Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for “Abigail,” a new horror flick that sees a group of would-be criminals kidnap a 12-year-old ballerina who turns out to be a vampire.
“Abigail” comes to us from “Ready or Not” and “Scream VI” directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who uses a script written by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick.
Kidnapping films aren’t exactly new, but what makes this one particularly terrifying is that “Abigail” ends up being a movie about survival. So while everything seems perfectly normal, with the criminal’s benefactor laying out the ground rules of not using real names, not using cell phones, and staying for the entire 24 hour duration, Joey (Melissa Barrera) gets an ominous warning from Abigail ( Alisha Weir). Though the two make a connection, the young girl says “I’m sorry about what’s gonna happen to you.” From there, she slips out of her restraints and bares her fangs, much to the shock of the group who are trapped in the same house as a vampire. Correction, a ballerina vampire.
Also interesting is the film seems to be a modern-day update of the 1931 film, “Dracula’s Daughter.” It’s hard to say based on the trailer alone, but there are a few in it that would indicate that it is. We’ll just have to wait and see.
“Abigail” stars Melissa Barrera (“Scream franchise,” “In the Heights”), Dan Stevens (“Gaslit,” “Legion”), Kathryn Newton (“Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” “Freaky”), William Catlett (“Black Lightning,” “True Story”), Kevin Durand (“Resident Evil: Retribution,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) and Angus Cloud (“Euphoria,” “North Hollywood”) as the kidnappers and Alisha Weir (Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical, “Darklands”) as Abigail.
The film is produced by William Sherak (Scream franchise, Ready or Not), Paul Neinstein (Scream franchise; executive producer, The Night Agent) and James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, Scream franchise) for Project X Entertainment, by Tripp Vinson (Ready or Not, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) and by Radio Silence’s Chad Vilella (executive producer Ready or Not and Scream franchise). The executive producers are Ron Lynch and Macdara Kelleher.
“Abigail” is set to open in theaters on April 19, 2024.
Here’s the official plot synopsis for “Abigail:”
Children can be such monsters.
After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.
