FILM
ABIGAIL
CINEMA REMINDS US YET AGAIN TO NEVER TRUST SMALL CHILDREN
★★★★
OUT NOW / CERT 18 / 109 MINS
DIRECTORS Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
CAST Alisha Weir, Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, William Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, Giancarlo Esposito
PLOT A crew are hired to kidnap a little girl (Weir) and keep her in a secure location. A slight wrinkle: the little girl is a vampire.
IN 1907, TWIST-in-the-tale specialist O. Henry published The Ransom Of Red Chief, a short story about kidnappers whose victim is so obnoxious they wind up paying the brat’s family to take him back. It’s been repeatedly adapted, officially and unofficially, including versions by Yasujirō Ozu and Howard Hawks. Abigail offers a new spin. This 12-year-old ballerina —Alisha Weir, in a ferocious how-not-to-be-typecast-forever-as-Matilda-from-Matilda-The-Musical turn —is actually an ancient, bloodthirsty, rage-fuelled vampire with extreme daddy issues.