SPOILER ALERT: This story discusses major plot points, including the ending, of “Abigail,” currently in theaters.
The vampire thriller ‘Abigail’ originated as a modern update of the classic horror film ‘Dracula’s Daughter’. But by the time filmmaking trio Radio Silence — producer Chad Villella and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — began production on “Abigail” in Ireland in the spring of 2023, the film had virtually no connection to Universal. Picture from 1936.
“Dracula’s Daughter” follows adult Countess Marya Zaleska (Gloria Holden) as she tries (and fails) to rid herself of her vampirism after Dracula’s death. In “Abigail,” by contrast, the titular vampire is a girl, kidnapped by a team of mercenaries – led by the hot-headed Frank (Dan Stevens) and the composed Joey (Melissa Barrera) – under the false impression that she is the helpless daughter of a magnate who will pay their ransom to get her back. Eventually, Abigail (Alisha Weir) reveals that her father is Kristof Lazar, a notorious crime lord with seemingly infinite resources who is far more likely to track down and kill the mercenaries than pay the ransom. Just when the mercenaries think their luck can’t get any worse, they discover that Abigail is actually a vampire who tricked them into “kidnapping” her so she can kill them all for their various insults against Lazar.
Although the film suggests that Lazar is a modern nickname for Dracula, the Transylvanian bloodsucker’s name is never spoken in the film – until when Lazar appears in the film’s final scene, played in an unannounced cameo. by Matthew Goode.
However, whether Lazar would show up at all was a topic of discussion among the film team.
“It’s evolved significantly,” Gillett says. “So much so that I struggle to remember the finer details of what it originally was.”
One of the main talking points was the decision to have Frank become a vampire and show himself as the true antagonist of the film, while Abigail and Joey join forces to destroy him.
“There was a point where almost everyone was the bad guy in some version of the script,” says Bettinelli-Olpin. “It kept changing. And the Matthew Goode aspect was also a very moveable piece of the puzzle. Do we want that? Don’t we want that?”
Ultimately, the filmmakers decided it was important “to remind the audience that this is still a crime movie,” Gillett says. “Keyser Soze still needs to appear at the end to remind you that there is a bigger world at work outside of this movie.”
When asked why they cast Goode, Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin alternately describe the actor as “imposing,” “beautiful” and “charismatic,” with a “gravitas.” They knew the character had to have the necessary impact for the ending. The actor shot on the last day of production, when the main set was already caked with layers of blood, guts and viscera.
“He walked into the room covered in fucking blood and said, ‘Okaaaaay, so.’ What do I do that?’” Bettinelli-Olpin says, laughing. “We were like, ‘There’s no ceiling. If it’s too much, we’ll tell you. Let’s make some swings here.’ Man, Matthew gave 100% that day.”
“Melissa had him prepared a little bit,” Gillett says. “He had asked her, after reading the script, ‘What is this damn movie? What’s the tone of this thing? What have I started?’ And Melissa said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Just do the weirdest, craziest thing you can think of and they’ll love it and it’ll be great.” And he did.”
The scene – in which Abigail successfully begs Lazar to let Joey live – was originally much longer. “It just became a pace problem,” Bettinelli-Olpin said. “It was all the same stuff, just more of it. And he did a really good job. But it had to be shortened.”
It was more important for the filmmakers to focus on the unlikely connection between Joey and Abigail, and since both characters ultimately survive, the film leaves open the possibility of a sequel. But that was not the filmmakers’ intention at all.
“The audience can sniff out when you retain nice ideas because you might be able to use them later,” Gillett says.
Bettinelli-Olpin adds, “One of the things we like about movies, period, is that they are complete thoughts and you can enjoy that experience at any time.”
At the world premiere of ‘Abigail’, Weir and Barrera both spoke Variety that they would be open to reprising their characters for a new film. But time is of the essence.
“Alisha is not a vampire,” Villella says of the 14-year-old actor. “She is become older.”
Marc Malkin contributed to this story.
