2024 Film Abigail

A reimagining of the 1936 film Dracula's Daughter, the film follows a group of kidnappers who capture the daughter of a powerful underworld figure and demand $50 million for her release, unaware the young girl is actually a vampire. It stars Alisha Weir as the eponymous daughter of Count Dracula, alongside Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, and Giancarlo Esposito.

Abigail
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Tyler Gillett
Written by	Stephen Shields Guy Busick
Produced by	William Sherak James Vanderbilt Paul Neinstein Tripp Vinson Chad Villella
Starring	Melissa Barrera Dan Stevens Kathryn Newton Will Catlett Kevin Durand Angus Cloud Alisha Weir Giancarlo Esposito
Cinematography	Aaron Morton
Edited by	Michael Shawver
Music by	Brian Tyler
Production companies	Project X Entertainment Vinson Films Radio Silence Productions
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	April 7, 2024 (2024-04-07) (Overlook Film Festival) April 19, 2024 (2024-04-19) (United States)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$28 million
Box office	$28.6 million

A reboot of Dracula's Daughter 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. Barrera was cast that same month, with Weir, Stevens, Newton, Durand, Cloud, and Catlett hired the next month, and Esposito rounding out the main cast in June.

Principal photography began that month in Dublin, Ireland, but was suspended at the beginning of July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming resumed at the end of that month and wrapped in December. This was the last film that Cloud worked on as he died on July 31, 2023, shortly after wrapping his scenes; the film is dedicated to him. Brian Tyler, a frequent collaborator of Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, was hired to compose and conduct the film's score.

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, 2024. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and has grossed $28 million worldwide.

Six criminals capture ballet dancer Abigail, the daughter of a powerful underworld figure within New York City, and bring her to a secluded mansion upstate.

The group, led by informant Lambert, is told not to disclose any personal information amongst themselves or to Abigail. Using only aliases derived from the Rat Pack, the group consists of former Army medic and recovering drug addict Joey; former NYPD detective Frank; wealthy hacker Sammy; sociopathic driver Dean; Marine sniper Rickles; and dimwitted Canadian mob enforcer Peter. After 24 hours, each will receive a $7 million check so long as Abigail is kept safe. Joey is sent to watch over her and, as they bond, Joey reveals that she has a son. When Joey leaves, Abigail warns her about what will transpire during the night.

After Dean unsuccessfully flirts with Sammy, he enters the basement and is dragged away by an unseen assailant. Sammy hears his screams and investigates only to find Dean's headless corpse. Frank confronts Abigail and demands to know who her father is, finding out that Abigail's father is Kristof Lazar, a feared crimelord. Rickles tries to leave, but the home's security system activates and bars them inside. As they look for another way out, Rickles is mauled to death. Frank tells Peter to rough up Abigail, only for Joey to intervene. During the altercation, Abigail suddenly transforms into a vampire, causing the group to flee in terror.

Distressed, the group discusses how to kill Abigail, as bullets do not physically harm her. Frank, Peter and Sammy find Abigail dancing with Dean's body and use garlic, stakes, and Christian crosses, but each prove unsuccessful. They regroup once more, and Joey suggests using a tranquilizer Lambert had given them earlier for the kidnapping. They manage to tranquilize Abigail and lock her in an elevator, though not before she bites Sammy on the arm.

Upon awakening, Abigail reveals she knows the kidnappers' identities and that Lambert set them up for her to kill because they all wronged Kristof. In turn, Joey deduces Abigail has been killing her father's enemies in an attempt to win his love. They leave Frank in charge of watching her; Abigail easily breaks out of the makeshift cage and starts strangling him. Joey rips wooden planks off a window and exposes Abigail to the sunlight, which turns out to be her only weakness. With only hours left before nightfall, the group splits up to find a way out. However, Sammy suddenly turns into a vampire under Abigail's control and feeds on Peter before killing him. Abigail then has Sammy attack Frank and Joey, forcing Joey to destroy Sammy with reflected sunlight.

Hoping to deactivate the security measures, Joey and Frank find the mansion's control room and run into Lambert, who is revealed as a vampire. Lambert explains he was turned by Abigail for betraying her father and offers to turn Frank to help him kill Abigail. Frank accepts, but stakes Lambert after he turns and overpowers Abigail before drinking her blood, enhancing his new abilities. He then tells Joey that he intends to turn her into a vampire under his control after biting her. During the fight, Abigail rescues Joey and the two team up, eventually managing to stake the inexperienced Frank. With Frank dead, Joey is freed from the vampire's curse until Abigail's father shows up and threatens her. Abigail manages to stand up to her father and reveals that Joey saved her life; he relents and permits Joey to leave. Upon departing the estate to reunite with her son, Joey treats herself to a lollipop.

• Melissa Barrera as Joey
• Dan Stevens as Frank
• Alisha Weir as Abigail
• Will Catlett as Rickles
• Kathryn Newton as Sammy
• Kevin Durand as Peter
• Angus Cloud as Dean
• Giancarlo Esposito as Lambert
• Matthew Goode as 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.

Casting

In April 2023, Melissa Barrera was cast 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 on June 30, 2023, in Dublin, Ireland, under the working title Abducting Abigail, but filming was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Aaron Morton serves as the cinematographer. Cloud finished filming his scenes prior to his death on July 31, 2023. 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.

Post production

In the film, there is a brief easter egg that shows the character Tony Le Domas from Radio Silence's Fox Searchlight Pictures film Ready or Not (2019) in a portrait on the mansion.

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.

Box office

As of April 28, 2024^[update], Abigail has grossed $18.8 million in the United States and Canada and $9.9 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $28.6 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.

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 176 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10. 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." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Tim Robey of The Telegraph awarded the movie four stars out of five, saying: "Alisha Weir goes impressively off the deep end in this horror-thriller about six criminals who get more than they bargained for."