Review: 'Abigail' is a loopy, goopy mix of horror and humor

A down-and-dirty horror movie with a surprisingly upscale cast, “Abigail” delivers a fair share of shocks, gross-out moments and enough humor to make it digestible.

We’re given just as much information as we need to start: Six criminals, none of whom know each other, have been assembled for a particular job — to kidnap the ballet-loving 12-year-old daughter (Alisha Weir) of a rich man, and hold her for 24 hours while daddy pays a $50 million ransom. The organizer, who identifies himself as Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), has found a secluded hunting lodge where they can keep the girl while they wait.

The six are, initially, assigned fake names — the leader, Frank (Dan Stevens); the driver, Dean (Angus Cloud); the hacker, Sammy (Kathryn Newton); the muscle, Peter (Kevin Durant); the medic, Joey (Melissa Barrera); and the sniper, Rickles (Will Catlett). The girl, Abigail, is tucked away in one room, and the only one of the six who’s supposed to talk to her is Joey.

It doesn’t take long for the six to start getting squirrelly with each other — Joey helps this by accurately describing each of her cohort’s personality traits and likely past occupations. But when they figure out that Abigail’s father is a notorious crime lord with a habit of dismembering those who irritate him, Frank reconsiders whether they should keep holding the girl. 

Then — and it’s aggravating that the movie’s marketing gives away this plot twist — we all learn what Abigail’s real game is, and that suddenly the criminals are in more peril than she is.

Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — they made the wickedly clever “Ready or Not” and the last two “Scream” movies, which starred Barrera — deploy a ghoulish sense of humor throughout the mayhem and blood spray. The funniest, most wicked moment comes when the surviving criminals realize what they’re dealing with, and run through everything they’ve learned from movies about killing such a monster.

Most of the cast is better than the material provided by writers Stephen Shields and Guy Busick, and seem to relish digging into the over-the-top aspects of the horror story. Barrera has proven her final-girl bonafides with the “Scream” movies, and carries the movie’s emotional weight. Among the rest of the ensemb.e, Stevens and Newton, in particular, lock in on the darkly comic and terrifying vibe being pursued.

Certainly “Abigail” could have been tighter — it takes nearly an hour to get to the big reveal on which the story pivots. But when it’s cooking, “Abigail” is bloody entertaining.

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‘Abigail’

★★★

Opens Friday, April 19, in theaters everywhere. Rated R for strong blood violence and gore throughout, pervasive language and brief drug use. Running time: 109 minutes.