**© Universal Pictures and Radio Silence Productions**

Abigail – Film Review

Cast: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, Alisha Weir, Giancarlo Esposito

Directors: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett

Synopsis: A group of criminals kidnap the daughter of a criminal overlord, only to discover she has a penchant for drinking blood…

Review: As mythical creatures go, vampires are up there with the most iconic and recognisable and have become a staple of modern popular culture. Taking many forms over the years, from the instantly recognisable and iconic Dracula to the less iconic sparkly variety. If you had to imagine a typical vampire, they’d probably picture an imposing figure in a black cape gleefully drinking the blood of their victims. You’d probably never expect a vampire to appear as a ballerina-loving girl, which is precisely what makes the latest film from the filmmaking duo known as Radio Silence so fascinating and entertaining.

A crew of criminals, overseen by the ringleader Lambert (Esposito), are recruited to kidnap a young girl named Abigail and hold her captive at an isolated mansion. The crew, who are told not to use real names while they’re on the job, consists of former army medic Joey (Barrera), ex-detective Frank (Stevens), hacker Sammy (Newton), driver Dean (Cloud in his final onscreen role), sniper Rickles (Catlett) and enforcer Peter (Durant). They are promised a $50m reward to be split between them if they can keep the girl safe and unharmed for 24 hours. The crew then make themselves comfortable and try to deduce the real identities of each other, all while Joey is tasked with ensuring Abigail is comfortable throughout her ordeal. This is until when some of them begin to be picked off by a mysterious assailant and it soon dawns on them that Abigail is no ordinary 12-year-old girl who is obsessed with ballet but is, in fact, a centuries-old vampire who wants to feast on their blood.

Based on and a reimagining of the 1936 film Dracula’s Daughter, the opening scenes of the titular character pirouetting to Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake as she practises her ballet is probably the last way you would expect a vampire movie to open. It ensures the film stands out in a crowded genre by having a creature of the night feast on her victims while dressed in a tutu. In the same vein as how Ready or Not was a thrilling splice of horror-comedy and a deadly game of hide and seek, the script by Guy Busick (co-writer of Ready or Not and the two recent Scream movies) and Stephen Shields is cut from the same mythical cloth. Horror and comedy once again go splat, except this time it’s a heist movie that goes very very wrong for this crew of people, who frankly, are mostly so deplorable you are willing for Abigail to feast on their blood, because as she puts it “likes to play with her food”.

For a film centred on the premise of a ballerina-loving vampire, it is slow to get to the main course of the movie, where the crew realise what it is they are up against and how could they possibly defeat a creature of the night, which provides ample opportunities for some amusing and meta references from existing vampiric pop culture and how do they deal with the not-so-insignificant matter of a bloodthirsty vampire. Barrera, having been a central part of the revived Scream saga under Radio Silence, is the member of this crew who gets the most development. We learn about her circumstances and why she is in desperate need of some extra money. This plight, and her role as the one who is solely tasked with communicating with Abigail allows her to build trust between the two of them, which may come in handy when Abigail’s desire to drink the blood of every last member of this group of criminals takes hold. Every crew member gets a moment to shine, with no one having as much of a bloody good time as Stevens’ Frank.

However, the star of the show is unquestionably Alisha Weir as Abigail. Having announced herself onto the scene with her incredible performance as the titular character in 2022’s Matilda the Musical, this is another film where she not only plays the titular character but more than holds her own against her more experienced co-stars. She commits absolutely everything to the role in terms of the dancing and the twirling moves of a ballerina as she gleefully and gracefully hunts down her prey, effortlessly switching between the dual personality of a sweet and innocent ballerina-loving girl and a ferocious and bloodthirsty vampire.

Speaking of blood, because you simply can’t have a vampire film without it, after dabbling with the gritty real-world violence of the Ghostface killings, the switch back to the more supernatural setting allows Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillet to return to the over-the-top violence similar to Ready or Not. If you thought that film had a considerable amount of blood, it is nothing compared to the torrents of the stuff unleashed here. It would not be a shock to discover if it broke a world record for the most fake blood that has ever been utilised in a film. It takes a little while for the film to raise the stakes (pun absolutely) intended, but once she gets her fangs and the feeding frenzy begins, it is an absolute bloody riot. A monstrously fun time is to be had by all, well apart from those who end up having those fangs buried deep into their necks.

Another superb performance from Alisha Weir having the time of her life as the tiny but deadly titular vampire is the highlight of another deliciously exciting concoction of horror comedy from Radio Silence.

Freaky – Film Review

Cast: Kathryn Newton, Vince Vaughn, Celeste O’Connor, Misha Osherovich, Katie Finneran, Alan Ruck, Uriah Shelton, Dana Drori

Director: Christopher Landon

Synopsis: After a fateful encounter with a notorious serial killer, one high school student finds that she and the killer have switched bodies…

Review: When it comes to the horror genre, the possibilities that writers and directors have to provide chills and scares to audiences are endless. There is the the unique route of having extremely terrifying things happening in broad daylight. Or indeed, stick to the classic slasher sub genre that has worked so successfully for many decades. Additionally, the premise of a film that centres on two people swapping bodies is one that feels like it’s the perfect, almost tailor made for a slasher horror film. Sprinkle a bit of comedy in there for a good measure, and you have an extremely entertaining film that delivers gory moments and hilarity in equal measure.

Millie Kessler (Newton) is a high school student at Blissfield High, battling with cruel classmates and teachers alike. On one fateful evening after a high school football match, Millie comes face to face with the town’s serial killer: the Blissfield Butcher (Vaughn). After she’s attacked by the Butcher with a dagger (that may or may not have some mysterious qualities to it), the two wake up the following morning to find that they are in each other’s bodies. Now in the body of the killer, and with a limited time window before the switch becomes permanent, Millie must do all she can to ensure that the reign of terror that the Blissfield Butcher has inflicted on the town comes to an end.

Christopher Landon has previously found success with films that mesh horror and comedy with his Happy Death Day franchise. Hence, Freaky film feels like a perfect continuation for him. His script, co-written by Michael Kennedy, is a delightful twist on the 1972 novel Freaky Friday. While the script is unquestionably filled with some cheesy dialogue, there’s plenty comedic one liners that are expertly delivered by the cast. Meshing comedy with horror is a very fine line to walk, but Langdon walks it perfectly. Within the first ten minutes of the film, he quickly establishes the brutality of the Butcher, by dispatching of his first view victims in gruesome manner. The film presents itself initially as your standard slasher flick. This is until the Butcher meets Millie, and then the ol’ body switcheroo happens, and the two are in a race against time to get back in their bodies, or else the switch will become permanent.

As well as expertly combining the horror of the situation with the comedy, what really makes the film the bloody, and riotous blast of fun that it is, is the performances of Kathryn Newton, and especially Vince Vaughn. Vaughn in particular is clearly having a lot of fun pretending to have the mannerisms of a teenage girl who suddenly finds herself in the body of a six foot four ominous serial killer. Likewise for Newton, to go from being this timid, shy teenage girl, who’s being routinely picked on, to being this serial killer who exudes confidence and who kills teenagers for fun. It is a real change of direction and Newton goes all out in her performance. The complete shift in both their characters is pivotal to making the film work, and it’s to the credit of both actors that they are able to make the contrast in their personas so believable.

There’s no one in the rest of the cast who matches the quality of the performances from Newton and Vaughn. However, Celeste O’Connor and Misha Osherovich come very close to doing so. As Millie’s best friends who must work with her to bring the Butcher’s rampage to its end, they have some of the best lines. While the film is perhaps a little bit predictable with how events play out, to take a body swap film and turn into a horror/comedy, is extremely ingenious. Furthermore, thanks to the committed performances of its cast, the end product is an absolute bloody delight from start to finish.

Horror and comedy spliced together can often end badly. However with excellent performances by Newton and Vaughn, Freaky is an enthralling, bloody soaked blast of fun.