Radio Silence are having a pretty good week right now with there latest film Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come doing as good as could be expected at the box office. Yet not alot of people know but the Ready Or Not films actually take place in the same fictional world as the film that i'm going to be talking to you all about today and I know this as i'm one of those people with someone online telling me about and providing an article as proof and so then join me as I review the film that proves that children really can be little monsters with the film in question being called simply just "Abigail" enjoy.
The plot of this film is when seven criminals kidnap and are tasked with watching over a little girl they very quickly find out that there's more to this little girl then meets the eye. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot thats actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. While this films set up isn't that unique as the whole idea of having idea of having a group of criminals start to do something bad only for it then to be turned on them in some way shape or form is one that's been done before most notably in Don't Breathe yet this film does add enough to the set up that it does go along way in to making it seem new and fresh again as just the very idea of having the characters having to battle this supernatural entity does make this idea seem new again and it is something that the film itself does pull off really well. Yet in saying this tho this films plot can at times be not that good as it does rely on the characters going to visit Abigail several times which is something that does make the film feel like that it's on repeat mode with it's plot whereas if they found a new and different way to get across all of the plot information that they need to get across then it would make the films plot feel alot less repetitive very early on. With this not really being helped by the fact that this films plot isn't the strongest that it could have been as while yes this films plot is indeed really good it also could have been alot more better as this isn't the plot that would suit a feature length film but if there was a few rewrites to the films script then it very easily could do with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Starring in this film is Melissa Barrera as Joey / Ana Lucia Cruz and Dan Stevens as Frank / Adam Barrett. Also starring in this film is Matilda: The Musical star Alisha Weir as Abigail , Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come star Kathryn Newton as Sammy / Jessica Hurney , Kevin Durand as Peter / Terrence Lacroix , Will Catlett as Rickles , Angus Cloud as Dean , Matthew Goode as Father / Kristof Lazaar and Giancarlo Esposito as Lambert.
Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting thats actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. The fact that this film does have some really good acting in it is something that's not really all that surprising as alot of this films actors are a bunch of really good actors in their own right with alot of them having been in horror films before this one and would therefor know full well how to act in a horror film. With the fact that this films acting is so good in the first place also being being helped by the fact that this films directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett do know how to direct there actors and get a good performance out of them a skill which they have proven in several films and use again here in this film as alot of actors that you wouldn't normally expect a good performance from give us exactly that and that is due to Matt and Tyler doing there thing and being good directors who know how to talk to there actors. With this best actor in this film being Alisha Weir as Abigail as this girl just acts circles around everyone in this film and heck if she so chooses to continue acting she has more then a bright future ahead of her as she is just so good in this film as she has to go from cute and innocent to down right terrifying at the drop of a hat and she does so with ease with the acting that's in this film really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them easily which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.
Like alot of Radio Silence's films the characters that are in this film are really well handled due to the fact that there s alot of thought and effort put into them. As the film does spend alot of time in making these characters not only likable but also feel more real as we get to understand just where it is that there coming from and what it is that drove them to this life of crime in the first place like for example Joey she started out as an army medic but the stress got to her and forced to do drugs which then led to her botching an operation or Frank who was an undercover cop that was sent to arrest to men working for Lazaar only to find that he liked the life style a bit to much. With all of the films main characters having the same kind of backstory where they all either come from a really good life like Sammy for example or they did something really stupid and messed up the one that they had whilst these might seem like small things they are things that do make these characters seem more likable as they are flaws that the characters have to come to terms with and in the case of Joey also over come. With the fact that both she and Frank have kids of their own it is something that does make those characters different sides of the same coin as they both want the same thing that being the money they would get for surviving the night with this kid however what makes them different is how they go about it as Frank is more violent more often punching first and asking questions later whereas Joey is the kind of character that uses kindness to get the same information out of Abigail that Frank was trying to get by threatening her with Joey's motherly instincts kicking in as she always to try and do what's best for Abigail and harm her in the least harmful way possible.
As was mentioned the whole idea of the villains having the tables turned on them and having the person that we think is the good guy but is actually the bad guy is something that's not a new concept as it was done in Don't Breathe. With that film actually doing the concept better due to the fact that it didn't true to humanize it's criminals to much by getting us to like them all and the fact that The Blind Man was someone who it could be argued is both a villain and a hero depending on how you view the film whereas here in this film they make it pretty clear that both Abigail and her father Lazaar are meant to be the bad guys of the film when something like that should have made it so it's a little bit inconspicuous as to who the true villains of the film are meant to be in the first place as then we the audience could decide for ourselfs over who the main villain of the film truly was in the place. Yet by outright telling us how it is and how we should be routing while yes Don't Breathe did have us routing for Jane Levy's character that film did also show us that The Blind Man was just as evil as the characters that we thought we were meant to hate whereas in this film it's pretty clear that we are meant to hate Lazaar due to the fact that the film keeps on brining him up every single chance that they get yet they don't actually show us why we are meant to hate and yet if your doing a film like his one you do need to show us why we should be hating this character and why we should want to see the main characters survive an d while this film does do something new with the concept by adding in a supernatural element to it it's not enough to make you go that Don't Breathe did this concept more better then this film does.
Much like with all of Radio Silence's work this film does have elements of comedy in it which to be frank aren't as good as the more comedic moments in the Ready Or Not films. With the two characters that are mainly of comedy duty in this film are Sammy and Peter and that's really it and even then there comedy is very hit and miss at best as alot of their jokes revolve around either Peter struggling to comprehend the situation or Sammy just not knowing how to do these basic things due to how rich upbringing which is fine for one or two jokes as then you could have the other character sort of poke fun at them as a way show comradery between the group and to show that they are somewhat growing closer as a group. However the makers of this film don't really do it which does leave us with Sammy and Peter feeling more like and the Shaggy and Scooby-Doo of the group so much so that when they split up near the end of the film it's Peter and Sammy that get put in the same team which isn't funny as while yes Peter has been getting closer to Sammy all throughout the film almost becoming like a big brother figure to her which is something that does make his death at her hands all the more tragic it still would have been more funny if Sammy was paired up with say Frank or Joey as then you could see how her brand of comedy bounces off those other characters. To be fair tho they do both get some pretty funny lines in the films third act like for example Peter gets Abigail's name wrong which is a cute joke and another is when the group is tasked with looking for garlic Sammy runs into the kitchen and comes back with what she thinks is garlic only to be told by Frank that it's potatoes with her saying that she doesn't know which is which as she never learned how to cook which is a decent joke. With none of the films jokes really undercutting the tension as they are just just to be a quick one liner and that's really it and in that regard they work really well.
In what can only be describes as being the best move that thus film could have made is that the makers of this film do have Joey and Abigail form a bond over the course of the film. As we do get to see that Joey really does care for Abigail maybe not in the way that a mother would care for her kid but she still does show that she cares for her as out of the whole group she's the only one that shows Abigail some kind of mercy and is actually kind to her and in response to that Abigail does open to her and does tell her the things that she wants to know willingly and not because she has to do like she does when Frank is trying to force the information out of her. Heck even when Lambert turns Frank it's Joey that Abigail comes to for help even tho she could still take him on her own and yet it's the fact that she comes to Joey asking her to help her out that does cement the fact that they do have this bond with even the fact that the film has Joey do these little things like checking her pulse at the start of the film or even just not yelling at her and talking to her like she's a normal human being even when they find she's anything but normal that does help to make there bond feel genuine as Joey does have a kid at home and therefor she would of course know for to talk to one as she's had that expirence and while Frank would have had that expirence as well by the time the film starts up he's no longer the good guy that he once was and therefor of course he's going to be more aggressive and be more violent towards anyone that isn't him as that's just who he is as a character with the only two characters that don't take anything from him being both Abigail and Joey as they both know that he won't do anything with the only person that would do anything is Abigail's father who Joey does stand up to and who Abigail both call out for being a bad father at the end of the film.
Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and forty nine minuets and thirty one seconds. With this films running time being a pretty solid running time and is the king of running time that you would expect a horror comedy like this one to have in the first place as those don't typically last all the long in the first place with this film even having the right amount of plot there to cover that amount of running in the first place as the film does know how to give us alot of the things that we need in order to make as good a use of it's running time as it possible could do this however doesn't mean fully mean that it uses it's running time all that wisely as while the film does explain away somethings in it's plot like how Lambert came to work for Lazaar in the first place it doesn't really take the time to fully develop it's plot as it does eave some things unexplained like why Lambert wants to over Lazaar's empire which is something of a key plot point in the film and it also doesn't fully explain why the characters need the money in the first place which again is a key plot point and is something that could have done with being made a bit more clearer. However tho the film does take the time to give alot of it's characters some character development like for example we do get to see Abigail and Joey bonding over the course of the film which is something tat does set up them working together in the final act of the film and heck the film even adds little things to the characters that make them feel more well rounded and thought out like the fact that yes Sammy not knowing how to do these basic things is played for laughs but it is also something that does tie into her wealthy background and therefor she of course wouldn't know how to do these things as she would have had other people doing them for her but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.
So now then as this is a horror film that really does mean that I have to actually talk about the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty i in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual kills that are actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. The film does really take as full advantage of the fact that one of it's "villains" is a vampire by having Abigail do all of these cool things like controlling Sammy like a puppet which is fun to see or by having her take on Frank , Peter and Sammy all by herself and somehow coming out on top which is something that would make sense as she would know what to do in this situation as this is pretty much her house and she has had centuries of learning different fighting styles as well as developing her own. With the best kill in the whole entire film being Frank's as while Sammy eating Peter is a scary kill as we do get to see her rip of a huge portion of his skin Franks kill works all the more better due to the fact that we audience have grown to truly hate him as a character before he was a vampire and therefor when Lambert does turn him we truly loath him as now he has this unstoppable power to content with with the thing that truly defeats him isn't just Abigail and Joey stabbing him in the heart with a take it's his own ego as he really did thing that he could control Joey much like Abigail did with Sammy without realizing that Abigail has had centuries to perfect that particular skill with the rest of the films kills being just as awsome and as bloody in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.
Overall if you love the Ready Or Not films then odds are your either going to A love this film or B you already love this film as this is just such a bloody and gory fun film that does give you all of things that you expect from a Radio Silence film but in saying this tho the central idea of having the criminals have there thing be turned against them is an idea that worked better in Don't Breathe in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and as such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly a 7.5 out of 10 from me.
Now then as for where I personally got all of the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images hat I personally used in this very review from Tenor , Blogger . Com , IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images from this film being Google Images simply because Google Images actually has images from this film really are up and on Google Images and plus pretty much much all of the images that I personally found on Google Images were all really very fairly high quality and as well as being as really very fairly high definition as well and so then horror fans we end this review as we always do with really our one and true goddess Elvira wishing us all some really very unpleasant dreams.
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