Abigail Before Beatrice was a film that really benefitted from me not having read the synopsis before hand. I wouldn't say that is something you would need to avoid, just that by skipping that I found knowledge out at the same speed as it is revealed within the story of the film. Written and directed by Cassie Keet (Scream Therapy), this is a psychological drama/thriller that looks at toxic relationships and needing to feel valued via the lens of cults, especially with relation to the after effects of having been in one.
One day, loving father Will (Jordan Lane Shappell) is alerted to the presence of a strange woman in his farm based garden by his teenage daughter. Confronting the woman, he learns that she is called Beatrice (Olivia Taylor Dudley - Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension) and that she once lived at the property and has been secretly returning to work on the strawberry patch that she once planted there. Perhaps recognising the sadness within the woman, Will gives her permission to help him with the gardening as long as she always arranges with him beforehand that she is going to come. Beatrice had once been a member of a small cult that had lived on the farm (one of the cult members being a small role played by Keet), but had disbanded after cult leader; Grayson (Shayn Herndon - Scream Therapy) had been imprisoned for killing someone. The other members of the cult had moved on with their lives, but for the still brainwashed Beatrice she couldn't let go, haunting the area like a ghost. One day she is visited by Abigail (Riley Dandy - Christmas Bloody Christmas), another former cult member, who reveals to the woman that Grayson has recently been released from prison.
I loved this film, and in particular I loved the first act. It starts out as if the character Will is going to be the protagonist, and it is from his perspective that we are first introduced to the actual protagonist character. It was only after she leaves the scene and the film sticks with her that I realised this is very much a movie about her, with Will's role slowly fading into much more of a side character. Taylor Dudley was frankly amazing in her lead role. There is an undeniable feeling of her character really not being the most balanced, at first I couldn't tell if she was going to be some sort of psychotic thriller stereotype, or if she was intended to be a sympathetic person. Thankfully, it fell far more into that later aspect. Beatrice is damaged, she is unhappy, and not entirely completely sane, but her role is played to perfection. Sure it could be argued that acting 'crazy' isn't the hardest thing to do (not that I would know not being an actor!), but here this insanity is subdued and something to pity the character for. I am always a fan of the proverbial 'madness dancing in the eyes', and Taylor Dudley is amazing at doing that. Will was fine, but a bit of a red herring in terms of where the story was going to go. More integral was Abigail who is the character that is the first to really reveal to the viewer the backstory of the protagonist. I thought the lost love between these two was very well shown on camera, with some dramatic scenes, especially their meet-up in the coffee shop.
Cult leader Grayson was another well cast character. I felt Grayson had a slight magnetic feel to him, though due to the way the story is told, he often appeared in some of the weaker moments.
The film is roughly split into three acts, each shorter than the one preceding it, but all unravelling pieces of the puzzle. The first act follows Beatrice post cult-life, seen as an outsider in the local community, but mostly seen as harmless. The second act is then a giant flashback to various events that occurred when the small cult was still going. This is mostly set up to show viewers (and Beatrice) that Grayson wasn't as noble and wondrous as the protagonist believes. It jumps about in time but reveals key events, from the arrival of Abigail to the commune, to the dramatic event that saw the leader arrested. This second part suffered a bit due to only really showing the bad times. Just taking those scenes on their own, it is hard to understand why Beatrice had such a fondness for the man. Things really come back together strongly for the finale, both serving as an epilogue to the film, as well as featuring a prologue. This third act in particular featured some amazing acting, again, especially from Taylor Dudley.
This is more a drama than anything else, though the thriller part steadily gets more prevalent. There wasn't much call for special effects, but there are some bloody scenes that delighted, and the self harm scars Beatrice is revealed to have did strike home a bit, due to that being something I used to struggle with (before I died, came back as a zombie, and started this blog of course!).
This is more a drama than anything else, though the thriller part steadily gets more prevalent. There wasn't much call for special effects, but there are some bloody scenes that delighted, and the self harm scars Beatrice is revealed to have did strike home a bit, due to that being something I used to struggle with (before I died, came back as a zombie, and started this blog of course!).
The weakness of parts of the middle of this couldn't dampen my enthusiasm for the film. I thought the first act was wonderful (even if there was one super awkward scene that made me have to pause the movie and take a few minutes away from it), and the third act was even better, this third act was almost flawless I would argue, and had some surprising and powerful moments. At nearly two hours long, the time flew by, I think it benefitted by being so obviously split into different sections, meaning the changes in time and place gave the feeling of a breath of fresh air. A sympathetic look at a damaged person, and the effects of a toxic relationship, Abigail Before Beatrice was mesmerising and something I am very happy I got to experience. Abigail Before Beatrice had its world premiere at Bentonville Film Festival on June 19th.
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