Scream Directors' New Horror Movie Had Them Apologizing To Their Cast

In 2023, it was announced that the filmmaking team Radio Silence was stepping away from the "Scream" franchise to helm a new Universal monster movie. But this wasn't going to be yet another "Mummy" remake and had nothing to do with the ill-fated Dark Universe. No, this was a brand-new horror creation titled "Abigail"... sort of.

Radio Silence's Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the directing duo responsible for the fifth and sixth "Scream" films, are overseeing this latest effort, which focuses on a team of crooks who kidnap a wealthy man's 12-year-old daughter (Alisha Weir) and hole up in a mansion while they await the ransom payment. The only problem is that the sweet little ballerina they kidnapped is actually a bloodthirsty vampire who, if the trailer is anything to go by, is not only ruthless when it comes to taking out her captors but has a truly sadistic side, as evidenced by the brief shot of her slow dancing with a headless corpse.

Rumor has it the film is a modern reinterpretation of Lambert Hillyer's 1936 Universal monster movie "Dracula's Daughter." But everything we've seen thus far suggests Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have taken the basic idea of a child vampire and created something largely original with "Abigail." Just how much the "Dracula's Daughter" influence will show through remains to be seen, but you can count on one thing for sure: tons of blood. As the surprisingly gory trailer suggested, the directors have ensured their latest effort is a truly blood-soaked affair, to the extent that they actually felt the need to apologize to their actors.

Alongside Alisha Weir in the titular role, "Abigail" stars Melissa Barrera, who previously starred in Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillet's "Scream" films before being dismissed from the saga for allegedly publishing antisemitic posts on social media. Barrera appears alongside Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, William Catlett, Kevin Durand, Giancarlo Esposito, and the late Angus Cloud — all of whom were, it seems, constantly doused in fake blood throughout production.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett spoke to Total Film about the upcoming feature and claimed that while their previous projects were undeniably bloody, "Abigail" easily wins the prize for the most fake plasma shed. As the duo put it:

"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!"

Despite their enthusiasm for bloodshed, however, the directors did make sure to add, "But it's still fun."

Hearing that "Abigail" is a blood-soaked affair isn't all that surprising, especially considering the directors' own recognition of their movies being "bloody." But the trailer for "Abigail" also hinted at a decidedly gory feature, with shots of the titular vamp delighting in decimating her kidnappers. The trailer similarly featured shots of a very "Poltergeist"-esque scene in which a character struggles to escape what looks like a literal sea of corpses. So, it's not like we were expecting some sort of tasteful psychological horror outing with "Abigail."

What does remain to be seen, however, is how much the film borrows from "Dracula's Daughter." Back when it was first announced, "Abigail" was, according to The Hollywood Reporter, initially titled "Dracula's Daughter," suggesting it was at one point much more of a remake than a reimagining. But as mentioned, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett seem to have taken that basic concept and run wild, producing a final product that looks as though it will have little to do with Lambert Hillyer's 1936 film. That would make sense considering "Abigail" is reportedly in a similar vein to Universal's recent horror projects "The Invisible Man" and "Renfield." As Deadline put it, this new crop of Universal monster movies is designed to "provide a unique take on legendary monster lore, representing a fresh, new direction for how to celebrate these classic characters."

Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin's blood-soaked feature might just be what the studio needs to recover from its failed Dark Universe project, but we'll have to wait and see when "Abigail" descends upon theaters on April 19, 2024.