Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, collectively known asRadio Silence, made quite an impact on the horror genre when bringing theScreamfranchise back to the big screen after more than a decade, and now their latest venture,Abigail, looks set to be another treat for fans of bloody horror.
Abigailis the latest movie to reinvent Universal’s classic monsters, this time bringingDracula’s Daughterto a new modern setting. This fresh take follows in the footsteps of recent releases such as 2023’sRenfieldand 2020’sThe Invisible Manin reviving their IP after thefailed Dark Universe planthat began and ended with the Tom Cruise-ledThe Mummy. According to the directors,Abigailwill certainly not be for the squeamish, as they recently confessed toTotal Filmthat they felt the need to apologize to the cast for the volume of blood they used on set. They said:
All of our movies are bloody. [But] I would say that this is definitely the most bloody. We spent a lot of time apologizing to our actors on this movie! I mean, blood is in the DNA of a vampire movie, and the amount of blood work in this one is… It’s pretty extreme! But it’s still fun.
Radio Silence have made themselves a name as being happy to deliver plenty of blood and violence in their movies, and following their previous efforts in theScreamfranchise, as well asReady or Not, their comments clearly set a high bar forAbigailto deliver gore levels that can satisfy fans of other blood-soaked franchises likeThe Evil Dead.
What is Radio Silence’s Universal Monster Movie About?
Abigailtells the story of a group that unwittingly kidnaps a ballerina, only to discover she is not the defenseless little girl they believe her to be. Instead, it turns out that this little dancer is actuallya ferocious bloodsucking vampire. With the majority of the film taking place in an isolated mansion, where the would-be captors are preyed upon by the titular character. Abigail is played byMatilda: The Musical’s Alisha Weir, with a stellar ensemble cast including Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Angus Cloud and Giancarlo Esposito.
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While this is a very loose take onDracula’s Daughter, the Universal Monsters franchise seems to have found its feet again by not simply remaking their old films, but finding a way of incorporating the idea of them into more contemporary stories. Along with their recent efforts, Universal has several more films in various stages of production focusing on other characters in their monster arsenal. This includesLeigh Whannell’s take on the Wolf Man, a new version ofThe Bride of Frankenstein, and a potential sequel toThe Invisible Man, which would take the form ofThe Invisible Woman.
Abigailwill arrive in cinemas on July 13, 2025.
