Psycho's Movie Reviews #326: Abigail (2019)

Abigail is a 2019 Russian steampunk fantasy adventure film directed by Aleksandr Boguslavsky, and co-produced by Viktor Denisyuk and Yevgeny Melentyev, the company KinoDanz. The film stars Tinatin Dalakishvili as Abigail Foster, with Gleb Bochkov, Rinal Mukhametov, Artyom Tkachenko, and Ravshana Kurkova.

Abigail was theatrically released in Russia on August 22, 2019, by 20th Century Fox CIS.

Plot

Abigail is a young girl living in a town which, many years earlier, experienced an epidemic of a mysterious illness and was subsequently sealed off from the outside world by the government. One of those who fell ill was Abby's father, taken away when she was six years old. While searching for her father, Abby finds out that the epidemic never actually occurred; it was all a huge deceit. In fact, she lives in a world of magic. Her city has been seized by users of dark magic, who wiped out all other sorcerers, banned magic, and attempted to erase all traces of its existence.

The epidemic was a cover employed to "cleanse" the city of Magic. For many years, the Special Department has continued to snatch anyone who appears to have magical powers, deeming them "infected." Most of the inhabitants have no idea that the city's rulers are not their protectors, but their prison wardens.

One day, Abby discovers that magical powers are stirring inside her. This scares her, but however hard she tries to suppress it the magic grows within her, and agents from the Special Department begin to hunt her down. She must flee from her home and begin a journey full of adventure and danger. This journey completely transforms her perceptions about magic and the world in which she lives.

Production

Filming

Shooting took place in Saint Petersburg, Gatchina, Moscow and in the historical part of Tallinn, Estonia. The images of the fantasy city were created on the basis of ancient buildings and narrow streets of Tallinn and Saint Petersburg, and finalized with the help of computer graphics.

Principal photography was completed in Tallinn, transformed into the streets of the fictional city Fensington, in which, according to the plot, fairy tale events take place.

Filmmakers of Abigail have developed an original conception of magic and a stylistics of closed fantastic city that combines steampunk and atmosphere of the early 20th century. There were created the unique images of the suits of city residents, rebels and their enemies – inspectors of the Security Division.

Post-production

Visual effects were created by VFX-studio Kinodanz.

{There was actually nothing on the Release/Reception/Box Office information}

My Review

{I'm analysing based on watching the original Russian Dub}

Abigail is a Russian fantasy movie for teenagers and young adults that should appeal to fans of the Alita: Battle Angel, Divergent and Mortal Engines series. This stylish steampunk film tells the story of a teenage girl who is living in an isolated city menaced by a pandemic. Her infected father had been taken away by local security when she was just a child. While investigating her father's fate, she discovers that she has supernatural abilities. She realizes that the security department is not what it seems to be and joins an uprising organized by secretive magicians. She soon becomes the central role in the clash between the dictatorial government and the desperate rebels.

Despite its negative reviews, Abigail convinces on multiple levels. First of all, the story comes around with quite a few ideas, turns and twists to keep the movie entertaining from start to finish through a running time of almost two hours. The locations are contrasting, creative and diversified. The colourful special effects add a lot of magical atmosphere to this inspiring fantasy blockbuster. The characters are interesting enough and portrayed by a cast of strong young actors and actresses with Georgian lead actress Tinatin Dalakishvili being the best. The film offers a great balanced mixture of action, drama, romance and suspense that should appeal to large audiences.

There are only minor flaws to find in this movie. The main idea of the film isn't exactly new and the script could have been a little bit more creative to really stand out. The movie's final third is overall quite rewarding but the ending itself should have come full circle instead of leaving room for a potential sequel in my opinion. Still, a potential franchise would certainly have a lot of potential after this strong movie.

In the end, Abigail is highly recommended to fans of steampunk fantasy films and dystopian science-fiction movies. The special effects are impressive, the settings are charming and the characters are attaching as well. Ignore the harsh negative reviews and enjoy this imaginative movie that should appeal not only to teenagers but also adult genre fans. 7.1/10