Abigail (German Import) (4K UHD Review)
- Review Date: Jun 17, 2025
- Format: 4K Ultra HD
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Director
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler GillettRelease Date(s)
2024 (April 10, 2025)Studio(s)
Radio Silence Productions/Universal Pictures (Turbine Medien)- Film/Program Grade: B
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B+
Review
[Editor’s Note: This is a Region-Free German 4K Ultra HD import.]
While it’s true that there’s nothing new under the sun, every once in a while, a horror movie comes along that may not necessarily reinvent the wheel, but at least manages to reinvigorate it. Such was the case with the Radio Silence collective’s 2019 film Ready or Not, which blended the social satire of Knives Out with gleefully uninhibited violence that bordered on Evil Dead territory. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett rebooted the Scream franchise after that, and while their two installments were successful both critically and commercially, it’s tough to do anything fresh with a series that was already built on the idea of subverting expectations. So, they went high concept with their next project Abigail, but that very concept leads to something of a quandary: how do you talk about a film where the basic concept functions as a spoiler?
For better or for worse, that problem was solved by Universal’s marketing department, since the trailers openly spoiled the central twist that doesn’t occur until 49 minutes into the film. (Even the tagline on the posters says too much.) To be fair, Abigail would have been a tough sell without doing so, because the basic setup is only mildly interesting without knowing where the story is going. You have to give audiences something in order to get them to plunk down their hard-earned money for a ticket, and Universal’s trailers did just that. Fortunately, there’s more going on with Abigail than meets the eye, even for everyone who already knows the twist. That said, on the miniscule chance that there’s anyone else who has somehow managed to remain completely spoiler-free, a little circumspection is in order.
Stephen Shields and Guy Busick’s script for Abigail opens with a group of high-tech kidnappers carrying out an assignment to snatch Abigail (Alisha Weir), a young girl about whom they know little aside from her love of ballet. They all have their own unique skillsets, yet just like Reservoir Dogs, they’re total strangers who have been assembled by Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) with nothing more than code names to refer to each other. “Joey” (Melissa Barrera) is the medic; “Frank” (Dan Stevens) is the tactician; “Rickles” (Will Catlett) is the sniper; “Sammy” (Kathryn Newton) is the hacker; “Peter” (Kevin Durand) is the dim-witted muscle; and “Dean” (the late Angus Cloud) is the driver.
Lambert has told them nothing about Abigail or her family, but given the size of the estate that they’re infiltrating and the fact that she’s being chauffeured in a Rolls-Royce Phantom (a 2018, but still), there’s clearly a lot of money at stake. They end up drugging Abigail and bringing her to a remote mansion to meet Lambert, who insists that they stay there for 24 hours while he goes back out and issues demands. The kidnappers all get spooked when they discover that Abigail’s father is the legendary crime boss Kristof Lazaar (Matthew Goode), but when they start getting picked off one by one, they finally realize that the biggest threat that they face is locked in the house with them—and they’re not the hunters, but rather the prey.
So far, so Betrayal at House on the Hill, with a disparate group of characters being forced to work together to escape a locked house while a monster hunts them down (and yes, there’s a betrayal or two in the process). It’s not exactly a mystery what kind of monster is involved, and yet the monster’s motivations are a bit more complicated than they may appear on the surface. The six kidnappers may not have known each other prior to this assignment, but they quickly form a dysfunctional family unit, which isn’t terribly surprising considering that many of them have dysfunctional families of their own. Even Abigail has struggled with having a neglectful father, which has shaped her own worldview. That helps her form a connection with Joey, who’s suffering from guilt over having been a neglectful mother. The bond between Abigail and Joey is the key to unlocking Abigail, even more than the presence of a monster (or two or three).
As a result, nothing would work without a good cast to bring these characters to life, and Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett still have the touch that they displayed with the outstanding cast for Ready or Not. Melissa Barrera already worked with them on both of their Scream films, and while she’s no Samara Weaving (who is?), she still brings some necessary depth to Joey. Dan Stevens manages to make Frank far more interesting than he has any right to be, and Kevin Durand gives one of his very best performances in Abigail, taking the cliché of the muscle-bound oaf and turning it into something surprisingly empathetic. Mind you, none of these criminals are inherently sympathetic—they’re child kidnappers, after all—but the strength of the cast keeps them from being little more than cannon fodder for a hungry monster. Even Weir does a wonderful job of skating a fine line with Abigail—she’s the real breakout performer here.
Of course, this is a Radio Silence film, so while these characters may not be cannon fodder, they’re still grist for the mill. It can be tricky to find the right balance with horror comedies, but Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett pull it off by throwing themselves into both sides of the coin with equal enthusiasm. Anyone who has seen their other films will know what to expect, but if you haven’t, be forewarned that gallons and gallons of blood are spilled, dripped, leaked, spurted, vomited, and splattered (yes, the exploding bodies from Ready or Not make a return, and with a vengeance, too). Whatever Abigail may have to say about familial dysfunction, it’s still nothing more than good clean horror movie fun at heart—or as clean as buckets of fake blood can be, anyway. If it falls short of Ready or Not, that’s not exactly a criticism, because Ready or Not was one of the best horror movies of the last decade. Abigail isn’t that, but it doesn’t have to be in order to be good... well, good bloody fun, shall we say. (You’ve been warned.)
Cinematographer Aaron Morton captured Abigail digitally at 4.5K resolution using Arri Alexa 35 cameras. While there are no other details available, from the looks of the outtake reel, it was shot full frame with spherical lenses and then cropped to 2.39:1 during post-production. It was completed as a 4K Digital Intermediate, with this version graded for High Dynamic Range in Dolby Vision and HDR10. While Radio Silence worked with Brett Jutkiewicz on Ready or Not, Scream, and Scream VI, they definitely know what they like, and the work that Morton did for Abigail has a similar look to it. The warm amber tones are offset by the cold blues in some of the underground sequences, and the intentional orange/teal bias helps enhance the apparent contrast. That said, the HDR grade takes that look to the next level, with strong contrast and genuinely deep blacks that don’t crush detail that isn’t supposed to be crushed (it’s always worth remembering that sometimes black is supposed to be just plain black). Everything is razor-sharp in 4K (fang sharp?), with details like the texture of the various skin textures being perfectly resolved—and with a cast that includes the likes of Will Catlett, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand, and Giancarlo Esposito, every skin type from smooth to craggy is well represented in Abigail. Turbine’s encode does run at a slightly lower bitrate than the one on Scream Factory’s UHD, but short having of some way to do a direct A/B comparison, it’s hard to tell the difference between the two. Either way, it’s not quite a reference quality digital capture like Midsommar, but it’s damned close.
Audio is offered in German and English Dolby Atmos, with optional German and English SDH subtitles. It’s a mix that follows the action: subtle and simple when appropriate, but aggressive and immersive when the action calls for it. The music is frequently the center point of the mix, but there are effects like crashes of thunder surrounding the viewer, plus the creaks and groans of the house—and a few loud bangs to provide jump scares, too. (There are also a few moments where Abigail can be heard moving around the house offscreen from one floor to the other.) The patented Radio Silence exploding bodies fill the room aurally as well as visually, splattering the walls and ceilings with the sounds of splashing gore. While it’s not the most immersive mix for this kind of horror film, it’s still a fun one, and that’s true to the spirit of Abigail.
The Turbine Medien Region-Free 4K Ultra HD release of Abigail is a two-disc set that includes a Region-Free Blu-ray with a 1080p copy of the film. It also includes a slipcase with the same theatrical poster design as the insert in the Amaray case, but in the white version instead of the black one on the insert, providing a little extra contrast. Note that they’re bilingual discs that give the option to choose German or English menus when first spinning either of them up. The same extras are included on both discs, all of them in HD:
- Dolby Atmos “Amaze” Trailer (1:03)
- Audio Commentary by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Michael P. Shaver
- From the Cutting Room Floor:
- Deleted & Extended Scenes (6:52, 3 in all)
- Gag Reel (9:41)
- Featurettes:
- Bloodbath (7:04)
- Hunters to Hunted (5:36)
- Becoming a Ballerina Vampire (4:29)
- Directing Duo: Matt & Tyler (5:40)
- Trailers:
- USA 1 (2:47)
- USA 2 (1:14)
- Germany (2:48)
The commentary with Bettinelli-Olpin, Gillett, and editor Michael P. Shaver has been ported over from Universal’s 2024 Blu-ray release of Abigail. They acknowledge the way that the film was reshaped during the edit, especially the opening section. They knew full well that the audience was going to know full well exactly what Abigail is, so part of the fun for them was still delaying the reveal as long as possible. (On the other hand, they omitted the backstory about why Abigail loves to dance since it was telling too much.) They also offer tons of detail about making the film, and plenty of praise for the cast and crew. Yet once again, in the spirit of not saying too much, it’s best to discover what they’re talking about on your own—and this is definitely a worthy commentary track.
Aside from the Trailers (including a Dolby Atmos trailer that plays automatically before the film), the other extras are also ported over from the Universal Blu-ray. There are three different Deleted & Extended Scenes: an extended version of Abigail dancing to Swan Lake at the beginning of the film; an additional moment of Joey being surprised by Dean in the hallway; and an alternate version of Lazar’s appearance at the conclusion. There’s also a Gag Reel that’s an actual collection of outtakes instead of the typical “mugging for the camera” reel. Unfortunately, it’s not much funnier, but it does show that some of the dialogue was improvised.
The rest of the extras consist of EPK-style featurettes mixing behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and crew. Bloodbath explores the makeup and visual effects; Hunters to Hunted covers the casting and the kidnapper characters; Becoming a Ballerina Vampire focuses on Alisha Weir’s transformation into Abigail; and Directing Duo: Matt & Tyler is pretty self-explanatory. They’re all somewhat cursory, but don’t make the mistake of dismissing them, because Bloodbath in particular is quite good. It has the usual studio-mandated emphasis on practical effects, but it freely acknowledges the way that those practical effects were only one component in the final shots, with everything being married together (and sweetened) digitally. Even Jonas Ussing would approve of this featurette, and that’s really saying something.
That’s all the extras from the Universal Blu-ray, but Scream Factory added some extras of their domestic 4K release of Abigail, including a commentary with critic Drew McWeeny and four different interviews with Guy Busick, Stephen Shields, production designer Susie Cullen, and Aaron Morton. On the other hand, Shout’s release omits the Gag Reel and the four featurettes (it also doesn’t include any trailers). So, if you want all of the available extras, you gotta catch ‘em all. Speaking personally, the inclusion of Bloodbath alone gives Turbine a slight edge, but your own mileage may vary (although it’s also worth pointing out that Scream Factory has a more robust encode, even if the differences between the two are negligible). You can’t go wrong either way, so the choice is yours.
-Stephen Bjork
(You can follow Stephen on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd).