Heads up: this article reveals key details about the movie Abigail.
So, Abigail is this new horror flick taking a fresh angle on the vampire story. Forget about the classic male Draculas or those overly glorified lesbian vampires from the 2000s like we saw in Jennifer’s Body. Instead, Abigail, played by Alisha Weir, is a young ballerina who looks as innocent as they come.
You don’t often see child vampires in movies, although M3gan, a horror film about a creepy AI doll resembling an eight-year-old girl, showed us there’s definitely a market for villainous young girls. In Abigail, some misfit criminals kidnap a girl, not realizing she’s actually a terrifying vampire, and they hold her in a mansion hoping for a big payday. Although she looks like a child, Abigail is centuries old and has a knack for playing with her food. She’s a vampire determined to get what she wants at any cost.
The movie features a well-recognized cast, led by Melissa Barrera from Scream (2022), who plays Joey, a recovering addict and medic. Also in the lineup are Angus Cloud as Dean, Kathryn Newton as the spacey hacker Sammy, and Dan Stevens as the ex-detective Frank. The cast meshes well, fitting into the typical horror plot where a bunch of strangers must band together.
Abigail has a lot going for it, bringing well-loved horror themes with a youthful twist. But it stumbles due to its outdated portrayal of women.
Between the ruthless young ballerina and a gang of criminals (most of whom don’t hesitate to harm Abigail, even thinking she’s just a regular little girl), it’s hard to root for anyone. A lack of a clear protagonist could have given Abigail a unique and interesting story, but it misses the mark.
As women in horror are beginning to be written with more depth (take some “good for her” movies like Midsommar and Ready or Not), Abigail’s depiction of its female characters is disappointing.
Melissa Barrera shines as Joey, extending her fame as a modern scream queen, but more often than not, it’s in spite of the script, not because of it. Joey’s motivations and backstory often get overshadowed by her maternal instincts, which the film heavily emphasizes.
Joey stands out as the only criminal unwilling to hurt Abigail and takes charge once things start getting odd. It’s revealed she left her own son behind, yet her motherly side comes through as she tends to Abigail.
Even though she’s given a gender-neutral nickname early on, Joey sticks to traditional feminine nurturing behaviors, creating a bond with Abigail. Abigail’s acting out is tied to her own absent father, and Joey’s motherly nature supposedly redeems her past neglect of her son. Because of this, she’s the only member of the crime group who survives in the end.
In typical “final girl” fashion (the last standing heroine in horror films), Joey stays away from sexual activities, even rejecting a fellow criminal’s advances. Despite challenging gender norms with her nickname and being ready for action, the film credits her survival to her nurturing side and efforts to protect Abigail.
Joey being a maternal figure isn’t necessarily negative, but the idea that her survival depends on this aspect, rather than her strength or intellect, equates her worth to her potential motherhood. Unlike traditional “final girls” who succeed by their own grit, Joey’s life is spared because she cares about others, fulfilling a societal role.
In the movie’s climax, when Joey and Abigail team up to take down vampiric Frank, it’s almost a win for female empowerment. But just when Abigail is about to let Joey leave, her father, playing a Dracula-like role, shows up. This move diminishes the film’s progress by reintroducing a domineering male figure right after eliminating Frank.
Abigail has to plead with her father to spare Joey, meaning the women of the movie are still under a man’s authority. Joey doesn’t quite make it to the ranks of past final girls like Laurie Strode from Halloween or Sidney Prescott from Scream, because her victory isn’t earned through sheer will but through adherence to nurturing expectations.
I found the idea of Joey being rewarded with life for conforming to traditional female roles exhausting. Abigail could have been a standout horror film but gets tangled up in old school gender stereotypes, holding it back.
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