(Updated 01/16/2024)
After making SCREAM VI, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, known as Radio Silence, walked away from the Scream series to make a new monster movie for Universal Pictures. For a long time the project was shrouded in mystery — we didn't even have a title.
Now the Radio Silence monster movie has been revealed — it's called ABIGAIL, and the directors have their SCREAM star Melissa Barrera along for the ride. The movie is about a band of shady characters who kidnap a girl. Her rich father, a big underworld figure, will supposedly pay a hefty ransom after she's held for 24 hours. There's just one problem: The girl is a ballerina. Wait, that's not the problem. The problem, for the kidnappers, is that she's a vampire ballerina.
Which, yes, sounds a bit silly. But the first trailer for ABIGAIL proves that the filmmakers — who also made the comedy/horror movie READY OR NOT, it's worth remembering — know exactly what they're doing. Check out that trailer below and we'll tell you everything you need to know about ABIGAIL.
What Is the Abigail Release Date?
Universal Pictures will release ABIGAIL on April 19.
Watch the First Abigail Trailer
This ABIGAIL trailer is excellent. It is funny and high-energy, and shows that this movie is designed to be a great ride for audiences. ABIGAIL is not a slow burn or a cerebral horror tale; it's an over-the-top thrill ride that is both in on the joke and fully capable of scaring your pants off.
Who Is in the Cast of Abigail?
We'll begin with Abigail herself, who is played by the young Irish performer Alisha Weir. The singer/actor got her start in stage productions, and you might have first seen her in MATILDA: THE MUSICAL, the 2022 movie which adapted the stage musical which, in turn, adapted Roald Dahl's novel.
Then there are all the non-vampire characters and/or victims-in-waiting. In addition to Melissa Barrera (SCREAM VI), the movie features Dan Stevens (GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE), Kathryn Newton (FREAKY, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA), William Catlett (Netflix's "True Story"), and Kevin Durand ("Locke & Key").
The great Giancarlo Esposito ("Breaking Bad") appears as the seeming mastermind behind the kidnapping plot. But if he's such a great planner, how did he end up kidnapping a vampire ballerina? We'll find out in April.
Abigail Is One of Angus Cloud's Final Filmed Performances
Additionally, the late Angus Cloud, who earned a robust young fandom thanks to his work as Fezco, one of the lead characters in "Euphoria" plays one of the kidnappers. ABIGAIL is one of the last projects he had completed filming before his shocking death in April 2023 at the age of 25.
ABIGAIL opens on April 19.
All images courtesy of Universal Pictures.