Abigail

The project began as Dracula’s Daughter, a modern take on Universal’s 1936 film of that name, retitled Abigail only in January 2024. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett chose to keep the name Dracula out of the script, to set the film apart from other vampire pictures. A line in which Abigail’s father claims he killed Dracula was considered and dropped. Dublin stands in for Boston, and the city is never named on screen. The opening ballet was shot at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, and most of the manor is Glenmaroon House, the Guinness family’s former home on the edge of Phoenix Park. Alisha Weir trained in ballet for the part and did her own stunts. Shooting stopped in July 2023 for the actors’ strike, restarted in late November and finished in December. Angus Cloud had finished his scenes before his death that July. At the Irish Film & Television Academy awards it took six nominations and one win: Susie Cullen for production design. Weir was up that night for lead actress and Rising Star, losing both. A good fit if you can accept a film more interested in whether the kidnappers trust each other than in what the girl is. Not for anyone waiting for the Dracula connection to be stated; the directors kept the name out.