Abigail is a 2024 American vampire 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.
Originally an adaptation of Dracula's Daughter (1936), 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.
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, using aliases 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.
Perturbed by Abigail's words, Frank violently confronts her, learning that her father is Kristof Lazaar, a powerful, almost mythical crime lord.
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.
[15] As an easter egg to previous Radio Silence films, a portrait of a distant ancestor of Ready or Not character Tony Le Domas is displayed in the mansion.
[7] The following month, Dan Stevens, Kevin Durand, Alisha Weir, Kathryn Newton, Angus Cloud, and Will Catlett joined the cast.
[19] 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 Queens").
The release includes four making-of documentaries, a feature-length audio commentary with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett and editor Michael Shawver as well as deleted scenes and a gag reel.
[4][5] 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 website's consensus reads: "Carrying off well-worn vampire tropes with a balletic flourish, Abigail dances around the familiarity of its premise with a game cast and slick style.
[37] 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?
"[42] 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.
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.
"[43] 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.
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.
[45][46][47][48][49] 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.