Abigail Breaks One Major Vampire Rule (And That's Okay)
Contains spoilers for "Abigail"
This week, blood and ballet are swirling in perfect harmony courtesy of the latest horror movie by directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Guy Busick, "Abigail." The film stars former Scream franchise actor Melissa Barrera as Joey, who leads a band of estranged criminals to kidnap a little girl (Alisha Weir) who turns out to be a vampire who orchestrated the whole operation. Following in the blood-soaked footsteps of the best vampire movies of all time, there are plenty of classic conventions that "Abigail" applies and alters in achieving its goal of being an enjoyable time. However, there's one golden rule broken early on, leading "Abigail" to take its finger off the pulse. In fact, it's a finger on the pulse that's the movie's biggest plot hole.
After the team snatches the titular terror, Joey injects Abigail with an anesthetic to subdue her. She checks Abigail's pulse and confirms it's "steady," and the little girl they've grabbed is okay. The only problem with that, as any casual fan of vampire movies will tell you, is that Abigail shouldn't have a pulse at all. She's one of the undead and shouldn't have anything pumping through her veins. But if the film didn't break this rule, it would fall apart since the kidnappers would know all too soon the horror they have on their hands. Thankfully, there are plenty of other details regarding vampire lore that "Abigail" rips apart, making this slip-up forgivable.
Abigail draws fresh blood in the vampire genre and bends the rules to do it
In a film that sees our characters discussing what they know about vampires, it seems a little odd that no one mentions that Abigail having a pulse doesn't make sense. Within minutes, the gang is sharpening stakes and gathering garlic, which leads to Frank's (Dan Stevens) funniest moments ("These are f*****g onions!"), but no one is confused as to why she isn't stone-cold dead. Thankfully, the film makes a good effort to rewrite specific rules, with garlic being a failed deterrent and Frank failing to enslave Joey once he gets a taste for blood after being turned. As Abigail rightfully points out, it takes a long time for a vampire to "learn all the neat tricks," letting the glaring, easy method to spot a vampire get overlooked.
Thankfully, "Abigail" is a good enough entry into the genre that this is permissible, due to Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Guy Busick bringing out the same explosive, bloody energy they're becoming known for. Given how "Abigail" ends, there could be plenty more classic vampire rules that this deadly little girl can bite her way through in future films, and if they're as good as this one, we should let her.
To learn more about this bloody horror film, check out everything we know so far about the cast, plot, and more for "Abigail."