Abigail (2024 film)

Abigail is a 2024 American horror comedy film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and written by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick. It stars Alisha Weir as the title character alongside Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, and Giancarlo Esposito. The film follows a group of kidnappers who capture the daughter of a powerful underworld figure and demand $50 million for her release, unaware of something sinister.

The film was announced to be in development in April 2023, with Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett attached as directors, and Shields and Busick hired to write the screenplay. It was also announced that the film would be a co-production between Bettinelli-Olpin, Gillett, and Chad Villella's Radio Silence Productions, James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein, and William Sherak's Project X Entertainment, and Tripp Vinson's Vinson Films.

Abigail had its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival on April 7, 2024, and was theatrically released in the United States by Universal Pictures on April 19. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed over $42 million worldwide.

The film has been included on many best of 2024 lists including Variety's "The Best Horror Movies of 2024", Screenrant's "10 Best Horror Movies Of 2024", Bloody Disgusting's "The 10 Best Horror Movies Released in the First Half of 2024", TimeOut's "The Best Horror Movies of 2024" and SlashFilm's "The 19 Best Horror Movies Of 2024 So Far".

On July 8, 2024, the film was nominated for five Fangoria Chainsaw Awards including three for Best Supporting Performance, Best MakeUp FX and Best Wide Release Movie.

Plot
Young ballet dancer Abigail is abducted by six criminals and taken to the secluded Wilhelm Manor. Before leaving, their leader Lambert instructs them to guard Abigail for 24 hours, at which point they will receive an equal share of a $50   million ransom paid by her father. The group, all of whom use fake names to avoid identifying each other, consists of former Army medic and recovering drug addict Joey, former NYPD detective Frank, thrill-seeking hacker Sammy, former Marine sniper Rickles, dimwitted mob enforcer Peter, and sociopathic driver Dean.

Though reluctant to continue with the plan as she was unaware the target was a child, Joey is tasked with managing Abigail. Joey is sympathetic to her, sharing that she has a son and promising to protect Abigail from harm. Abigail admits her father does not care about her and will not pay the ransom, before apologizing for what is going to happen to Joey. Perturbed by Abigail's words, Frank violently confronts her, learning that her father is Kristof Lazaar, a powerful, almost mythical crime lord.

After unsuccessfully flirting with Sammy, Dean enters the basement where he is attacked by an unseen assailant. Investigating his screams, Sammy finds Dean's decapitated corpse. The group realize that Lazaar's legendarily violent enforcer Valdez must be inside the house and try to leave, but the home's security system seals it, preventing escape. While looking for a way out, Rickles is mutilated and killed. The group confronts Abigail for information, but she transforms into a vampire, revealing she is Valdez. Frank shoots Abigail, but when her injuries instantly heal, the group flees.

Frank, Sammy, and Peter return and attack Abigail with garlic, crucifixes, and other folkloric weapons against vampires to no effect, and her strength and speed allow her to easily overwhelm and prevent them from stabbing her through the heart with wooden stakes. Joey successfully incapacitates Abigail with a tranquilizer and the team imprison her, though not before she bites Sammy. Upon awakening, the centuries-old Abigail reveals that she knows the group's true identities and arranged for them to abduct her, through Lambert, so she can kill them for wronging her father. Joey deduces that Abigail has killed dozens of her father's enemies in a failed effort to earn her father's love.

Abigail effortlessly escapes her confines and attacks Frank, but Joey rips wooden planks off a window to expose Abigail to sunlight, which severely wounds her. With only hours before sunset, the group splits up to find an escape route, but Sammy is transformed into a vampire thrall and kills Peter. Abigail has Sammy attack Frank and Joey, forcing Joey to destroy Sammy with reflected sunlight.

Lambert lures Frank and Joey to the hidden security room, where he reveals Abigail turned him into a vampire years earlier for helping Frank avoid Lazaar's wrath. Frank allows Lambert to turn him into a vampire so they can work together to kill Abigail and Lazaar, but following his transformation, Frank kills Lambert for leading him into Abigail's trap. Abigail attacks Frank, but he overpowers her and drains her blood, leaving her weakened. Cornered, Joey leaves a phone message for her son, apologizing for having been absent from his life for many years. Reveling in his power, Frank bites Joey, intending to turn her into his thrall and force her to kill Abigail and eventually her own son. However, Joey's enthrallment fails due to Frank's inexperience with his new abilities, and she and Abigail team up to kill him.

With Joey's hold broken, Abigail encourages her to leave and be present in her son's life, but Lazaar arrives and threatens Joey. Abigail defends Joey for being present when she needed her while Lazaar was not. Although Lazaar angrily rebukes her, he relents for Abigail's sake and allows the bloodied and battered Joey to leave.

Cast

 * Melissa Barrera as Joey, a military medic and recovering addict
 * Dan Stevens as Frank, a corrupt former police detective
 * Alisha Weir as Abigail, a centuries-old vampire who has the appearance of a 12-year-old girl
 * Will Catlett as Rickles, a Marine sniper who lives by his own moral code
 * Kathryn Newton as Sammy, a thrill-seeking hacker from a wealthy upbringing
 * Kevin Durand as Peter, a physically imposing former mob goon struggling with his conscience
 * Angus Cloud as Dean, a talented and sociopathic getaway driver
 * Giancarlo Esposito as Lambert, a criminal mastermind connected to Abigail's kidnapping
 * Matthew Goode as Father / Kristof Lazaar, an ancient vampire, infamous crime lord and Abigail's father

Development
In April 2023, it was reported that Radio Silence Productions was developing a monster thriller film for Universal Pictures, with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett attached to direct, with Chad Villella serving as producer alongside William Sherak, Paul Neinstein and James Vanderbilt at Project X Entertainment, while Stephen Shields and Guy Busick would write the screenplay. The project was stated to be a modern-day adaptation of one of the Universal Classic Monsters characters similar in approach to The Invisible Man (2020) or Renfield (2023), with the synopsis being described as "a unique take on legendary monster lore and will represent a fresh, new direction for how to celebrate classic characters". Originally intended to be Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett's next project following the release of the fifth Scream installment, the duo delayed its realization until after Scream VI.

The project was originally titled Dracula's Daughter, the same name as the 1936 film upon which it is based; with Universal restating that while they had considered a singular continuity with The Mummy (2017), each release will continue to be "rooted in the horror genre, with no restrictions on budget, rating or genre. They are not part of a shared interconnected universe, which allows each film to stand on its own. This new direction is filmmaker-driven, inviting innovative filmmakers with original, bold ideas for these characters to develop the stories and pitch them." The film was officially titled Abigail in January 2024. In the film, there are two easter eggs that reference other Radio Silence films including a portrait of the character Tony Le Domas from the Searchlight Pictures film Ready or Not (2019) displayed in the mansion and Larry Fessenden reprises his voice over role as "The DJ" from The Orchard film Southbound (2015).

Casting
In April 2023, Melissa Barrera was cast for one of the main roles of the film after previously appearing in the filmmaking duo's Scream films. The following month, Dan Stevens, Kevin Durand, Alisha Weir, Kathryn Newton, Angus Cloud, and Will Catlett joined the cast. In June 2023, it was announced that Giancarlo Esposito was cast in a supporting role. Weir, known for her role as Matilda Wormwood in the 2022 Netflix musical film, was later revealed to be playing Dracula's daughter.

Filming
Principal photography began May 15, 2023 in Dublin, Ireland, with the setting intending to stand in for Boston, though the city location is not made specific in the final film (aside from one character pointing out someone "moved up here") from Quebec. The opening dance performance was filmed at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin. Most of the filming took place at Glenmaroon House (aka The Guinness Manor), which is the ancestral home of the prominent Guinness Family , in Luggala near the Wicklow Mountains and on the edge of Dublin's Phoneix Park. Filming was suspended July 14 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. After the strike ended, filming resumed November 23 and wrapped December 14. Aaron Morton served as the cinematographer. Cloud finished filming his scenes prior to his death on July 31, 2023. Weir learned ballet for her role, incorporating it into her character's movements, and performed her own stunts. Filming wrapped on December 15 of the same year.

Music
Brian Tyler composed the film's score; he collaborated with Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett on prior projects. The directors commissioned Jean Dawson for an original song, "Burn My Tongue", which plays over the closing credits. The soundtrack album, featuring Tyler's score and "Burn My Tongue", was released on April 19.

Release
Abigail had its world premiere at the Overlook Film Festival on April 7, 2024, and was released by Universal Pictures in the United States on April 19, 2024. The film was released on premium video on demand by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on May 7, 2024. The film will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 9, 2024. The release includes four making-of documentaries, an feature-length audio commentary with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett and editor Michael Shawver as well as deleted scenes and a gag reel.

Box office
, Abigail has grossed $25.9 million in the United States and Canada and $16.2 million in other territories, currently has made a total of $42.1 million.

In the United States and Canada, Abigail was released alongside The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and Spy × Family Code: White, and was projected to gross $12–15 million from 3,384 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $4 million on its first day, including $1 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $10.2 million, finishing second at the box office behind holdover Civil War. The film then made $5.2 million (a drop of 49.5%) and $2.3 million in its second and third weekends, respectively, finishing in fifth, and then ninth.

Critical response
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

BJ Colangelo wrote in Slashfilm that "With a pitch-perfect ensemble cast, exquisitely timed laugh-out-loud moments of humor, a barrage of twists (or should I say pirouettes?), an unbelievable amount of blood, killer action set pieces, and a downright transcendent performance by one of the best child actors in the game — Abigail sets the bar as the most fun you can have with a horror movie of the year. In other words, Abigail is horror on pointe... Traditionally, films that are this delightfully raucous, bloody (and I mean BLOODY), and silly are relegated to B-movie schlock (not a bad thing, for the record), but Abigail still embraces the excessive and ornate gothic aesthetics of classic horror movies. The result is an old-school vampire movie with modern frisk and flair and an absolute blast of a movie to watch with a crowd. I'm sure there will be plenty who think I'm overhyping the film or exaggerating how good it is, but I honestly wouldn't change a thing. Abigail is a perfect horror movie and already one of the best films of 2024. I pinky promise."

Manohla Dargis wrote in The New York Times that "Abigail has been described as a take on Dracula's Daughter (1936), one of the horror films in Universal's vault, some of which it has resurrected in some fashion. The press notes for Abigail name-check a few vampire titles, but Daughter isn't among them, and for good reason because there's little to link these two. That's too bad; the earlier film is a true curiosity. It stars Gloria Holden as a countess who preys on men and women alike, and begs a doctor to help her with her 'ghastly' condition. With its lesbian overtones, the movie is a vexed and tasty text — censors urged the studio to avoid suggestions of 'perverse sexual desire' — and the countess a complex villain in a film that is very much worth a look."

David Fear of Rolling Stone wrote, "It's a gas, watching this ensemble bouncing off each other when the shit goes down and navigating the obstacle course that Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have set for them in the film's chaotic, mondo bloody back half. (We weren't joking about that whole exploding body thing.) Stevens has previously shown a knack for playing complicated douchebags, and that talent becomes refined here. Weir, who's a bit of a find in terms of playing a centuries-old fiend in the body of a tween, puts a sickly, sharp spin on a lot of her juicier lines. Cloud (R.I.P.) and Durand finds different ways of showcasing the dim-wittery of their characters, Newton once again reminds you that she's a first-rate pickpocket when it comes to stealing scenes, and Barrera steps into the role as steely scream queen extraordinaire in a way that makes you hope she really does have a long career in front of her instead of an aborted one already behind her."