Abigail/Trivia

== Trivia ==
* Angus Cloud's final role before his passing in July 2023. Although production wasn't completed until months after his death due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, Cloud still managed to film all of his scenes before production was shut down. 
* The directors were so impressed by Alisha Weir's dancing that they added more dance sequences to the film. 
* Tyler Gillett spoke to Empire about Abigail's design and, specifically, her teeth. "We talked about the teeth a lot," he says. "We wanted them to look more primal and animal than usual vampire fangs. Abigail's are a kind of teeth on top of teeth like a shark's mouth. Those apex predators, when they open their mouth, you see they're designed to inflict as much damage as possible." 
* Calling the frightened, kidnapped child version of her character "Abby," and the alpha predator "Abigail," helped Alisha Weir approach the character as two entirely separate people. For scenes where she plays Abigail, she even altered her voice to sound more like a confident adult. 
* In an interview with Total Film, the directors felt they needed to apologize to the cast for the volume of blood they used on set. They said: "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! But it's still fun." 
* The abductors are given pseudonyms by the coordinator, Lambert, so that they don't know each other's real names in case one gets caught. These names are taken from The Rat Pack, the nickname given to a group of celebrities in the 1960s. They are Frank (Sinatra), Dean (Martin), Sammy (Davis Jr.), Peter (Lawford), Joey (Bishop) and (Don) Rickles. Comedian Don Rickles wasn't considered a fully-fledged member, but said "I never received an official membership card, but Frank made me feel part of the fun." 
* The music in opening titles is the main theme from Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, which was also used in the opening titles of Dracula (1931). 
* Kevin Durand was able to change his character's origins and used his native Québécois accent, something he's never done on film before. When he pitched this to the directors, it was a no-brainer, and all the cast were able to help design the look of the characters, develop and alter their backstories. co-director Tyler Gillett even said: "of course, like why would you say no to that flavor? It makes it so interesting and so specific." 
* Sharp eyed viewers might notice a crest visible in a few shots (such as on the library floor, or the security gates over the front entrance) which heavily resembles the Dracula crest from some of the old Universal movies.
* Rather than filming predominantly in a studio, the production team used the famous Guinness manor in Dublin, Ireland. 
* Why they chose to make Abigail a ballerina, writer Stephen Shields said it's because he's "terrified of ballerinas". In an interview, he says: "I am terrified of ballerinas. I always have been. I just think anyone that can stand on their tiptoes and do stuff like that is, you know, they're a little bit of a different kind of type of creature. But I always envisioned this movie to have a vampire who was a ballerina covered in blood. I think it's gonna make a really awesome Halloween costume this year, as well." 
* Abigail is a Hebrew name for "my father's joy". 
* Melissa Barrera revealed that this movie was the one with the most blood that she ever experienced in a movie, she explained: "I've seen some movies that have like a bathtub full of blood or someone comes out of blood and like in the water, but like, but talking about the amount of blood that you see throughout a movie, this is probably up there with the most. It's a lot. We have blood cannons. That says a lot." 
* A loose remake of Dracula's Daughter (1936). 
* The directors refer to the film as "Ready or Not (2019) on steroids". 
* Was filmed under the working title "Dracula's Daughter." 
* Inside the mansion, a regal portraif of Tony Le Domas from Ready or Not (2019) can be seen. According to co-director Tyler Gillett however, the individual depicted in the frame is actually a distant ancestor, "a great, great, great, great grandfather" Gillett said. 
* This is the third of four Universal Pictures based on Bram Stoker's Dracula to be released in two years. The others being Renfield (2023), The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023), and Nosferatu (2024). 
* On why the film is so gory, co-director Tyler Gillette revealed: "Our thing with blood is it always has to feel viscous, the minute it feels thin, it's not interesting. We want it to stick to you." 
* Second film of the year featuring Kathryn Newton based on a classic horror movie after Lisa Frankenstein (2024). Both were made by Universal Pictures. 
* The movie was filmed in two parts as a result of the SAG strike. Initial filming began May 15th, 2023 and wrapped July 14th, 2023. The second block of filming began again November 23rd, 2023 and wrapped December 14th, 2023. 
* This is Melissa Barrera's first collaboration with Radio Silence outside of the Scream movies. 
* Dan Steven's character is named Adam Barrett. This is a combination of Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, the writing-directing team Dan Stevens has worked with in multiple projects, including The Guest. 
* Frank (Dan Stevens) tells, sarcastically, to Sammy (Kathryn Newton) that they could go out to play golf with Abigail's father. Newton is a professional golf player, a hobby she has apparently had since childhood. 
* Second Radio Silence movie to feature an old-fashioned record player in a key scene. The other was "Ready or Not," which played that "Hide and Seek" song as the hunt for Samara Weaving's Grace began. 
* Abigail tells Frank that access to the secret escape route can be found via the library, with the "lever" being activated by pulling the book "And Then There Were None". This already hints that Abigail is misleading Frank: Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None' is a story about a group of strangers locked up in a remote house, getting picked off one by one, not dissimilar to what is happening to the characters in the movie. In real life, Dan Stevens also narrated an edition of the book. 
* When Abigail puppeteers Sammy, the latter gains Abigail's creepy blue eyes to signify that she's under her control. Later, when Frank bites Joey and tries to puppeteer her, she keeps her natural brown eyes, showing that she's only faking being controlled. Abigail later comments that puppeteering other people takes years of practice, something that Frank didn't realize, which is how Joey could mislead him so easily. 
* For her character, Melissa Barrera who plays 'Joey', developed the real name of 'Ana Lucia Cruz', for her character, explaining: "I wanted it to be a reference to Dracula, to Lucy. I named her Ana Lucia and Cruz as in cross, something that would kill a vampire, that protects you from the vampire. So that ended up being her name." 
* When asked why they cast Matthew Goode as Kristof Lazar, co-directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett alternate describing the actor as "imposing," ''beautiful'' and ''charismatic'' with a ''gravitas'' they knew the character needed to have the necessary impact for the ending. The actor shot on the final day of production, when the main set had already been kicked in layers of blood, guts and viscera. "He walked into this room covered in f*cking blood and was like, 'Okaaaaaay, so what am I doing?' Bettinelli-Olpin said with a laugh adding"we were like, 'there is no ceiling. We will tell you if it's too much. Let's just take some swings here.' Man, Matthew gave it a 100% for that day." Gillett added "Melissa had kind of primed him. He had asked her, having read the script, 'What is this f*cking movie? What is the tone of this thing? What have I gotten myself into?' And Melissa was like, 'Don't worry about it. Just do the weirdest, craziest thing that you can think of and they'll love it and it'll be great.' and he did it." 
* Kathryn Newton admitted that filming the scene in the pool of bodies "was the hardest day [she's] ever had on set:" revealing: "It was really difficult. It was the hardest day I've ever had on set. And I consider myself athletic. I consider myself a professional athlete. But I knew that I wanted to make everyone really proud. I hope people like it because I was thinking about the audience. And I was like, 'Do not under-deliver. Don't. Go there.' And so every time I was like, 'Go!' And I hope people like it." 
* Whether or not Kristof Lazar would even show up was a subject of considerable discussion among the film's crew. "It evolved significantly" co-director Tyler Gillett said and further adding, "so much so that I struggle to remember the finer details of what it originally was." One of the major points of debate was the decision to have Frank become a vampire and reveal himself to be the real antagonist of the movie as Abigail and Joey join forces to destroy him. Co-director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin revealed: "There was a point that almost everybody was the main bad guy in some version of the script. It kept changing. And the Matthew Goode aspect was also a very movable piece of the puzzle. Do we want that? Do we not want that? Ultimately, the filmmakers decided it was important to remind the audience this is still a crime movie." Gillett said "Keyser Soze still has to show up at the end and remind you there's a bigger world at work outside of this movie." 
* While Abigail dismisses and mocks the use of garlic and crucifix as threats to a vampire, she notably dodges being staked. As shown later, it's very effective; as is sunlight, explaining why she rehearses her ballet at night rather than during the day. 
* Frank's real name being Adam Barrett is a nod to Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, director and writer respectively of The Guest (2014) and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), both of which Dan Stevens starred in. 
* In an interview with IndieWire, Melissa Barrera explained why the young vampire chooses to spare the life of her character Joey at the end of Abigail. She stated that the small connection formed between Joey and Abigail was real, despite much of the young ballerina's actions and stories being an act. The pair connected because Joey was the only person who seemed to genuinely care about the little girl. Hence, she realized what Joey did for her and chose to repay her by saving her life. She stated: "I think there's a mirror situation going on between her and Abigail, I think that Joey is probably the first person that's ever appeared to care for her. Despite it all being an act by Abigail, there's a point in the film where Joey's like, 'You told me all these things. You were acting, but what you told me, some of it is true,' and that means that Abigail, her defenses kind of came down. Her walls came down a little bit, and she allowed Joey in, because Joey was letting her in. I think that that's rare, and I think that we do that in life. Sometimes it's easier to talk to strangers. I think that that connection is real, and I think that, in the end, it's an act of gratitude from Abigail of like, 'You helped me, and so this is my way of saying thank you. I will not kill you right now.' 
* Dan Stevens revealed "It was definitely the bloodiest thing I've ever worked on in terms of volume, just pints of red syrup that were required on set. The fun and the ridiculousness of that as well, and just sort of, you know, if somebody vomits up blood, it's like, okay, we've all seen that, but what if it lasts for like, a minute. Like, how good is that?" 
* After Dean is attacked and Sammy goes to check on him you can see Abigail sitting in the background when Sammy is looking for Dean. 
* Lambert names the gang after the members of The Rat Pack and even calls them "a little pack of rats." This takes on a new meaning after the reveal that the job was a trap and they're all meant to be prey for Abigail - they're trapped like rats. 
* The third Radio Silence film in a row where Melissa Barrera is covered in blood and the third that she survives after Scream (2022) (2022) and Scream VI (2023). 
== Goofs ==
=== Factual errors ===
* Frank gets impaled just above his knee with a wooden stake. Once the stake is removed and the leg bandaged, he walks with only a minor limp and even outright runs at points, when his leg would be incapable of supporting his weight at all.
* Sammy watches the Woody Woodpecker cartoon, Pantry Panic (1941) in her room, and judging by the audio, the cartoon order seemingly jumps around at random.
* If the Abigail character, appearing to the audience as a human child, really is that into practice, rehearsals, ballet and the theatrical performing arts, and further, requires a male adult chauffeur, none of that vibes with being number two to the all-powerful devilish vampire /leader.
* When Sammy falls in the pool of deceased bodies and climbs out, she is seemingly fine immediately and thereafter. Were they truly rotting corpses, a person being exposed to that would surely catch some illness. However, the story does only take place in a matter of hours, and she is turned shortly after which should cure her of any ailments she had.
=== Incorrectly regarded as goofs ===
* Unless Abigail had recently gone on a murder binge of truly epic proportions, it would be impossible for all the dozens of bodies at the pool that Sammy falls into, to be all so fresh, and for all of them to be seemingly in the same state of decomposition specifically if they have been sitting in a pool of water. However since Lambert was also at the house and it appears that the property has some history for Lazar, it may be that they and other vampires use that house as a "dumping ground" for other bodies, rather than leaving the bodies where they died and risking attracting attention. It could also be that the draining process gives some vampiric properties to their blood which acts as preservation but not enough to turn them.
* When Abigail is loaded into the van after being kidnapped and drugged, Joey checks her pulse, as Abigail is a vampire, and therefore deceased, there would not have been any pulse. However there are other vampire myths that are shown to be false, like the effectiveness of garlic and crosses, so it could very well be that this was a myth in their version of vampires as well.
* When Joey kills Frank she reverts to human form, since Frank was the vampire who turned her. But when Frank kills Lambert he does not revert, even though Lambert turned him. However, Frank was fully turned, while Joey was only infected like Sammy was.
Category:Trivia facts