movie reviews for current movies

Movie Reviews and Ratings

Civil War Review: A Thematically Hollow Political Thriller

Sting Review: Space Spiders Die Hardest

Monkey Man Review: Dev Patel’s Mind-Blowing Action Debut

Panic Fest 2024 – Cannibal Mukbang Review: Sticky Sweet Horror Rom Com

The First Omen Review: A Shockingly Gory Prequel

Hunting for the Hag Review: Urban Legend Hunt Gets Lost in the Woods

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Review: Superficially Fun Entertainment

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Review: A Feel-Good Nostalgia Trip

Immaculate Review: Sydney, Nun the Wiser

Arthur the King Review: A Lackluster Dog Sports Movie

Imaginary Review: An Ambitious Misfire

Kung Fu Panda 4 Review: Entertaining Awesomeness

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Marvel’s Thunderbolts Confirms Mysterious Title Change, Kevin Feige Promises More Details Coming

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Marvel and dc.

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Movie Reviews

'drive-away dolls' review: ethan coen’s latest movie is missing something crucial.

Geraldine Viswanathan and Margaret Qualley star in Ethan Coen's solo directorial debut, which never quite reaches its potential.

'LaRoy, Texas' Review: An Entertaining Diet 'Fargo' Complete With a Madcap Steve Zahn

John Magaro and Steve Zahn star as an unlikely pair thrown into an unusual murder mystery in 'LaRoy, Texas.'

'Strange Way of Life' Review: Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke Sizzle in Almodóvar's Western

There is more to this romantic cowboy story than meets the eye.

'Sasquatch Sunset' Review: Jesse Eisenberg Is Bigfoot. What More Do You Need to Know?

Jesse Eisenberg and Riley Keough play sasquatches in the earnest and extremely strange new film from David and Nathan Zellner.

'In Flames' Review: Zarrar Kahn’s Eerie Slow-Burn Horror Is a Deeply Affecting Psychological Thriller

'In Flames' isn't an easy watch, but it's an important discussion that needs to be addressed.

'Challengers' Review: Zendaya Gives One of Her Best Performances in This Ridiculously Horny Delight

Luca Guadagnino's latest film is a compelling love triangle story set in the world of tennis, led by a great Zendaya, Mike Faist, and Josh O'Connor.

'Sting' Review: A Creepy Spider Horror Movie That Gets Caught in Its Own Web

Hey, at least it's still a better spider movie than Madame Web.

'It’s Only Life After All' Review: Indigo Girls Doc Explores the Many Layers of the Folk Duo

Documentarian Alexandria Bombach shows the humor, music, and impact that the Indigo Girls have had in their decades-long career.

'O.J.: Made in America' Review: A Devastating, Oscar-Winning Study of Race, Identity, & Fame

True crime fans will go mad for Ezra Edelman's tremendous journalistic assemblage, which places race, ego, and fame directly at the center of one of the major trials of the last century.

'Civil War' Review: Forget 'Ex Machina,' This Is Alex Garland’s Best Film Yet

Garland's exploration of a future where conflict has broken out in the United States is nothing like you would expect and all the better for it.

'Parachute' Review: Brittany Snow's Directorial Debut Is Honest and Humane

Courtney Eaton and Thomas Mann star in a film that provides a truthful portrait of the experience of having an eating disorder.

'Io Capitano' Review: Young Performers Excel In Harrowing Circumstances

Though it has a great lead performance, the Oscar-nominated Io Capitano is standard fare in terms of its filmmaking and narrative.

'One Life' Review: Anthony Hopkins Is Excellent in Powerful Adaptation

Under James Hawes' direction, this biopic does justice to the late Sir Nicholas Winton's humble mission.

'Arcadian' Review: Nicolas Cage’s Dystopian Horror Absolutely Rips

“Are we safe? Are we secure?”

'Kung Fu Panda 4' Review: Jack Black’s Lovable Bear Still Kicks Butt

Four films in, the Kung Fu Panda series finds new ways to explore this universe as the latest installment feels like a conclusion and a new beginning.

'Knox Goes Away' Review: A Puzzling Misfire From Michael Keaton

The usually reliable Michael Keaton directs and stars in this thriller full of wasted potential.

'Baghead' Review: This Horror Movie Will Make You Want to Cover Your Eyes

Avert your gaze from this monstrosity!

'Abigail' Review: Radio Silence's Vampire Flick Is All Guts, No Glory

Alisha Weir and Dan Stevens shine in a shallow if bloody new monster movie.

'The Greatest Hits' Review: This Musical Time-Travel Romance Could’ve Used a Remix

Starring Lucy Boynton, Justin H. Min, and David Corenswet, 'The Greatest Hits' never does justice to its story as a romance of a time-travel tale.

‘The First Omen’ Review: A Smart, Unsettling Revamp of the Classic Horror Franchise

Arkasha Stevenson's prequel gets under your skin with uncomfortable scenes that won't leave you any time soon.

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Browse Reviews

The incoherent drama Browse tries to look like a suspenseful horror movie, but there's nothing scary or thrilling about this rambling dud of a film.

Full Review | Jul 30, 2020

A great deal of the movie consists of unfinished ideas, plot points, story threads, and character arcs.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jul 22, 2020

It's a thoughtful, curious piece of work which may not quite be successful in finding its destination but which manages to intrigue along the way.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jul 21, 2020

Skip the film if you need an ending that answers the questions raised throughout. But check it out if you enjoy seeing a psychological thriller that makes you come to your own conclusions.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jul 20, 2020

With such a tangled mess of a film it is hard to put your finger on what went wrong in the bringing it to the screen.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 13, 2020

In a perfect world, this thriller, with its onslaught of stomach-churning "oh no!" moments, would've had a point, something that connected it all together (or at least a conclusion), but it doesn't.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 12, 2020

An identity theft "nightmare" that fails every attempted thrill and chill. Quite possibly one of the most unimaginative and unmemorable films I've ever seen.

Full Review | Original Score: .5/5 | Jul 10, 2020

An everyman's identify theft -- or is he just a deluded creeper? -- is fitfully explored in this underwhelming psychological thriller.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 7, 2020

Browse feels like glimpsing through a problematic story with little context as to why you should care let alone watch it.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/10 | Jul 7, 2020

This thriller doesn't thrill. It occasionally amuses, and it rarely makes any real sense.

Full Review | Original Score: 4 | Jul 6, 2020

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7 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week

Whether you’re a casual moviegoer or an avid buff, our reviewers think these films are worth knowing about even if you’re not planning to see them.

Share full article

By The New York Times

Critic’s Pick

A hot-button movie people are arguing over.

A woman with a bulletproof vest that says “Press” stands in a smoky city street.

‘Civil War’

Alex Garland’s “Civil War” is set in a near-future when the United States is at war with itself and something called the Western Front, made up of Texas and California, is fighting the federal government.

From our review:

It’s mourning again in America, and it’s mesmerizingly, horribly gripping. Filled with bullets, consuming fires and terrific actors like Kirsten Dunst running for cover, the movie is a what-if nightmare stoked by memories of Jan. 6. As in what if the visions of some rioters had been realized, what if the nation was again broken by Civil War, what if the democratic experiment called America had come undone? If that sounds harrowing, you’re right.

In theaters. Read the full review .

The rare reboot that gets it right.

‘don’t tell mom the babysitter’s dead’.

After the babysitter hired to watch them for the summer keels over, a 17-year-old slacker named Tanya (Simone Joy Jones) is forced to support her even lazier younger siblings.

Don’t tell helicopter parents, but the gleefully transgressive flicks that entertained a generation of latchkey wildlings are coming back in style. Wade Allain-Marcus’s rollicking update of the 1991 cult favorite keeps the plot … and amps up the immoral humor. It’s a snappy, gutsy comedy about how kids are spoiled and ignorant, and yet the adult workplace is only passingly more mature.

A deceptive horror film where the good guys aren’t so good.

‘in flames’.

In Pakistan, 20-something Mariam, her widowed mother, Fariha, and her younger brother are struggling when Uncle Nasir suddenly becomes very interested in the relatives he had been neglecting.

As the women scramble to save their home, the walls close in on them, and that’s the point: “In Flames,” a confident feature debut written and directed by Zarrar Kahn, is one of several recent films from around the world that frame patriarchy as a nightmare. … When the film finally gives way to full horror, the pace picks up, and we see what the movie’s been doing all along.

Time travel courtesy of a few bops.

‘the greatest hits’.

Since her boyfriend died in a tragic accident, any song Harriet (Lucy Boynton) hears attached to memories of him catapults her, quite literally, back to the moment in their relationship when that song was playing.

“The Greatest Hits” proceeds slowly and repetitively, which doesn’t have to be a problem: The gentleness of the pace and storytelling gives the cast space to breathe and react to each other, to build relationships that feel reasonably authentic. Similarly, the music choices (which are all over the map both in genre and era) are fun and fresh, lacking the on-the-nose quality that a film with more bang-on choices might have provoked. But as it goes on, the movie begins to feel mired in its own high-concept conceit without space to develop it further.

Watch on Hulu. Read the full review .

A movie about sasquatches. Either you’re in or you’re not.

‘sasquatch sunset’.

This tale of sasquatches follows a pack of four of the creatures through a wordless year of mating, childbirth, death and discovery.

A sincere gift to Bigfoot believers or a surreal cinematic prank, “Sasquatch Sunset” mimes the familiar beats of the nature documentary. This may be a one-joke movie, but it’s an oddly endearing jest, the beasts’ resemblance to primates tweaking our empathy.

Like ‘A Quiet Place,’ only not as good.

On a remote farm, Paul (Nicolas Cage) and his teenage sons scavenge during the day; at night they’re besieged by feral beasts, who may be the mutated victims of an epidemic.

From the review:

The director [Benjamin Brewer] builds tension in brief pockets of silence, and when we do see the monsters, they look quite good — sticky and spindly in a tactile way, like the aliens in John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” But a competent director can do only so much with a poor script, and “Arcadian” is littered with shortcuts and screenwriting clichés.

Tutu-wearing street kids meet the ghosts of old wounds.

This trippy ensemble drama set in Kinshasa explores Congolese society through magical realism and four loosely connected stories.

To say “Omen” is ambitious feels like an understatement. The film begins with a mystical interlude in which a woman pours her breast milk into a river, and sustains this vivid symbolism throughout, making details with natural explanations (a birthmark, a seizure) take on an otherworldly heft. In its best moments, a quiet element of absurdity grounds the spectacle.

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

Even before his new film “Civil War” was released, the writer-director Alex Garland faced controversy over his vision of a divided America with Texas and California as allies .

Theda Hammel’s directorial debut, “Stress Positions,” a comedy about millennials weathering the early days of the pandemic , will ask audiences to return to a time that many people would rather forget.

“Fallout,” TV’s latest big-ticket video game adaptation, takes a satirical, self-aware approach to the End Times .

“Sasquatch Sunset” follows the creatures as they go about their lives. We had so many questions. The film’s cast and crew had answers .

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime and Hulu to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

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The best movies out right now

Find the latest reviews for movies playing in New York this week, including critics' picks and box-office winners

The theaters are back in full swing, big releases are back on their marquees, and lockdown is beginning, dare we say it, to feel like a distant memory. It’s a great time, in other words, to reconnect with the joys of sitting in the dark and staring up at a big screen – possibly while munching on a large box of popcorn. But what movie to see tonight or this weekend ? Check out our line-up of the best movies out right now, reviewed by Time Out critics.

An email you’ll actually love

The best movies now playing

3 out of 5 stars
Action and adventure

The latest iteration of DC’s caped crusader has Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight on the hunt for The Riddler (Paul Dano) who has been offing Gotham’s political classes, leaving clues in his wake. The superhero and crime thriller genre mash-up works well, borrowing from several DC comic-book runs, including Frank Miller’s ‘Year One’, and Zoë Kravitz’s cat burglar Selina Kyle brings slinky fun to this Bat-epic. Cast : Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano Rated : PG-13 Release date : March 4, 2022 Duration : 175 mins

The Lost City

4 out of 5 stars

Hollywood’s evergreen leading lady, Sandra Bullock, is a romance novelist caught up in a jungle adventure straight out of one of her own bestsellers. Along for the ride is the novel’s heartthrob cover star (Channing Tatum). Is what follows a strenuously plotted masterwork full meaningful messages about the preservation of ancient civilisations? Absolutely not. Is it ridiculously fun night at the movies? Oh yes. Switch off your brain and enjoy Brad Pitt’s buff action-man cameo.

Cast : Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Brad Pitt Rated : PG-13 Release date : March 25, 2022 Duration : 113 mins

Mothering Sunday

While not exactly a cheery watch, Mothering Sunday is an intelligent, affecting British drama with a splash of French sensuality. Adapted by Lady Macbeth screenwriter Alice Birch, it stars Josh O’Connor as Paul, an engaged upper-class fellow having a secret affair with a neighbour’s maid, Jane (Aussie newcomer Odessa Young). Cast : Odessa Young, Colin Firth, Josh O’Connor, Olivia Colman Rated : R Release date : March 25, 2022 Duration : 110 mins

Spearheaded by a towering performance by Caleb Landry Jones, Justin Kurzel’s ( Snowtown ) powerful drama charts the disastrous spiral towards Australia’s infamous Port Arthur mass killing in 1996. Australian acting royalty Judy Davis ( My Brilliant Career ) and Anthony LaPaglia ( Lantana ) portray the on-edge parents of the man who will soon commit a crime so previously unimaginable that it famously changed the country’s gun laws in 12 days flat. Nitram debuted at Cannes to a standing ovation. Find out why. Cast : Caleb Landry-Jones, Judy Davis, Essie Davis, Anthony LaPaglia Release date : March 30, 2022 Duration : 112 mins

A modern-day allegory with universal resonance told in a filmmaking style that absolutely won’t be for everyone, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s spellbinding Memoria moves in the subtlest increments. Trying to decipher its cosmic mysteries is Tilda Swinton’s expat Brit in Colombia. Tormented by a loud booming noise that’s audible only to her, she sets off on a languourous journey to the most unexpected destination.

Cast : Tilda Swinton, Elkin Diaz, Jeanne Balibar, Agnes Brekke Rated : PG Release date : April 1, 2022 Duration : 136 mins

[image] [title]

'Civil War' review: Kirsten Dunst leads visceral look at consequences of a divided America

We see “Civil War” trending on social media all too commonly in our divided country, for one reason or another, and usually nodding to extreme cultural or ideological differences. With his riveting new action thriller of the same name, writer/director Alex Garland delivers a riveting cautionary tale that forces viewers to confront its terrifying real-life consequences.

“Civil War” (★★★½ out of four; rated R; in theaters Friday) imagines a near-future America that’s dystopian in vision but still realistic enough to be eerily unnerving. It's a grounded, well-acted ode to the power of journalism and a thought-provoking, visceral fireball of an anti-war movie.

Played exceptionally by Kirsten Dunst , Lee is an acclaimed war photographer covering a fractured America: The Western Forces led by California and Texas have seceded from the USA and are days away from a final siege on the federal government. Lee and her reporting partner Joel (Wagner Moura) have been tasked with traveling from New York City to Washington to interview the president (Nick Offerman) before the White House falls.

After visually capturing humanity's worst moments, Lee is as world-weary and jaded as one can be. But after saving aspiring photographer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny) during a Brooklyn suicide bombing, Lee becomes a reluctant mentor as the young woman worms her way into their crew. Also in the press van: senior journalist Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), hitching a ride to the Western Forces military base in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Most of “Civil War” is an episodic odyssey where Lee and company view the mighty toll taken by this conflict: the graveyard of cars on what’s left of I-95, for example, or how an innocent-looking holiday stop turns deadly courtesy of an unseen shooter. Primarily, however, it’s a disturbing internal examination of what happens when we turn on each other, when weekend warriors take up arms against trained soldiers, or armed neighbors are given a way to do bad things to people they just don’t like.

'No dark dialogue!': Kirsten Dunst says 5-year-old son helped her run lines for 'Civil War'

Given its polarizing nature, “Civil War" is actually not that "political." Garland doesn’t explain what led to the secession or much of the historical backstory, and even Offerman’s president isn’t onscreen enough to dig into any real-life inspirations, outside of some faux bluster in the face of certain defeat. (He’s apparently in his third term and dismantled the FBI, so probably not a big Constitutionalist.)

Rather than two hours of pointing fingers, Garland is more interested in depicting the effect of a civil war rather than the cause. As one sniper points out in a moment when Lee and Joel are trying not to die, when someone’s shooting a gun at you, it doesn’t matter what side you’re on or who’s good and who's bad.

The director’s intellectual filmography has explored everything from ecological issues ( “Annihilation” ) to AI advancement ( “Ex Machina” ), and there are all sorts of heady themes at play in “Civil War.” “What kind of American are you?” asks a racist soldier played with a steady, ruthless cruelty by Jesse Plemons (Dunst's husband) in a disturbing scene that nods to an even deeper conflict in society than the one torching this fictionalized version. There's also an underlying sense of apathy that the characters face, with hints that much of the country is just willfully ignoring the conflict because they'd rather not think about it. But this hellish road trip also maintains a sense of hopefulness − via the growing relationship between Lee and Jessie – and is pretty exciting even with its multitude of horrors.

'You get paid a lot of money': Kirsten Dunst says she's open for another superhero movie

“Civil War” is a thoughtful movie with blockbuster ambitions, and while it does embrace more of a straightforward action flick vibe toward its climactic end, Garland still lands a lasting gut punch. He immerses audiences in the unpredictable nature of war, with gunfire and explosions leaving even the calmest sort on edge, and paints a sprawling canvas of an America forever changed. Thankfully, it’s just a warning and not a promise, using the movie theater as a public service announcement rather than an escape from the real world.

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Movie Reviews

'coup de chance' is a typical woody allen film — with one appalling final detail.

Justin Chang

Niels Schneider and Lou de Laâge star in Coup de Chance. GRAVIER PRODUCTIONS hide caption

Niels Schneider and Lou de Laâge star in Coup de Chance.

Once upon a time, it might have been strange to think that the arrival of a new Woody Allen movie in theaters would qualify as some kind of event. But much has changed, especially over the past decade, with renewed focus on allegations that Allen sexually abused his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow , when she was 7 years old — accusations that the director has long denied. Amazon Studios, which had been distributing Allen's movies, cut ties with him in 2018. His two most recent movies, the critically panned A Rainy Day in New York and Rifkin's Festival, were barely shown in the U.S.

And so it came as something of a surprise when news broke weeks ago that Allen's new movie, the romantic drama-thriller Coup de Chance , would be released in American theaters. The decision probably has something to do with the movie's strong reception last fall at the Venice International Film Festival, where more than one critic called it Allen's best film in years.

Abuse Allegations Revive Woody Allen's Trial By Media

That may not be saying much, given how weak his output has been since Blue Jasmine 11 years ago. But there is indeed an assurance and a vitality to Coup de Chance that hasn't been evident in the director's work in some time. That's partly due to the change of scenery, as Allen's difficulty securing American talent and financing has led him to the more receptive climes of Europe. While he's set movies in France before, this is his first feature shot entirely in French with French actors. It may have been done out of necessity, but it lends a patina of freshness to an otherwise familiar Allen story of guilt, suspicion and inconvenient desire.

It begins with a random reunion on the streets of Paris. Fanny, played by Lou de Laâge, works at an auction house nearby; Alain, played by Niels Schneider, is a writer. (Even if his name weren't Alain, it would be pretty clear that he's the Allen avatar in this story.)

Publisher Drops Woody Allen's Book After Ronan Farrow Objects, Employees Walk Out

This is the first time Fanny and Alain have seen each other since they were high-school classmates in New York years ago, during which time, Alain confesses, he had an intense crush on Fanny. There's an immediate spark between them, but alas, Fanny is now married to a wealthy businessman, Jean, played by Melvil Poupaud.

Before long, Fanny and Alain are having a full-blown affair, taking long lunch breaks in Alain's tiny apartment, which is homier and more appealing to Fanny than the spacious Parisian residence she shares with Jean. They also have a beautiful country house where she and Jean go for regular weekend getaways.

Jean often invites friends along to go hunting in the woods, and even before the rifles come out, it's clear that this romantic triangle is destined to end in violence. Many moviegoers will recognize the elements from films like Crimes and Misdemeanors and Match Point : an adulterous romance, a premeditated murder and a darkly cynical consideration of the role that luck plays in human affairs. At one point, Jean notes that he doesn't believe in luck at all — which sounds like an echo of the nihilism that has long been at the heart of Woody Allen's work.

Nothing about Coup de Chance is terribly surprising, in other words. It's a decently executed version of a movie Allen has made many times before, enlivened by Vittorio Storaro's elegant if overly burnished-looking cinematography. As you'd expect, there's a lot of jazz and a lot of loftily repetitive dialogue, the effect of which is somewhat neutralized because the actors are speaking French. They all give crisp, engaged performances, especially Valérie Lemercier as Fanny's shrewd mother, who begins to suspect that Jean is not as trustworthy as he appears.

As the story unravels, one appalling detail sticks out. In a few scenes, Jean is shown playing with a large model train set — and as others have pointed out, it seems to evoke a key detail, also involving a train set, from Dylan Farrow's testimony. Could Allen be referencing his own off-screen scandals, and to what purpose? Perhaps, suspecting that he might be done with the movies at long last, as he's hinted in interviews, he wanted to thumb his nose at his detractors with a provocative parting shot. Or maybe it's just a reminder of something that, for better or worse, has always been true about Woody Allen: For all the many, many characters he's introduced us to over the decades, his truest protagonist and subject has always been himself.

Woody Allen

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors.

Now streaming on:

The trailer for “Abigail” tells you almost everything you need to know about the movie, a wacky high-concept horror thriller about a group of kidnappers who bite off more than they can chew when they unwittingly abduct a child-sized vampire ballerina. The vamp, played with some relish by Alisha Weir , only really comes alive when she’s leering at or stalking her prey. Genre fans will also spot some familiar faces among the movie’s ensemble cast, all of whom do their best with this tic-y, schtick-y material. They curse (enough to seem like they’re overcompensating for some things); they run (around each other, mostly); they get picked off one by one.

You already know what you’re in for if you’ve come to “Abigail” to watch a body count caper featuring plummy character actor performances from That Guys like Kevin Durand and Dan Stevens . Most of their co-stars keep up in less attractive roles, including Melissa Barrera ’s thinly drawn anti-heroine team leader. There’s also plenty of viscous-looking blood splatter and some modestly good-looking vampire makeup—the fangs, in particular. Some action scenes are well-choreographed, but generally over-edited and shot just ahead of whatever’s moving on-screen. The rest of this 90-minute genre exercise is unfailingly conventional, though that’s also a big part of its ostensible appeal.

I can’t really get or stay mad at “Abigail” for essentially delivering what its marketing promises. Sure, the movie’s creators, led by co-helmers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (better known as “ Radio Silence ,” directors of “ Ready or Not ” and the 2022 “Scream” reboot), could have delivered more, even though disenchanted viewers can’t exactly claim false advertising. The setup is strictly by the numbers and the characters are all stock types.

A team of bickering misfits kidnaps the title character (Weir). They follow her home with a comically oversized gizmo stuck to the bottom of her chauffeur’s car. Then they bring the 12-year-old-looking girl to a secluded mansion, where they’re reminded of their mission’s stakes. Shady but well-dressed ring-leader Lambert ( Giancarlo Esposito ) gives us and them the rundown: no real names, no cell phones, nothing personal—it’s 24 hours of baby-sitting a pre-teen who really likes to plié and step-toe her way through “Swan Lake” rehearsals. Simple is as simple does.

We learn very little about everyone, thanks in no small part to a scene where Lambert nicknames the characters after members of the Rat Pack. Durand’s character, a jolly-but-dim muscle-bro named Peter, tries to find the sense in being nicknamed after rats. Later, he gets that it’s a disposable pop culture reference and promptly moves on.

Peter’s the most sympathetic character in “Abigail,” partly because he’s constantly straining against the limits of what his character can know and do. He’s joined by a call sheet of tropes, including Abigail’s minder, the empathetic and observant Joey (Melissa Barrera); their irritating and wasted driver Dean (the late “ Euphoria ” star Angus Cloud ); and the strong-silent ex-soldier Rickles ( William Catlett ). Eventually, the team has to worry not only about Abigail, but a few predictable liabilities, like their bratty and easily bored electronics hacker Sammy ( Kathryn Newton ) and their foul-mouthed, inexplicably accented ex-cop backup leader Frank (Stevens).

None of these party game-light character traits really matter once Abigail gets loose from her handcuffs. The house that Abigail’s prey stay in has more personality, but it’s basically the house from “ Clue ” with some extra goth-y touch-ups. Maybe that’s all you need to enjoy watching a game cast check off every box as they struggle to figure out how to stop a “real” vampire. Nothing worth writing home about comes to mind.

It’s hard to get too excited watching so many talented actors try and barely succeed in making you want to care about their characters, especially since that isn’t the same thing as making you care. More could have been done with less tedious dialogue, as what's here is designed mostly just to hold the hands of viewers as the plot skips from beat to beat. More could have also been done with Joey, who, at one point, stuffs a loaded gun into her tight jeans’ waistband. I do and I don’t believe it.

“Abigail” may find its audience given a lucky combination of good timing and wishful thinking. It’s not badly made, just uninspired and played out. If you like B-movies made with a budget and are specifically looking for an undemanding time, “Abigail” might be for you. “Abigail” might also disappoint you, especially if you’re hoping for more than what’s advertised.

This review was filed from the Overlook Film Festival. It will be released on April 19th.

Simon Abrams

Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in The New York Times , Vanity Fair , The Village Voice, and elsewhere.

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Film Credits

Abigail (2024)

Alisha Weir as Abigail

Melissa Barrera as Joey

Dan Stevens as Frank

Angus Cloud as Dean

Kathryn Newton as Sammy

William Catlett as Rickles

Kevin Durand as Peter

Giancarlo Esposito as Lambert

Matthew Goode

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
Tyler Gillett
Stephen Shields

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Trivia One of several stories behind why Missouri is known as the "Show-Me State" suggests that the nickname originated in the mining camps of Leadville, Colorado. Due to an extended miner's strike in the area during the mid-1890s, Missourian miners from the lead districts of southwest Missouri had been imported to take the places of the strikers. The Joplin miners were unfamiliar with Colorado mining methods and required frequent instructions. Pit bosses began saying, "That man is from Missouri. You'll have to show him."

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