When I think about the fate of Universal’s Dark Universe — a franchise cancelled way before all planned installments were made — I am, admittedly, of two minds about it. On one hand, I find it sad that the studio which, essentially, invented the shared cinematic universe could not recapture the same magic with their classic monster movies line-up again amid the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, on the other hand, if not for the failure of 2017’s The Mummy, we would not have gotten more inventive and refreshing reimaginings of these characters and their iconic lore, such as with Abigail.
For a while, this upcoming horror movie was only known as “Untitled Universal Monsters Movie” and only so much was known about it — including Radio Silence being at the helm, Melissa Barrera leading the cast, and scant other behind-the-scenes details. Now, following the announcement of its official title and the release of its first trailer, there is much to discuss about the intriguing story that this thriller has to behold. So, let’s take things one step at a time as we sink our teeth into everything we know about Abigail so far.
What Is The Abigail Release Date?
Horror fans will be free to fly into their local theater to see Abigail when it opens on Friday, April 19, 2024. The thriller was given this spot on the upcoming 2024 movies schedule even before its official title was revealed.
Spring time may not be the first season you think of in association with the horror genre, but it has actually proven fertile for some recent thrillers — not to mention horror movies from the guys at Radio Silence. The trio’s most recent and most successful effort, Scream VI, came out in March 2023 and went on to become the highest-grossing installment of the slasher franchise yet.
The Abigail Trailer Teases A Darkly Funny Twist On Kidnapping Stories
For anyone who is still unfamiliar with exactly what kind of “Universal Monsters Movie” this is, fear not. That, and more about this new funny creature feature, is revealed in the first official trailer for Abigail, which you can check out for yourself right now below:
When the teaser starts, we are under the impression that this is just another simple story of a kidnapping, with a group of individuals tasked with holding a wealthy man’s young daughter captive for ransom in their employer’s mansion for 24 hours. Soon, however, they discover that they will be spending that 24 hours fighting for their lives against the girl, who not only turns out to be a vampire, but has excellent ballet skills which make her a force to be reckoned with. The clip suggests that Abigail will be the kind of horror film that has a dash of everything in it, based on the cheeky humor and intense action choreography seen throughout.
Abigail Reimagines Classic Monster Lore By Putting A “Young” Bloodsucker In The Spotlight
While the trailer answers the question of just what type of monster movie Abigail is, the question that remains is how it connects to Universal’s famous line-up of horror movies inspired by classic gothic literature. The answer to that lies in an early report by THR which says this project was, at one point, referred to as Dracula’s Daughter. That is also the name of a 1936 sequel to Universal’s original adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel starring horror movie icon Bela Lugosi in the title role.
So, by putting these clues together, we are led to believe that Abigail is not just any vampire and her very rich father mentioned in the teaser might be the most powerful one there is. If that turns out to be the case, even if the kidnappers do manage to survive a night trapped in a mansion with what appears to be a little girl (she could centuries old for all we know), they will still have to face the wrath of Dracula himself. This is the kind of clever expansion of a beloved horror movie classic that die-hard fans of the genre can get behind.
The Star-Studded Abigail Cast Includes Scream’s Melissa Barrera
I realize that I should probably avoid getting too attached to any of the human characters, but that does not have any bearing on how excited I am to see the stars of the Abigail cast come together. Let’s take a look at who plays the vampire ballerina and who plays her food one-by-one, below.
Melissa Barrera (Joey)
As the central human protagonist (who is identified as Joey and shows sympathy for her captor in the Abigail trailer) we have Melissa Barrera, who previously worked with Radio Silence in the last two installments of the Scream movies — a franchise that is set to go on without her following a controversial exit in late 2023. The Mexican-born actor is also known from the cinematic In the Heights cast, Netflix’s hit survivalist miniseries Keep Breathing, and the Starz original drama, Vida.
Alisha Weir (Abigail)
Irish actor Alisha Weir stars as the ballet-dancing, blood-sucking title character of Abigail, which is not her first foray into horror, having made her acting debut in Shudder’s 2018 thriller, Don’t Leave Home. This isn’t her first time playing a mischievous dancer either, having played the title role of Netflix’s musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda in 2022.
Dan Stevens
Not only is Dan Stevens already no stranger to horror — known for Adam Wingard’s The Guest, leading a Netflix original horror movie called Apostle, and starring in one of the best episodes of Cabinet of Curiosities, to name a few — he previously starred in an adaptation of Dracula for Masterpiece Theatre in 2006. The English actor is also known for Downton Abbey, Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast remake, and leading one of the best modern superhero TV shows, Legion.
Kathryn Newton
Yet another established Scream Queen starring in Abigail is Kathryn Newton, whose best performances include her lead roles in Paranormal Activity 4 and Christopher Landon’s body swap slasher, Freaky. She also earned raves from HBO’s Big Little Lies, joined the MCU as the new Cassie Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and starred in another modern take on a classic horror story in 2024 called Lisa Frankenstein.
Kevin Durand
Perhaps the most experienced vampire hunter in the Abigail cast is Kevin Durand, who was a main character on one of the best horror TV shows on Hulu, FX’s The Strain, for four seasons. He has also contended with zombies in Resident Evil: Retirbution, aliens in various titles, and even played a mutant (namely Fred “Blob” Dukes) in 2008’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Angus Cloud
Abigail marks one of the final acting credits of Angus Cloud, who passed away at 25 in 2023. The Euphoria cast member was also recently seen leading a thriller called Your Lucky Day and had a role in an upcoming coming-of-age drama called The Line.
William Catlett
William Catlett did not contend with too many strange things during his brief role in HBO’s Lovecraft Country, but played someone with a strange ability (reanimation) on Black Lightning. He also appeared opposite Samuel L. Jackson in an episode of Apple TV+’s The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey and is best known from the big screen so far for A.V. Rockwell’s acclaimed 2023 drama, A Thousand to One.
Giancarlo Esposito
Who better to play the brains behind Abigail’s kidnapping than Giancarlo Esposito, whose most acclaimed roles are all bad guys? For instance, the five-time Emmy nominee chilled us to our core with his riveting performance in the Breaking Bad cast as Gus Fring and, later, was a worthy adversary against Pedro Pascal’s Din Djarin in The Mandalorian.
Abigail Is The Latest Movie From Radio Silence
As established, the creative force behind Abigail is Radio Silence — the acclaimed filmmaking collective comprised of directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and producer Chad Villella. The trio broke into the mainstream and earned the chance to take over one of the most beloved horror movie franchises with 2022’s Scream and Scream VI after releasing one of the best horror-comedy movies in recent memory, Ready or Not, in 2019. While this marks their first vampire tale, the first story they helmed (and also starred in) about criminals spooked by a supernatural encounter was their wraparound segment from the horror anthology movie favorite, Southbound.
The screenplay for Abigail is credited to two writers: Guy Busick and Stephen Shields. Busick is a frequent collaborator of Radio Silence, having co-written Ready or Not and their two Scream installments, but is also known for penning episodes of Hulu’s Stephen King-inspired anthology Castle Rock, and is working on the forthcoming Final Destination 6 at the moment. Shields’ best known work up to this point is 2019’s unsettling thriller, The Hole in the Ground, which he co-wrote with director Lee Cronin, who went on to revive another beloved horror franchise — the Evil Dead movies — on the big screen with Evil Dead Rise in 2023.
I can’t think of a group of creators better suited to contribute to Universal’s reinvention of their classic monster lore than Radio Silence. Thus, you can count me in on seeing Abigail when it comes out!
