Vampire ballerina heist movies… not terribly common in the history of cinema
DOWNTON’S DAN STEVENS AND HIS CAST AND CREW MATES TALK TO KERRI-ANN ROPER AND RACHAEL DAVIS ABOUT NEW HORROR FILM ABIGAIL
HE GAINED a legion of fans playing Downton Abbey’s Matthew Crawley and since leaving the ITV series in 2012, British actor Dan Stevens has gone on to be a huge hit in Hollywood.
His past projects include Disney’s 2017 live-action film adaptation of Beauty And The Beast, alongside Emma Watson, popular TV series Legion, Gaslit and more.
His latest film, the vampire thriller Abigail, is bound to score him more plaudits.
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, whose credits include Ready Or Not, 2022’s Scream and 2023’s Scream VI, a motley crew of would-be criminals are in for the heist of their lives when they kidnap a 12-year-old ballerina-loving child, who just happens to be the daughter of a mysterious underworld kingpin, for a ransom of around £40m ($50m).
Babysit her overnight, get the ransom money, and the job is done.
Or perhaps not, as the thieves soon discover, when Abigail, played by Matilda The Musical star Alisha Weir, turns out to be anything but a cherubic captive.
Dan plays Frank, who from the outset appears to be the pack leader.
“We knew he would play dirty and dark really well, he’s such a talented thespian,” producer William Sherak says of Dan, adding: “There’s a real craft there, not just movie star status.”
“Dirty and dark thespian is great, I should put that on my CV,” responds Dan, 41, when the statement is put to him, adding that the character of Frank was “great fun”.
“I mean, it was a lot of fun to just join this motley group of essentially villains. We’re all kind of villains in our own way,” he muses.
“We were so different, and just sort of trying to make each character distinct from each other.
“Frank is having a very, very bad day, let’s say, and it was great fun to kind of dive into that and just watch him spiral.”
It’s not just Frank who has a tough day at the office to contend with.
Starring alongside Dan is Scream actress Melissa Barrera (who plays Joey), Freaky, Big Little Lies and Ant-Man star Kathryn Newton (who plays Sammy), and the late Angus Cloud (as Dean). Constellation actor William Catlett and The Strain’s Kevin Durand are also among the cast, joining the film’s main protagonist, Irish singer and actress Alisha.
“Abigail has two sides, and you see those two sides in the film,” explains the 14-year-old from Dublin, who recently appeared on the big screen in Wicked Little Letters.
“I really focused on those two sides ... at the start of the film, you want people to believe that she’s this sweet, innocent girl. I was trying to focus in on that other side of her to make people believe that, but also to remember who she really was.”
Details of each character’s back story – not revealed here to save on spoilers – are divulged as the horror night for the kidnappers unfolds.
Mexican actress Melissa, 33, says of Joey: “I love playing characters that are more complicated than just black and white. She lives in a grey area. She’s obviously not a good person, because she’s kidnapping people. And she’s in business with not-so-great people.
“So clearly, there’s something about her that’s not great, but there’s a good person in there. And I think most of us are like that, we live in a grey area”.
It’s a fair assumption and no spoiler to say that fake blood is spilled in Abigail.
“I think I’ve gotten used to it by now,” says Melissa of being covered in fake blood while filming.
“But this definitely was on another level, there’s more [fake] blood in this movie than I’ve ever seen.
“It was exciting to see that we were going full out, we were going there fearlessly, and Matt and Tyler [the directors] were like, this is the movie that we’re making, you’re going to be drenched in blood by the end.”
Horror scares and gore are not unfamiliar to American actress Kathryn, 27, after star turns in comedy horror Freaky alongside Vince Vaughn and Paranormal Activity 4 in 2012.
“When I read the script, I thought this is a no-brainer,” she says of getting to add the vampire horror genre to her CV.
“But the real thing that pulled me into doing this movie was Matt and Tyler, our directors, I loved them immediately.
“They really supported me and all
We knew he would play dirty and dark really well, he’s such a talented thespian
Producer William Sherak on Abigail star Dan Stevens
my ideas, including my tattoo choices and the wardrobe choices [for the character].
“I thought it would be a good learning experience and it was”. Croydon-born Dan agrees. “I think that’s a fun thing about genre movies in general, whatever the genre is, whether it’s zombies or vampires, there’s a challenge for the film-makers to try and make it refreshing, make it something you’ve never seen before,” he says.
“And there is so much in this movie that you have never seen before. Vampire ballerina heist movies... not terribly common in the history of cinema.
“We get to really sort of break some new ground, but also play with the tropes and the things that people might be familiar with”. Filmed at Glenmaroon House, on the outskirts of Dublin, Abigail would sadly be one of the last big screen projects for Euphoria star Angus Cloud, who plays Dean. The 25-yearold died last year from an accidental drug overdose.
“[He] really was a special soul,” says producer William.
“He’s amazing in the movie, but stepping back from that, the levity he brought to the set, the humour – he was a guy you just wanted to be around. He was a magnet for good vibes.
“I’m grateful that we had this moment in our lives that we got to spend with him.”
■ Abigail is in cinemas now