The vampire thriller “Abigail” began as a modern update of the classic horror film “Dracula’s Daughter”.
“Abigail” (2024) isn’t the kind of film you expect to have big twists or surprises, but there is at least one surprising special appearance worth discussing.
Of course, talking about the surprise reveal of “Abigail” can’t be done without revealing IMPORTANT SPOILERS, so be warned!
Throughout the story of “Abigail”, we get hints of mystery about who the mysterious girl is that the group of criminals have kidnapped – and, more importantly for them, who her powerful father is?
Abigail’s True Nature and the Bloody Climax
Throughout the plot, we receive enigmatic clues as to the identity of the mysterious Abigail and, more importantly for the kidnappers, who her powerful father is.
A twist in the tale comes when the group discovers that Abigail is the daughter of “Kristof Lazar”, a crime boss whose vast empire, ruthless brutality and impenetrable anonymity make him as legendary as Keyser Soze (from “The Suspects”). Once Lazar’s name is revealed, the game changes dramatically for the kidnappers, who begin to plot their escape or work out a bargain to escape the death sentence.
Things get even more insane when they discover that their “victim”, young Abigail, is actually a very old vampire – and the barbaric killer her father sends against his enemies.
The plot centres on former army medic and now addict “Joey” (Melissa Barrera) and former cop turned thug “Frank” (Dan Stevens), each with very different ideas about how to solve the problem. Frank allows himself to be turned into a vampire in order to ambush and kill Abigail and Kristof, taking control of his criminal empire. Joey tries to maintain a bond with Abigail in order to negotiate her life and freedom; together they fight Frank and end up killing him, but not without suffering serious injuries.
As Joey tries to limp out of the mansion-slaughterhouse, Abigail’s father arrives and takes a very different view of her chances of survival.
“Abigail” ending explained: Who played Lazar?
Actor Matthew Goode (Watchmen, Stoker, The Discovery of Witches) makes a surprise appearance in “Abigail” as Kristof Lazar, Abigail’s vampire father/crime boss. Goode appears with a high tuft, a long overcoat and long, dirty fingernails. His dialogue and appearance contain clues that suggest Lazar may have been the inspiration for vampire legends, from Dracula to the film Nosferatu, before becoming a powerful modern criminal.
Lazar lives up to his reputation for being inhuman, seeing “Joey” as little more than a loose end or even food. However, Abigail confronts her father for not protecting her from the attempted vampire coup that Frank and his mentor Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito) tried to set up. When Abigail praises Joey for doing the job her father didn’t, Lazar begrudgingly decides to let her live as a sign of “gratitude” and “retribution” for his daughter’s life. Joey takes the hint and gets out of there as quickly as possible while father and monster daughter have a moment together.
Like Dan Stevens, Matthew Goode has built a career playing scary, violent and monstrous characters – which makes him the perfect choice to bring “Abigail” to a satisfying conclusion – and possibly to pave the way for many future sequels.
“I can’t imagine anyone other than Matthew in that role now that he’s played it,” co-director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin explained to EW. “It was just a spectacular day of filming with him. He really gave himself to the role.”
“What we really love about Matthew is that he doesn’t come across as a brute, there’s something ethereal and graceful about him that’s strangely more frightening,” added director Tyler Gillett. “If you see this character who doesn’t seem to be from this planet, in a way, there’s something so frightening about a character like that who has the power that everyone knows he has in the world of our story.”
The film Abigail is currently showing in cinemas.
