Melissa Barrera's new movie lands strong Rotten Tomatoes rating
Abigail starring Melissa Barrera has welcomed a strong score on Rotten Tomatoes ahead of its theatrical release this weekend.
Directed by Ready or Not duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (collectively known as Radio Silence), Abigail is a reimagining of Dracula's Daughter and finds a team of kidnappers ransoming the titular youngster for $50m.
However, things go very awry when the criminals – played by Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, and the late Angus Cloud – realise the true bloodsucking nature of their prisoner.
Related: Abigail trailer sees Dan Stevens and Melissa Barrera battle a ballerina vampire
With a strong score of of 85%, scroll on to check out some of the critics' mixed thoughts on Abigail.
"Abigail is savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore, offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth. Though Abigail may be too methodical in its steady ramp-up toward full-blown insanity, the brilliant ensemble makes the journey worth it. With an insane commitment to arterial spray, Abigail winds up another crowd-pleaser from Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett. It's poised to deliver the most fun you'll have at the movies this year."
"Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett clearly realised the strength of their cast and perfectly paced the film to showcase their strengths. They establish the characters quickly and efficiently, allowing for more room to absolutely tear the roof off the place. If you thought Ready or Not was a gory good time at the movies, get ready for Abigail to crank things up to 11."
"Radio Silence have proven themselves as one of the most exciting, and crucially, fun, voices in the horror genre and Abigail takes this to the next level. It's creepy and gross but not too disturbing for horror-sceptics while it should make gorehounds' hearts sing."
Related: Melissa Barrera breaks silence following Scream 7 exit
"A Ready or Not redux running on half the steam, this one-location misfire has plenty of parts that work but its namesake isn't among them. Weir is fine, bringing precise dedication to her ill-conceived role and dancing the hell out a sequence that feels viciously ripped from M3GAN. But the stage onto which the actress presents her terribly misbehaved tiny dancer can't seem to support the wackiness of what she's meant to carry."
"There are points of Abigail that feel very much like paint-by-numbers horror, filled with exposition dumps that effectively took me out of the gooey, bloody narrative in their need to cut tension. It's symptomatic of big-budget studio horror, which feels the need to hold the audience’s hand so they aren't too scared at the end of everything."
Abigail is out in cinemas Friday, April 19.
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