20 years plus. I would give it a solid 4 stars.
I wish I hadn’t seen the trailer I would of been in just seeing Radio Silence being attached to the project but for the general audience you need to get people to the theater so I understand why marketing had to reveal that she was the threat, I thought the reveal was going to be… well revealed in the first 15-20 mins of the movie but it wasn’t. It took its time, I wish they would’ve used earlier footage of the movie and based the trailer off the first 40 mins or so. I really dug this movie, and I feel like it will have so much rewatch ability in my household. A lot of similarities to Ready or Not, which isn’t a bad thing. Had a blast with this one.
Just saw it today with my nieces. They're the only other horror lovers in my family, and we all loved it. Definitely saw some Radio Silence aesthetics, i.e. the "Blood Pops." Some of which had me laughing as much I was horrified. There is a nice surprise at the end too. 7/10.
I was actually thinking of 'From Dusk Till Dawn' regarding the trailer. I so wish I hadn't seen it before the movie because that would have been an incredible experience if I didn't know what happens around the halfway point. I've thought about this and if you read this and have time I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you would sell 'Abigail', 'From Dusk Till Dawn' or both to an audience without giving the turn away while ensuring that the people who would enjoy what the film becomes still come out to see it without knowing it.
There’s a way this movie could’ve been marketed without the multiple reveals in the trailer. I just don’t know if the marketing would’ve been interesting enough to draw an audience because it would probably come across as pretty generic.
A lack of imagination and creativity on the part of the marketing team, giving away the reveal, thus ruining the suspense of the first half of the film This film could have been advertised in the trailers with fast paced editing and music showing the blood and gore, the pool full of bodies and the kidnappers turning on each other, coming off as a combo horror/psychological suspense film. Done right it could fill those theater seats without giving away the main plot twist.
I really liked it and hope there's a sequel. Saw it last night. I didn't know anything about the movie until I saw Jeremy Jahns review. I'm glad I watched it.
I want to see Abigail and been trying to decide if I should let my 11 year daughter see it. She really likes horror and did ballet for the last 7 years. Anyone have any thoughts?
It has a good balance of gore , self awareness, suspense and dark comedy.. the pacing is a bit slow in some areas but overall it was a fun watch.. reminded me of M3GAN
So as I watched the trailer for the 100th time in the theater I was wondering... was this movie shot knowing the premise would be shown in the trailer or not? Chris Stuckmann was the first to say it wasn't and that they did a good job hiding it in the movie, which bummed me out a bit... However... I also know myself... if they didn't put that bit in the trailer I wouldn't have seen this movie cause just a kidnapping and then shit goes wrong isn't that interesting to me... but what they showed... very interesting lol... so I'm torn on this one cause the marketing is 100% what got me to see it.
I don't know if Dan will see this, but my wife and I wanna see both of these movies but we both work 6 days a week and almost 60 hours a week so finding time and money to go to a theater can be tough. I know we'll see Fall Guy in Theaters hopefully but yeah it's a luxury of time we don't have
I agree this movie was a great time. I think the trailer house that cut the trailer for this movie did it a little bit of a disservice. I don't think I really could've gone into this movie blind without ever seeing a trailer. That's pretty much how i determine whether or not if its something that looks, fun, terrible or interesting as far as a movie goes. I've been seeing in some comments for a while maybe to do away with trailers all together...or maybe it was just to find a few approach that doesn't spoil the entire movie. For some movies and trailer houses that's easy. Other movies...not so much. You've still have the job of making sure it's able to sell the movie to the main demographics of people that you want to see your movie while not giving the full thing away. And leaving a bit of mystery and excitement or whatever other emotion you want to convey. I think the best i can say as far as a call to action with this post for what I'm suggesting and asking for...try to not give as much away for the movies that have a little more to hide or just stuff that should be hidden for when people see the movie themselves. As well as maybe try to get marketing to work with the filmmakers more (I'm not sure how much they do as of present) as far as how to cut and show in the trailers to get people enticed for their movies.
I would like to see your review of rebel moom scargiver. Its a bad movie, although better than the first part, but what I think it's the worst thing about it, is the ending... not gonna spoil it, but the ending made me feel angry and stupid for believing in their advertising
I really cannot agree more with this review. The movie was fun, the characters were great and the gore was awesome (Radio Silence REALLY likes making people explode.....). I think I like Ready or NOt a bit better, but Abigail was still great! I'm completely in agreement with your take on the marketing. This was the one thing I DIDN't like about RoN. The trailer gave away 2 of the kills and that sucked. beyond that, fantastic movie. Like you, Jeremy Jahns, and Chris Stuckman, I do wish they has left the vampire angle as a surprise. That would have been far more rewarding. This was my take on The Last Voyage of the Demeter as well. I'm not sure how they would have marketed it (Barbarian was able to do it, though), but I think it would have been far more enjoyable. I'm also sick and tired of people bitching that there are "no good movies" anymore. There are PLENTY, especially in the horror/thriller genres. Not just those, but movies like Monkey Man and Civil War were great movies. They aren't sequels, requels, or spinoffs. They are original concepts and they worked really well. A lot of these great movies are made by smaller studios and lesser-known, or fledgeling directors and I wish more people would give them a chance.
Watching Abigail was a sheer delight. It was glorious mayhem and carnage. And it was also pretty funny as well. Theory time: Spoilers.... I think Abigail justifies what she does to her kidnappers along with.... Others, because they have bad intentions towards her. So... In her mind, she doesn't have to feel bad about what she does.
It was a cool experiment because I saw the trailer but I took my wife and she knew absolutely nothing about the movie. So we both went in from different perspectives. With that though, we both came out the same. Fun and gory movie but honestly, it was almost just like Ready or Not. People wandering a big weird house with a few quips and then bloody bodies exploding. Exactly like Ready or Not. Kinda bummed. But I like Radio Silence and everything they’ve done so saying it’s their worst movie is like saying “man this was the worst Oreo in this pack”
Not seen any marketing for this at all so I stopped when you recommended 👍 On booking tickets I see it is certificate 18 so I guess Abigail doesn’t talk her way out of the kidnap 😂 Looking forward to going in blind on your suggestion Wee double bill with Civil War
I wish I was able to see it blind as well. Knowing what the mid-movie twist was going in made the first 45 minutes drag. I ended up thinking the movie was just okay due to the marketing really ruining a lot of the experience. The humor was hit or miss for me as well, definitely not as hard hitting as Ready or Not.
I think rather than worry about being ‘pidgeon wholed’ Radio Silence just need to focus on what they really want to do moving forward, considering they’ve already established something most spend entire careers trying to find, that special niche of their own. 🤔
Started listening to your review before I saw the movie. Upon your recommendation I stopped watching and went to see the movie cold. Thanx for the great advice!!
I gave it a shot after looking at its rotten tomato’s review scores. I saw it being described as a horror comedy and people using the word fun and lol, with so many twist and turns. It was a good movie but I wouldn’t describe it as a fun movie or I didn’t find it particularly humorous. It held my interest, I wasn’t bored, I think the cast did a solid job, the overall story was kinda meh on me. I went in knowing that there was going to be some people trapped in a house with a girl who had something menacing about her, but once I found out she was a vampire instead of like something more occult it kinda was a bit deflating as they characters didn’t seem as afraid vs something they couldn’t understand. A group of them going into her room and get their asses handed to them and going back downstairs in a I told you so moment made me groan a bit. The excess gore was a bit on the obnoxious side. But I don’t regret seeing it, it passed a couple hours for me, but will be one of those movies I likely won’t think of again much after seeing it.
Spoiler talk…. Definitely like Ready Or Not, it would be nice if we were not aware of the vampire element or at least we did not know Abigail was the one. But they would have to change the name of the movie. But like Scream or Usual Suspects, I would not mind we do not know who the killer was until later in the movie. The movie played around one of the team members being the killer, but it was not played out too long. Overall, I like the cast, I enjoyed the first half more than second half.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I wish directors would cut their own trailers
Good luck with that idea lol
@@jcc389 I know. I know
Like I said in my comment on here... I was bummed they spoiled this hook cause after seeing the movie it was done well where it would have been a good mystery for a chunk of the movie... however 0 chance I see this in theaters w/o knowing the hook. Cause a generic "Kidnappers get more than they bargained for" movie isn't something that interests me.
@@Grimbear13 , I left the same comment above. But it still could have been marketed as bloody horror suspense with the right preview that shows everything EXCEPT the vampire girl. The one scene with the girl swimming across a pool of dead bodies alone would have spiked my interest. Just laziness and a lack of creativity from the marketing team.
@@ndogg20 Possibly, I'm not sure that would have been enough to make it a must see in theaters for me personally. Because the hook of the ballerina vampire is definitely what put it over for me. Guess we'll never know cause we don't have the other trailer and a time machine to see how I'd feel lol.
Abigail is absolutely a horror comedy. Personally I found it moreso funny than scary. The dialog had me in stitches.
The "onions" scene had us rolling!!
Me too. I was surprised at how many times I laughed while watching the movie.
If there are people saying “Hollywood doesn’t put out good movies” or “Hollywood doesn’t put out original stuff” then I hate to wonder if these people actually care about what they say or are just engagement farming. Lots of good things get made, the problem is is that people focus way too much on the stuff that is bad and make that the crux of why they say that nothing good gets made.
There are plenty of original movies, not all movies need to be big block busters.. Tons of non big studio movies that are good..
@@mamadouaziza2536 I agree people just don’t want to bother
@@mamadouaziza2536Honestly I’m sick of how big blockbuster movies suck up all the attention, and I feel as the likes of MauLer and The Critical Drinker are the worst offenders in that department online. Have to go after the most visible targets and call people who act otherwise cowards.
@@mamadouaziza2536still tough to think of 100% original stuff nowadays
@@LinkMarioSamus I always hated that about them, literally a ton of great movies in Hollywood and beyond, especially 2024 was a great year of movies aside from a few studio stinkers. They focus too much on the major franchises and it's clear they don't focus on other movies that are much better
Alisha Weir is a little badass in this movie. & Kathy Newton continues her streak of being perfect casting in every genre film she’s in.
I was well aware of the marketing for this movie, and I still had a blast. Best horror of 2024. The cast was fantastic
“Sammy those are fucking onions!”
We were rolling!! That was hilarious!
I remember back when they released the trailer for the reboot of Pet Sematary and showing it’s actually the daughter that gets killed by the semi truck instead of the son and Im like “Why would y’all reveal that in the trailer?!”
There was a lot more going on in this movie than I thought there would be.
I saw this and it was FRIGGIN FANTASTIC SO MUCH FUN 😂..the little Girl did a great job 😂
I forgot most of the trailer and could only remember wanting to see it. I’m glad you said to go and see it as blind as possible. I paused your video and immediately went to the next screening. I Loved it!
I try to go into most films I see without watching a trailer, and it's films like this where it really pays off. I doubt the film would have been bad knowing 'the thing', but it made it so much better as a first watch having no idea what the film was about. Overall the film in general was an absolute blast as well!
God, I wish I haven't watched the trailer. Hell, even if I tried to avoid it, the trailers are basically autoplaying themselves in social media nowadays. The talent behind it and your spoiler-free recommendation would've been enough for me to go watch it!
Anyway, great video as always, Dan!
I hit paused at 01:33-01:50 so I can go watch Abigail in the theaters.
Too much blood
Thanks for keeping us supplied with quality content and reviews.
Thanks, I will see the film and return to this review later. Cheers!
I 99% of the time always agree with your recommendations and I really wish I could go see this movie in theaters without knowing anything, but the reality of it is that tickets are so expensive and all of the bills I can only afford movie tickets for movies. I’m beyond excited for like Dune 2, Deadpool, joker 2. It is really unfortunate that even a regular ticket is still $15.
I enjoyed your review, because though I like vampire stories in literature, I don't like them in film and I don't watch horror, so your review was like a PG version of the story. The concept is very fascinating.
The first half of the movie is very fun without the vampire element. Like the recent Scream movies, they have solid characters and humor.
I have not seen a single trailer or heard anything about this movie until Dan Stevens started to post about it. I may check this out based on your review.
Fun movie the less you know.
Why go see a movie without checking out a trailer 😕 🤔 otherwise how do you know if you want to see it
@@dariuschisholm7317 People have friends or ratings or reviews rather than trailers.
Kevin Durant looks a bit like Elon Musk
YES! A friend of mine had to double take
Elon taking the super soldier serum = Kevin
Elon Musk is black?
Despite watching at least a dozen hours of “movie UA-cam” per week, I have managed to completely miss anything about Abigail, other than its title and genre.
So I’m going to take your advice! I’ve stopped watching the video, I’m giving it a like, and I’ll watch the movie before returning. Thanks, Dan!
It’s definitely more fun not knowing the trailer or a single thing about the movie.
Unfortunately the end was spoiled for me. I didn't like where it went. From a predictable plot to leaving it open for a sequel.
I know many who use to attend movies at theater pre covid. In today's world, high inflation and short turnaround time to stream with a much cheaper price. They now just wait until they come to streaming service. I'm in that camp as well.
Did you end up watching it yet?
I cut the video after the opening salvo. I'll be back after I see the movie. Things like this is what AMC A-List was made for 😎
Update: A few minutes into the movie, I realized that I've already seen the trailers for this movie.
That said, the trailer did give away the twist, but more than that, it made a promise.
The movie itself delivered on the promise 🙂
It kinda reminds me The Menu where they brought all the enemies of Abigails father and trapped them in the house.
ILY Dan. I paused at the 1:47 mark. Liked and commented and I’ll be back later once I follow up on your well regarded recommendation 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
This weekend, I'm planning to see La Chimera which is FINALLY coming out here. I would love to hear your thoughts on that one, Dan.
I just saw Ministry and came out of the theater thinking "Eh... it's fine..." And now Dan seconds that. For a movie with lots of shooting and explosions, it felt kinda slow. They could have chopped 15-20 minutes out of it and it would have been a lot more exciting.
@@LEOIAMLEOONUA-cam Watching the start, you could instantly see that they had a problem. They did the cliche of opening with an action scene (a very slow action scene), and then jumping back to a few days earlier to explain "This is how it all started." My guess is that the movie originally started with him putting together a team, but they realized they needed some action up front and shifted the scenes around. But it starts low-energy and then slows down.
Yeah same thoughts, Ritchie shines when things go balls to the wall and I think it could've gone crazy. Not like King Arthur crazy but Gentleman and Man from UNCLE were decent in balancing the slow moments with action. I think it lacked the "big moment" Ritchie's movies are memorable for.
@@joelanthonylim6792 I have not seen many of his movies and so I don't know them well. But "Ministry" seemed like a director who was too caught up in his own style and lost the plot (there is a cruder way to put that, but you get it). For example, Henry Cavill's character has a silenced rifle and a nonchalant shooting stance, so he just walks along, silently shooting Nazis as they pop up. This is amusing the first few times it happens, but then he keeps on doing it for many long minutes. The joke goes from mildly funny to tedious. Ritchie needed somebody to tell him that he needed to cut a lot of that and move the story along faster.
I also didn't find the humor all that funny. A lot of the jokes made me smile slightly, but then immediately think "That should have been funnier."
It's not a bad film, but the trailer made it look like a romp, and instead it was a stroll.
Huh, I somehow missed seeing 'Fresh' and if I did know the turn I have long since forgotten. I'll have to take that recommendation and check it out as I'm now very curious what awaits.
Great review, Dan. Thanks!
I think we'll all remember Spring 2024 for its quality horror. I was skeptical at first because horror in the first months of the year tends to be awful, but the studios really bucked that trend!
Night Swim, Imaginary, Blood and Honey 2, and Lisa Frankenstein were godawful
Well yes. But that was to be expected. Its all of these GOOD horror also being released thats the unexpected part. And in first third of the year, not holding off til October @MVPMVE
Didn't know anything about the movie.
But as soon as i saw the statue and painting in the mansion, i knew it was a vampire movie.
It was a fun watch tho.
Just saw Abigail at the movies and I really really enjoyed it. Highly recommend
I had no intention on seeing Abigail, but because of reviews like yours and a couple others I went and saw it tonight. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and this is why I watch reviews for movies I don’t have any interest in, to find the occasional hidden gem. If Abigail doesn’t make my top 5 for the year we will have a fantastic year of movies.
I'm aware of the Abigail reveal and still interested in seeing it, though I may do Ungentlemanly Warefare first as I'd say I'm more of a Henry Cavill fan than a horror fan
I saw the trailer going in, so knew the twist but that did not affect my enjoyment of this film.
Alisha Weir, Dan Steven’s and Melissa Barrera were all standouts.
I love Kevin Durand, so cannot wait!
Just saw it. The girl who played Abigail is fantastic. It's worth going just for her. It was a fun movie!
I love that horror as a genre has more mainstream acceptance even if it doesn't get recognised at award shows like everything else. This cast is impressive for its variety of character actors as well as more well known types like Kathryn Newton and Giancarlo Esposito. Dan Stevens seems to be everywhere. If you haven't seen 'Legion' I'd recommend for his performance as well as an incredible turn by Aubrey Plaza in season 1.
Loved it. Perfect throwback style movie. Humor, horror, great cast, UNDER 100 MINUTES!!!
I believe it's a setup that Abigail made to recruit Joey as her next Vampire guardian, as Lambert was tired of being an immortal and wanted to retire. So everything was setup this way to introduce to Joey what a true vampire is, and that they also keep their word. Vampires are old people who values loyalty and honor even when they are brutal, this is what they seek for a companion, it is hard to find. Even tho they have all the money and power, loyalty cannot be bought. So Abigail keeps looking for someone who is an overcomer like Joey, someone who keeps their word, and because she had a history of overcoming addiction she is unique and can't be glamoured or controlled by any vampire. She is of great value to the child vampire and is specifically chosen for this test because of her profile, a nurturing mother, an ex-addict, overcoming obstacles to go back to her child. She is exactly as Abigail wants as a pseudo mother. I think Abigail set this whole thing up as she is a master of deceit, she was never in danger to begin with. A very old vampire like that survived that long for their cunning and not merely for their power. If they are ever making a 2nd movie this is how I see this whole thing... Just a thought. I could be wrong.
Great video, Dan
Glad to hear Abigail is good. Going to get that in, along with MoUW in on Monday. I could not escape the trailer for Abigail, it played for almost every film I saw. So definitely not going in blind.
Saw it with my girls really enjoyed it an appreciative amount of gore , some excellent performances and surprisingly funny solid 7 out of 10
Paused at 1:47. Going to see it tonight
one of the few movies I'm looking forward to seeing this spring.
Originally just saw the poster, then I saw the trailer and I now have to see it. I usually like my spooky stuff in the Fall season. But this is an anytime vamp movie. Looking forward to it this weekend.
GUYS PLS WATCH THIS, ABIGAIL DESERVES TO BE A HIT
I was totally bummed by how much the trailer revealed, but Radio Silence movies have consistently been more about enjoyable characters (even The Core Four, I don't care what the haters say 😆) and great execution. Also, I agree that they need to retire the mansion setting - an apartment complex or corporate building could be interesting (a la The Raid or Mayhem).
We loved it!! Watched it twice already!
This movie was freaking amazing. My new favorite movie, got back from the movie theater not even an hour ago, and I can't stop thinking about how good it was. This movie is FUN, if you don't like Gore, I still feel like you should see it, it's worth it. It's bloody in all the right ways, so much that it feels more fun than scary. Don't walk. 🏃♀️ RUN
I have a feeling that the Catlett character was supposed to be bigger in the film but by the time filming came along his role was reduced to give Durand's character more screen time. Catlett's character was the only one whose backstory was not fleshed out, he had a romantic connection with Barrera's character, and his rifle went missing and was never heard of again. I really think he had more of a part in the movie until a certain point.
Whenever I see people say "Hollywood never puts out anything original" it drives me nuts cause whenever I go to the theaters to see original stuff like Abigail or Boy Kills World my friend and I are like two of 10 people in the theater.
Did know premise but still want to see this. Also bless you for having to endure more Rebel Moon.
Didn't know anything about the movie going in and I had a lot of fun watching it.
This was awesome. It was entertaining, funny, good twists and good story. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Question for Dan: What’s with the recent trend towards more directing teams?
It seems that in the “old days” it was pretty much just the Cohen Brothers and maybe the Wachowskis. But it seems every few years there’s a new up-and-coming team. Does it have to do with the increasing complexity of film projects, etc.? Or am I off base and this really isn’t any different from the past?
Who else is there? Even with siblings guys like the Coens and the Safdies have gone solo, only of the Wachowski’s did the last Matrix, heck even Leitch & Stahelski only worked on one film before going seperate ways
@@mk6rfc1 I was thinking like Lord & Miller, the Russo’s, the Daniels, etc.
I saw Abigail this week without fully knowing the plot - I saw like 15 secs of a trailer and assumed it was about a demonic/evil possessed girl. So for her to turn out to be a vampire was a pleasant surprise. Super duper early on, I clocked that the 24 hours / kidnapping was trap when Angus Cloud’s character sees a piece of artwork with what appears to be Abigail. And further clocked on that Giancalo’s character was in on it; when I remembered when he took their phones to ensure they won’t be tracked to the house?? Even tho they had travelled and were all ready at said location.
good time all round.
Just seen it...think Hitchcock's mcuffin He often put the audience in a position of knowledge that the characters knew nothing about. Sure it might be better not to know, but I think it makes much differemce here. Because its all about guessing if it becomes the last girl standing or something else. No real surprises, just a fun ride with a great script. Best vampire movie since Near Dark and thats going over 20 years plus. I would give it a solid 4 stars.
Work mandatory weekend shifts are tough sometimes.
I wish I hadn’t seen the trailer I would of been in just seeing Radio Silence being attached to the project but for the general audience you need to get people to the theater so I understand why marketing had to reveal that she was the threat, I thought the reveal was going to be… well revealed in the first 15-20 mins of the movie but it wasn’t. It took its time, I wish they would’ve used earlier footage of the movie and based the trailer off the first 40 mins or so. I really dug this movie, and I feel like it will have so much rewatch ability in my household. A lot of similarities to Ready or Not, which isn’t a bad thing. Had a blast with this one.
Just saw it today with my nieces. They're the only other horror lovers in my family, and we all loved it. Definitely saw some Radio Silence aesthetics, i.e. the "Blood Pops." Some of which had me laughing as much I was horrified. There is a nice surprise at the end too.
7/10.
I would love for Radio Silence to revive the Mummy franchise with Brendan & Rachel and make it scary like the first.
My Friend and I just saw, we both loved it.
I enjoyed this film a lot. Super fun
Kerpt seeing reviewers wishing they hadnt seen the trailer. Maybe cstching it Sunday
I was actually thinking of 'From Dusk Till Dawn' regarding the trailer. I so wish I hadn't seen it before the movie because that would have been an incredible experience if I didn't know what happens around the halfway point. I've thought about this and if you read this and have time I'd love to hear your thoughts on how you would sell 'Abigail', 'From Dusk Till Dawn' or both to an audience without giving the turn away while ensuring that the people who would enjoy what the film becomes still come out to see it without knowing it.
I’m glad I stayed away from trailer before going to watch it yesterday. It was a really good movie.
I’m not a vampire fan at all but I really enjoyed this film
The trailer fucking ruined all the twists but it is genuinely my favorite movie ever
Today me my brother and he's gf are going to see Spy x Family Code:White on dub which I'm really hype for and for Anya's Lore
I saw it on preview, it was absolutely great :)
There’s a way this movie could’ve been marketed without the multiple reveals in the trailer. I just don’t know if the marketing would’ve been interesting enough to draw an audience because it would probably come across as pretty generic.
A lack of imagination and creativity on the part of the marketing team, giving away the reveal, thus ruining the suspense of the first half of the film This film could have been advertised in the trailers with fast paced editing and music showing the blood and gore, the pool full of bodies and the kidnappers turning on each other, coming off as a combo horror/psychological suspense film. Done right it could fill those theater seats without giving away the main plot twist.
I really liked it and hope there's a sequel. Saw it last night. I didn't know anything about the movie until I saw Jeremy Jahns review. I'm glad I watched it.
Trailers are killing me today! I have to close my eyes during them at the movies lol. They’re ruining horror
I want to see Abigail and been trying to decide if I should let my 11 year daughter see it. She really likes horror and did ballet for the last 7 years. Anyone have any thoughts?
I feel the same. Should we take the tweens, or is it too much? I may go alone to see it first.
Abigail is a hard R with lots of blood, gore and swearing. I’d take the rating seriously when making your decision.
@@DanMurrellMovies Thanks. Its appreciated and really helps.
@@ArgoVaughnI would compare the gore level to Waxworks as a comparison.
It has a good balance of gore , self awareness, suspense and dark comedy.. the pacing is a bit slow in some areas but overall it was a fun watch.. reminded me of M3GAN
So as I watched the trailer for the 100th time in the theater I was wondering... was this movie shot knowing the premise would be shown in the trailer or not? Chris Stuckmann was the first to say it wasn't and that they did a good job hiding it in the movie, which bummed me out a bit... However... I also know myself... if they didn't put that bit in the trailer I wouldn't have seen this movie cause just a kidnapping and then shit goes wrong isn't that interesting to me... but what they showed... very interesting lol... so I'm torn on this one cause the marketing is 100% what got me to see it.
OK watching I thought this movie reminded me of ready or not makes sense now
Would have loved to see it blind but the premise was what got me interested in the movie in the first place.
I don't know if Dan will see this, but my wife and I wanna see both of these movies but we both work 6 days a week and almost 60 hours a week so finding time and money to go to a theater can be tough. I know we'll see Fall Guy in Theaters hopefully but yeah it's a luxury of time we don't have
I want to see the Kong & Godzilla movie next. Hopefully, before it leaves theatres.
I agree this movie was a great time.
I think the trailer house that cut the trailer for this movie did it a little bit of a disservice.
I don't think I really could've gone into this movie blind without ever seeing a trailer. That's pretty much how i determine whether or not if its something that looks, fun, terrible or interesting as far as a movie goes. I've been seeing in some comments for a while maybe to do away with trailers all together...or maybe it was just to find a few approach that doesn't spoil the entire movie. For some movies and trailer houses that's easy. Other movies...not so much. You've still have the job of making sure it's able to sell the movie to the main demographics of people that you want to see your movie while not giving the full thing away. And leaving a bit of mystery and excitement or whatever other emotion you want to convey.
I think the best i can say as far as a call to action with this post for what I'm suggesting and asking for...try to not give as much away for the movies that have a little more to hide or just stuff that should be hidden for when people see the movie themselves. As well as maybe try to get marketing to work with the filmmakers more (I'm not sure how much they do as of present) as far as how to cut and show in the trailers to get people enticed for their movies.
I would like to see your review of rebel moom scargiver. Its a bad movie, although better than the first part, but what I think it's the worst thing about it, is the ending... not gonna spoil it, but the ending made me feel angry and stupid for believing in their advertising
I really cannot agree more with this review. The movie was fun, the characters were great and the gore was awesome (Radio Silence REALLY likes making people explode.....). I think I like Ready or NOt a bit better, but Abigail was still great! I'm completely in agreement with your take on the marketing. This was the one thing I DIDN't like about RoN. The trailer gave away 2 of the kills and that sucked. beyond that, fantastic movie. Like you, Jeremy Jahns, and Chris Stuckman, I do wish they has left the vampire angle as a surprise. That would have been far more rewarding. This was my take on The Last Voyage of the Demeter as well. I'm not sure how they would have marketed it (Barbarian was able to do it, though), but I think it would have been far more enjoyable.
I'm also sick and tired of people bitching that there are "no good movies" anymore. There are PLENTY, especially in the horror/thriller genres. Not just those, but movies like Monkey Man and Civil War were great movies. They aren't sequels, requels, or spinoffs. They are original concepts and they worked really well. A lot of these great movies are made by smaller studios and lesser-known, or fledgeling directors and I wish more people would give them a chance.
Watching Abigail was a sheer delight. It was glorious mayhem and carnage. And it was also pretty funny as well.
Theory time: Spoilers....
I think Abigail justifies what she does to her kidnappers along with.... Others, because they have bad intentions towards her. So... In her mind, she doesn't have to feel bad about what she does.
It was a cool experiment because I saw the trailer but I took my wife and she knew absolutely nothing about the movie. So we both went in from different perspectives. With that though, we both came out the same. Fun and gory movie but honestly, it was almost just like Ready or Not. People wandering a big weird house with a few quips and then bloody bodies exploding. Exactly like Ready or Not. Kinda bummed. But I like Radio Silence and everything they’ve done so saying it’s their worst movie is like saying “man this was the worst Oreo in this pack”
Not seen any marketing for this at all so I stopped when you recommended 👍
On booking tickets I see it is certificate 18 so I guess Abigail doesn’t talk her way out of the kidnap 😂
Looking forward to going in blind on your suggestion
Wee double bill with Civil War
I wish I was able to see it blind as well. Knowing what the mid-movie twist was going in made the first 45 minutes drag. I ended up thinking the movie was just okay due to the marketing really ruining a lot of the experience. The humor was hit or miss for me as well, definitely not as hard hitting as Ready or Not.
Abigail seems like some sort of mix between Let the Right One In and Don't Breathe.
I think rather than worry about being ‘pidgeon wholed’ Radio Silence just need to focus on what they really want to do moving forward, considering they’ve already established something most spend entire careers trying to find, that special niche of their own. 🤔
Started listening to your review before I saw the movie. Upon your recommendation I stopped watching and went to see the movie cold. Thanx for the great advice!!
I gave it a shot after looking at its rotten tomato’s review scores. I saw it being described as a horror comedy and people using the word fun and lol, with so many twist and turns. It was a good movie but I wouldn’t describe it as a fun movie or I didn’t find it particularly humorous. It held my interest, I wasn’t bored, I think the cast did a solid job, the overall story was kinda meh on me. I went in knowing that there was going to be some people trapped in a house with a girl who had something menacing about her, but once I found out she was a vampire instead of like something more occult it kinda was a bit deflating as they characters didn’t seem as afraid vs something they couldn’t understand. A group of them going into her room and get their asses handed to them and going back downstairs in a I told you so moment made me groan a bit. The excess gore was a bit on the obnoxious side. But I don’t regret seeing it, it passed a couple hours for me, but will be one of those movies I likely won’t think of again much after seeing it.
Solid 7/10 for me, could have been even better.
Spoiler talk….
Definitely like Ready Or Not, it would be nice if we were not aware of the vampire element or at least we did not know Abigail was the one. But they would have to change the name of the movie. But like Scream or Usual Suspects, I would not mind we do not know who the killer was until later in the movie. The movie played around one of the team members being the killer, but it was not played out too long.
Overall, I like the cast, I enjoyed the first half more than second half.
Thoroughly enjoyed the movie, didn’t see anything but the poster which is what got me.
Dan, what did you think of “Hundreds of Beavers”?
Came in blind and loved it
I was definitely getting Ready or Not vibes during the movie. Doesn’t surprise me they have the same directors.
Did people not like Matthew Goode cameo? Cuz it was my favourite part of the film and nobody talks about it
I saw the movie this morning, and I love it!
I saw this movie with no knowledge. Made it more enjoyable for sure