The First Omen, Immaculate, and Late Night With The Devil are among the titles that have kicked off the 2024 horror calendar with a bang. From long-awaited sequels to mysterious serial killers, monstrous creature features, and iconic franchise reboots, this year looks packed for genre fans. As such, it's become increasingly difficult for films to stand out among their fellow freaks and make an impression on audiences – but that's something Abigail will have no problem doing. Directed by Scream 5 and 6 alum Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, the ballerina vampire fun is a bloody good time that packs plenty of bite.

With a star-studded cast featuring Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Giancarlo Esposito, Angus Cloud, and Alisha Weir, the film sees a band of seasoned criminals come together for a highly profitable job – abducting young ballerina Abigail (Weir) and holding her wealthy father to ransom. What the group don't know, however, is that Abigail is hiding a dark secret – she's a vampire, and she is not trapped in the remote mansion with them, they're trapped with her as she turns them into dinner one by one.

There are tropes aplenty in this heist-gone-wrong flick, but it's in these exaggerated, deliberately theatrical elements that the film shines as its absurd narrative balances the tightrope of horrific and hilarious. The storyline is a simple one, revealing early on exactly what we're up against and focusing solely on the tension and terrifying consequences that follow as Abigail leaps and twirls across the mansion like an undead Billy Elliot stuck in The Usual Suspects. It lacks a substantial narrative with few twists and turns, but it more than makes up for it in tense fight sequences, and buckets of blood between some genuinely well-timed jump scares used sparsely.

Following in Renfield's footsteps, Abigail reinvigorates the vampire subgenre with a much-needed dose of tongue-in-cheek humour and an iconic yet bizarre antagonist. Acting as a reimagining of 1936's Dracula's Daughter, the film gives us a familiar plot and characters oozing a camp flair that drips into the grandiose setting, creating a spectacle that grips you from start to finish. The effortless banter between the criminal gang and the absurd gory violence that follows more than sucks you in, with every rip, tear, and blood-curdling squelch dialled up to 11 in the sound design.

Weir's performance as Abigail is simply mesmerising as she pirouettes over massacred bodies and delivers spine-chillingly cold lines to her captors before the pint-sized menace rips them limb from limb. Barrera is similarly stunning as the least morally corrupt member of the criminal gang, tasked with caring for Abigail while they wait for their payout. Her story of redemption as she becomes a mother figure to the young girl, who has never experienced the warmth of a loving family, is a surprisingly touching element that catches you by surprise amid the chaotic narrative. Newton's performance as Sammy cements her status as a genre icon in the making, while Stevens' sleazy, calculating Acteur is similarly captivating among the ensemble cast.

Abigail's choice to focus on its star-studded roster, laugh-out-loud comedy, and the sheer volume of blood is a bold one, and it pays off in droves. Devilishly disgusting and effortlessly humorous, this bonkers bloodbath gives us a brand new monster icon to fall in love with.

Abigail is in UK cinemas from April 19.