Review ‘Abigail’: Horrifying to Those Who Appreciate Ballet

I rarely watch movies, but one called my name: Abigail, a new horror film about a twelve-year-old ballerina vampire. Friends insisted that I watch and review it, joking that the movie is inspired by my life. I will set the record straight: My name is Abigail, I was a ballerina, I did attempt to suck the progressive blood out of my campus as an undergraduate, but — contrary to popular belief — I have never been twelve years old.

During my long flight from London to Washington, D.C., on Friday, I watched Abigail because it was free on the little television embedded in the seat. I generally dislike horror movies because they are usually bad, not because they make me uncomfortable. Most “horror” films truly belong in the comedy genre because their plots depend on impossibly stupid characters who make easily avoidable mistakes. I expect horror movies to have surprises, yet they all include the same tropes: The doors suddenly lock in a remote house, nobody has a working phone, and there’s a creepy kid — all of which occur in Abigail. I will admit that I did find Abigail scary, just not for the reasons intended by the screenwriters. Somewhat ironically, I was disturbed only by the ballet scenes.

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Abigail Anthony

Abigail Anthony is a staff writer at National Review.

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I rarely watch movies, but one called my name: Abigail, a new horror film about a twelve-year-old ballerina vampire. Friends insisted that I watch and review it, joking that the movie is inspired by my life. I will set the record straight: My name is Abigail, I was a ballerina, I did attempt to suck the progressive blood out of my campus as an undergraduate, but — contrary to popular belief — I have never been twelve years old.

During my long flight from London to Washington, D.C., on Friday, I watched Abigail because it was free on the little television embedded in the seat. I generally dislike horror movies because they are usually bad, not because they make me uncomfortable. Most “horror” films truly belong in the comedy genre because their plots depend on impossibly stupid characters who make easily avoidable mistakes. I expect horror movies to have surprises, yet they all include the same tropes: The doors suddenly lock in a remote house, nobody has a working phone, and there’s a creepy kid — all of which occur in Abigail. I will admit that I did find Abigail scary, just not for the reasons intended by the screenwriters. Somewhat ironically, I was disturbed only by the ballet scenes.