Abigail is the next movie by Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet, and they and star Dan Stevens have revealed the unique inspiration behind some of his character choices. In addition to Stevens, the movie stars Kathryn Newton, Melissa Barrera, Alisha Weir, and Giancarlo Esposito, and features one of the final finished performances of Angus Cloud. It was written by Guy Busick (Scream VI, Ready or Not) and Stephen Shields (Tim’s Tactical Tips, Zombie Bashers).
Stevens, Bettinelli-Olpin, and Gillet discussed the creative freedom actors had on Abigail to make characters their own—and how that led to Stevens taking inspiration from Tim Robinson’s sketch show I Think You Should Leave (specifically the season 2 episode “Baby Cries”), a show the three frequently quoted and joked about during production. Stevens also revealed that the original version of his character, Frank, was written as a very different person, which allowed him to more fully craft his performance.
“There’s more than more than meets the eye to most of the characters really,” says Stevens when chatting with our own Rob Keyes recently about the film after only having time for a brief chat when visiting the Ireland set of Abigail last year. Stevens continues:
Here’s what directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett had to say on what Dan Stevens brought to the look of his character codenamed Frank.
The Abigail trailer suggests the movie will be an enjoyable blend of comedy and horror that continues down the path of movies like the meme factory M3GAN and the holiday slasher Thanksgiving. Although the aforementioned movies live firmly in the horror genre and don’t make light of it in the same way that full-out horror/comedy movies do, they certainly make the most of an over-the-top premise. Abigail certainly has that, as its story revolves around kidnappers who discover that their young victim is a bloodthirsty vampire.
As stars hype up the amount of fake blood in Abigail, it seems that the filmmakers have chosen to lean into the absurd and overwhelm audiences with a gruesome spectacle that may have them laughing as well as screaming. Thanksgiving took a similar approach, with director Eli Roth earning an R rating through gory scenes that used explosions of blood as a punchline to a suspenseful setup. Abigail seems primed to carry on that tradition, with its titular vampire already shown to be covered in blood.
M3GAN’s viral dance is one of that movie’s most memorable moments, and Abigail seems to carry on that torch as well. Abigail is dressed as a ballerina in the movie, and trailers show her spinning her way toward her victims. It’s another humorous element that, paired with the goriness of a grindhouse flick like Thanksgiving, seems to set Abigail up to follow in the footsteps of some of the most financially successful horror movies of the last two years.