Abigail: child vampire horror falls prey to antiquated gender stereotypes

By Lizzie Wright, University of Leeds

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Abigail.

The horror film Abigail sets out to offer a new and refreshing perspective on the vampire tradition. Gone are the male Draculas of old and the fetishised lesbian vampires of the 2000s that haunted the vampiric horror genre in films like Jennifer’s Body (2009). Instead, the titular Abigail (Alisha Weir) is a young ballerina – the picture of childlike innocence.

Child vampires are rare in film, though the commercial success of M3gan (2022), a horror film about an evil AI doll that looks like an eight-year-old girl, proved that monstrous young girls are a marketable film villain.

In Abigail, a group of ragtag criminals kidnap a young girl (not knowing that she’s actually a bloodthirsty vampire) and hold her in a mansion in order to each receive a hefty payout. Though she appears to be a child, we soon learn Abigail is centuries old, and has developed a habit for “playing with [her] food” – this is a vampire hellbent on getting what she needs.

The cast is stacked with familiar faces, headed by Scream (2022) star Melissa Barrera as recovering drug addict and medic Joey. Other stars include Angus Cloud as Dean, Kathryn Newton as ditsy hacker Sammy, and Dan Stevens as former detective Frank. The ensemble cast works well, adhering to the traditional horror trope of a group of strangers turned allies.

Abigail has a lot of potential to offer its audiences: popular horror themes with a fresh twist in its child star. But none of the film’s strengths can outweigh its biggest weakness – its antiquated treatment of women.

https://youtu.be/3PsP8MFH8p0?si=H-lrGfw5VYYRcYHl

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Between the bloodthirsty young ballerina and a group of criminals (most of whom have no issue harming Abigail even when they think she is a regular young girl) there’s little room to root for anyone. In having no clear protagonist, Abigail could have told an interesting and compelling story.

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