Abigail: Collector's Edition (4K UHD Review)
- Review Date: Jun 16, 2025
- Format: 4K Ultra HD
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Director
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler GillettRelease Date(s)
2024 (July 8, 2025)Studio(s)
Radio Silence Productions/Universal Pictures (Scream Factory/Shout! Studios)- Film/Program Grade: B
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B+
Review
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. The encode runs at a consistently high bitrate, with no noticeable compression artifacts. It’s not quite a reference quality digital capture like Midsommar, but it’s damned close.
Audio is offered in English Dolby Atmos, 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, with optional English SDH subtitles. The Atmos track is 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 Scream Factory and Shout! Studios 4K Ultra HD release of Abigail is a two-disc set that includes a 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. (Note that Shout! Studios is currently offering a rolled 18”x24” poster directly from their website, while supplies last). The following extras are included, all of them in HD:
DISC ONE: UHD
- Audio Commentary by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Michael P. Shaver
- Audio Commentary by Drew McWeeny
DISC TWO: BD
- Audio Commentary by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Michael P. Shaver
- Audio Commentary by Drew McWeeny
- Interview with Guy Busick (24:05)
- Interview with Stephen Shields (25:49)
- Interview with Susie Cullen (28:09)
- Interview with Aaron Morton (20:39)
- Deleted & Extended Scenes (6:52, 3 in all)
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.
Scream Factory has also added a new commentary for this release featuring critic Drew McWeeny. He immediately notes the special element in a horror film carrying the Universal logo (it’s actually his second commentary for a recent Universal horror title). He provides some background about Radio Silence and digs even deeper into the cast, with an appropriate amount of praise for Weir, Durand, and Stevens. He analyzes Abigail more from a thematic and structural perspective rather than a technical one, so his commentary provides a nice adjunct to the previous one with the filmmakers.
The only featurette that Shout! has carried forward from the Universal Blu-ray is a collection of 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.
The rest of the extras consist of new interviews done in association with Franco Film Works, all of them under the main title Creating Abigail. The first two are with writers Gary Busick and Stephen Shields. Shields wrote the original screenplay, while Radio Silence brought in their frequent collaborator Busick in order to shepherd it through more drafts. The basic characters remained the same (although Busick added one more criminal), but the story took different twists and turns. The third interview is with production designer Susie Cullen, who explains how the main shooting location became an integral part of her design work. Finally, Aaron Morton describes collaborating with Radio Silence—it was his first time working with co-directors, but he enjoyed the experience. He also notes the downside to practical effects with filmmakers like Radio Silence: working around buckets of blood.
While it’s great to get new extras like these, for some unknown reason, Shout! has omitted the rest of the ones that were included on Universal’s Blu-ray: a Gag Reel plus the featurettes Bloodbath, Hunters to Hunted, Becoming a Ballerina Vampire, and Directing Duo: Matt & Tyler. Out of the four, the real loss is Bloodbath, which managed to fulfill the studio-mandated emphasis on practical effects while still freely acknowledging the way that those practical effects were only one component in the final shots, with everything being married together digitally. So if you have the old Blu-ray, you’ll want to hang onto it for the extras alone. But thanks to a stellar 4K presentation and the inclusion of the Atmos mix, fans of Abigail will want to upgrade to this release. It’s never looked or sounded better.
-Stephen Bjork
(You can follow Stephen on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd).