"Reel Reviews: ‘Abigail’ has no real plot just gruesome, bloody mayhem" by: Jessica Shepard

   It’s pretty rare to see children as vampires in books and movies. 
  But, I’m not sure of why, exactly and can only name four off the top of my head: The Little Vampire (2000), 30 Days of Night (2007), Interview with the Vampire (1994), and Daybreakers (2009). 
  But, even then, those movies only played loosely with the concept of juvenile vampires. 
  Universal Pictures’ “Abigail” had a trailer that looked promising to me about the topic at hand. 
  However, the overall storyline was a letdown and the overabundance of gory details and affects felt pretty cheap. 
  Not to mention, if you know most of the superstitions regarding vampires or have pop culture knowledge of them, this sort of blows most of that out of the water. 
  Abigail is a 2024 American vampire horror comedy film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from a screenplay written by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick. 
  As a reimagining of the 1936 film Dracula’s Daughter, the film follows a group of kidnappers who capture the daughter of a powerful underworld figure and demand $50 million for her release, unaware the young girl is actually a vampire. 
  It stars Alisha Weir as the eponymous daughter of Count Dracula, alongside Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, and Giancarlo Esposito. 
  Clocking in at 109-minutes long, the flick is rated R for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, pervasive language, and brief drug use. 
  Six criminals capture ballet dancer Abigail (Weir), the daughter of a powerful underworld figure within New York City, and bring her to a secluded mansion upstate. 
  The group, led by informant Lambert (Esposito), is told not to disclose any personal information amongst themselves or to Abigail. 
  Using only aliases derived from the Rat Pack, the group consists of former Army medic and recovering drug addict Joey (Barrera); former NYPD detective Frank (Stevens); wealthy hacker Sammy (Newton); sociopathic driver Dean (Cloud); Marine sniper Rickles (Catlett); and dimwitted Canadian mob enforcer Peter (Durand). 
  After 24 hours, each will receive a $7 million check so long as Abigail is kept safe. 
  Joey is sent to watch over her and as they bond Joey reveals that she has a son. 
  When Joey leaves, Abigail warns her about what will transpire during the night. 
  After Dean unsuccessfully flirts with Sammy, he enters the basement and is dragged away by an unseen assailant. 
  Sammy hears his screams and investigates only to find Dean’s headless corpse in the kitchen. 
  Frank confronts Abigail and demands to know who her father is, finding out that Abigail’s father is the feared crime lord Kristof Lazar. 
  Rickles tries to leave, but the home’s security system activates and traps them inside. 
  As they look for another way out, Rickles is soon mauled to death. 
  Frank then tells Peter to rough up Abigail, only for Joey to intervene. 
  During the altercation, Abigail suddenly transforms into a vampire, causing the group to flee in terror. 
  Distressed, the group discusses how to kill Abigail, as bullets do not physically harm her. 
  Frank, Peter, and Sammy find Abigail dancing with Dean’s body and try to use garlic, stakes, and Christian crosses, but each proves unsuccessful. 
  Naturally, they try to re-group and come up with a different plan to kill Abigail and/or escape with their lives if that fails. 
  Overall, the premise is interesting on the surface but underneath it’s a mess drenched in fake blood and horribly stereotyped acting – you won’t miss much if you forgo this one.