Abigail's Biggest Horror Surprise Was Kept Out Of Every Trailer
Warning: This article contains a massive spoiler for "Abigail."
Taste is obviously subjective, but for my money, "Abigail" is one of the best horror movies of 2024. It's been a few years since we've had a truly great vampire movie, and this part-crime thriller, part-comedy, part-gothic horror, part-gorefest has set the bar for vampire films in the 2020s. A group of criminals — Melissa Barrera as Joey, Dan Stevens as Frank, Kathryn Newton as Sammy, William Catlett as Rickles, Kevin Durand as Peter, and Angus Cloud as Dean — are tasked with kidnapping Abigail (Alisha Weir) and holding her for ransom, believing her rich father will happily trade funds for the safekeeping of his baby girl. Unfortunately for the group, Abigail is a vampire, and this kidnapping plot is a trap to allow her some fun before devouring them all in a gigantic feast.
Throughout "Abigail," the kidnappers and the titular vamp herself often reference her wealthy, mysterious, and powerful father. There are brief flashes of a family crest and a statue of Abigail and her father (who is wearing a MASSIVE hat) in the great library. His presence is constantly a lingering threat despite not being seen, like Keyser Söze in "The Usual Suspects." Those who are familiar with her father are terrified of crossing him because those who do have a history of winding up ripped to shreds as if a rabid animal has taken hold. Those who aren't familiar with him are terrified enough based on stories alone, and the fact Abigail is a ballerina vampire lets them know pretty quickly that her father is also a powerful bloodsucker.
And yes, we do get to see him.
Daddy, daddy Dracula
Capping the climax of the film, Abigail's father finally returns home, and he is, of course, Dracula. He brags that he's been known by many names, a descriptor often affiliated with characters who reveal themselves to be Satan, which was a delight to see. But even better than the pretty obvious reveal that Abigail is the daughter of Dracula, is the reveal that he's played by Matthew Goode. There's a layer of metacasting as Goode played Henry Talbot in "Downton Abbey," and became the husband of Lady Mary Talbot (nee Crawley) who was married to Dan Stevens' Matthew Crawley until his character's death. Had Stevens' Frank gotten away with his newly-minted vampire plan, this would have been an inverse of the actors' "Downton Abbey" parental roles.
Dracula is also shown to be somewhat of a negligent father, believing showing up to do the bare minimum is enough, which Abigail rightfully calls out. The aghast look on his face, when Abigail stands up for herself, is absolute perfection. I can only hope there's additional footage of this performance that we can expect on a Blu-ray release because I would have welcomed plenty more screen time.
Many had speculated that if there was a reveal of Dracula, Radio Silence would have leaned into gimmick casting — like Nic Cage's "Renfield" Dracula — but Goode is such a compelling Dracula and the perfect choice. He's got the debonair charm, the piercing eyes, and the screen presence that screams "You are terrified of how bad you want to get close to me, aren't you?" He's also the sexy sociopath at the heart of Park Chan-wook's "Stoker," and while that's not a vampire movie, the original "Dracula" was written by Bram Stoker. (IT'S FUN CASTING, LET ME HAVE THIS!)
This is not a Dracula's Daughter remake
When "Abigail" was first announced as an "Untitled Universal Monsters" project, the initial press release included the tidbit that the film was poised to be a remake of "Dracula's Daughter." Now, I've made my feelings about the unfairly forgotten true queen of the Universal Monsters on /Film many times, and I was admittedly very worried that this was going to be the case and I was going to have a very complicated reaction. It's not that I didn't trust Radio Silence to pull off a killer vampire movie, it's that the legacy of "Dracula's Daughter" is incredibly sensitive for lesbian horror fans, as the blatant queerness on display in the film is what pushed the title and the character into the margins in the first place. It's only been very recently that the reclamation of the film as a seminal queer text has become mainstream in horror circles, a sign that even within queer communities, our history on film is being stifled.
As expressed in the "Queer for Fear" docuseries for Shudder (which myself and my wife both briefly appear in), the foundations of the horror genre are rooted in the works of queer people and queer stories. Unfortunately, that history is not always recognized or is shamefully straight-washed in remakes and reboots. Had "Abigail" been titled "Dracula's Daughter," it would have genuinely dampened my feelings about the film because while I love everything about "Abigail," it is not a lesbian film. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about the queer erasure of my darling favorite because this is not a "Dracula's Daughter" remake, but instead a film about the daughter of Dracula, who happens to be named Abigail.
We spoke more about "Abigail" and featured an interview with the directors on today's episode of the /Film Daily podcast, which you can listen to below:
"Abigail" is currently playing in theaters, and this is a film that demands to be seen with an audience.