After nearly 90 years, Universal has decided to reintroduce one of their oldest monsters, Dracula’s daughter, with their latest horror film, Abigail. The original 1936 film, Dracula’s Daughter, was a direct sequel to the 1931 Dracula and second in the series with the third being 1943’s Son of Dracula.
Abigail takes the basic idea of the spawn of the rapine of darkness but changes it in many ways. First, the character’s name is now Abigail, while the original was Countess Marya Zaleska. Second, Abigail is portrayed as a little girl, while in the original, she appears to be a grown woman. Third, the film is far more violent and gory, while the original was more about suspense and atmosphere. 
But how does this interpretation hold up? Is it a worthy reimagining of the classic tale? Let’s sink our teeth in and find out.
The story revolves around a group of criminals who are hired to kidnap a girl named Abigail, who is the daughter of a wealthy crime boss. They are tasked with holding her for 24 hours while they wait for the ransom. However, as time goes on, things get very weird, especially when some of them start dying in extremely violent ways. Things get even more intense when they slowly realize that their prisoner flips the tables on them and they become the ones who are trapped.
The film keeps you on the edge of your seat as the setting gets increasingly unsettling. You never know what any of the main six criminals will do, be it getting violent and turning on each other or unveiling some sinister secrets. Things get even crazier when the monster comes out to play. They all try to find a way to get out in one piece, and they become prey for the hungry beast.
The titular character is portrayed by young Irish actress Alisha Weir, who is known for the 2022 Matilda musical. Weir does an amazing job of portraying a sad, scared, and confused girl as a terrifying monster and master of deceit and cunning. You won’t think of ballerinas the same way again.
The film also features Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Will Catlett, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand, and Angus Cloud as the criminals (The film was dedicated to Angus Cloud due to his untimely passing in 2023). Both Giancarlo Esposito and Matthew Goode appear in minor roles, with Goode portraying Abigail’s father. 
Overall Rating: 7/10
The film does a great job of reimagining the spawn of the Lord of Vampires. While it sometimes falls into the usual cliché of characters splitting up, the performances and action hold up very well, and many of its little flaws are forgivable. It’s a real bloody good time.
It is rather disappointing that there is no mention of Abigail having a brother in reference to the aforementioned Son of Dracula perhaps if there is ever a sequel we may see or hear some reference to him.
Hopefully, we can see more of these types of reimaginings of classic monsters in the future. Universal is revisiting the Dark Universe; if they revive the Concept, hopefully, they don’t repeat the 2017 version of The Mummy.
What did you think? Have you seen Abigail? Was it a worthy remake of the 1936 classic? Do you want to see more from this universe? Let us know.
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