YMMV / Abigail (2024)

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Are vampires Always Chaotic Evil? Or do they simply not turn people who aren't already violent? Based on Frank's erratic behavior, torturing a character who hadn't wronged him in any way, and using powers to show off when he'd previously been more practical, an argument could be made that the transformation SEVERELY impacts impulse control, which older vampires have had time to relearn. This also raises the question of whether Lambert, with two years more experience was acting on impulse, or actually had a plan for two fledgling vampires to take down Dracula.
  • Abigail claims she's been alive for "centuries," but also says her father turned her in that very house. While it isn't impossible that the house could be 200 years old, it does seem suspect, raising further questions of what we do or don't know about her for sure.
  • Frank at one point scolds Joey for just making excuses for why she hasn't seen her son. Frank himself is guilty of the same thing as he has kids himself. Is Frank just being a flat out Hypocrite? Was he really saying this from maybe understanding exactly why Joey feels the way she does and doesn't like being reminded of the excuses he might have made or just in general knows that is a excuse and is annoyed that Joey is just trying to justify her mistakes? Is it perhaps a case of At Least I Admit It with Frank where (at least to him) he makes no illusions about why he left his family and thinks Joey is trying to not take accountability? Also while Frank kind of willingly left his family, unlike Joey he still didn't completely have a choice so could it be he feels there is no reason she can't see her son?
  • For most of the final confrontation Abigail favors biting Frank over staking him. Is this just her normal attack pattern she's using out of habit? Or is she afraid that her power loss will be permanent if she doesn't drain him back.
• Evil Is Cool: Abigail herself is a little powerhouse who is always a step ahead of Joey and the kidnappers with her impressive array of vampiric powers. It is no surprise that she is feared by the underground as evidenced by her title Valdez. She is also a brilliant dancer.
• Friendly Fandoms: Unsurprisingly, the film has quickly developed one with fans of Radio Silence's previous efforts, both their entries into the Scream series, helped by the presence of Melissa Barrera, and Ready or Not (2019), another film with an extremely gruesome sense of humor about someone being hunted in a mansion. Fans like to imagine a crossover where Joey and Grace meet and become friends.
• Love to Hate: Abigail herself is a horrible, gleefully murderous vampire but Alisha Weir's charismatic, delightfully evil performance means she's a joy to watch.
• Moral Event Horizon: If he hadn't crossed it when he betrayed his informants to be murdered for his own benefit, Frank definitely crosses it after turning into a vampire and revealing his plan to make Joey track down and murder her own son out of pure sadism. May also count as a Sanity Slippage for Frank.
• Nausea Fuel: The scene where Sammy falls into a pool full of countless rotting corpses is absolutely sickening.
• One-Scene Wonder: Matthew Goode as Abigail's father, who is heavily implied to be Dracula, only appears at the end but he makes one hell of an impact, showing exactly why his character is so feared by everyone who knows of him, but also showing enough humanity and restraint to thank Joey for saving Abigail from Frank and letting her leave.