welcome to Comment Comment, where we sit and listen to filmmakers talk about their work, then share the most interesting parts. In this edition, Rob Hunter Check out the new Radio Silence feature, with feedback for this year’s Abigail..
When it comes to the film collective known as Radio silenceMy heart forever belongs to 2019. Ready or NotFunny, smart, exciting, and perfect to the very end, this film is the group’s masterpiece. That said, everything they do, from their V/H/S (2012) segment to its two Shout Sequels are a great time for fans of the genre’s fun. Their latest feature is once again a horror-comedy affair, and is once again a highly entertaining ride for fans of gory laughs.
Abigail is new to the world of home video and, as usual, the guys at Radio Silence have packed the Blu-ray with a ton of extras, including a commentary track from the directors. Their tracks are always excellent listen They are passionate filmmakers who enjoy sharing anecdotes, struggles, practical details and more. Read on to see what I heard in the comments about…
Abigail (2024)
Commentators: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin (co-director), Tyler Gillett (co-director), Michael P. Shawver (editor)
1. The ballet’s opening performance was filmed at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Alisha Weirwho plays the titular vampire girl, lives in Dublin, and the theme continues as Bram Stoker, Mr. Vampire himself, grows up in the Irish city.
2. The intro was written as a series of cross-cuts between Abigail’s dance and the crew’s introduction, but at least for a while, they kept the dance in its entirety. It was mostly to acknowledge the work that went into the acting, but they soon realized that the film worked better with the cross-cuts.
3. The first trailer prompted notes, presumably from the studios and/or producers, to cut ten minutes. “A great note,” they add.
4. They know that audiences will go into the movie knowing that Abigail is a vampire, so they leaned into the idea that they could have fun teasing the reveal. “In the last shot, when she takes her little bow, you get the sense right away, while the credits are still rolling, that she’s the one orchestrating the whole thing.” Viewers may be aware of this consciously or subconsciously, but hopefully that’s the case.
5. Much of the film is colorized because they shot much of it during the day rather than at night, given the short summer nights in Ireland.
6. The house where Abigail was kidnapped has “a lot of history,” including a shooting and an attempted coup.
7. The photos next to Abigail’s bed are cameos by the filmmakers (and their pets).
8. Shawver says one of the most important things as an editor is to show filmmakers that you understand the film they are making. In essence, you edit for the director or directors, rather than for anyone else.
9. The actors’ strike halted the film, giving them time to edit the first two acts before reshooting the last third of the film.
10. The first thing they filmed was the scene where Joey (Melissa Barrera) takes money from each of them to tell him something about themselves. This is Radio Silencio’s third film with Barrera, after Shout (2022) and Scream VI (2023), but they had only met the other actors a few weeks before. So this scene where the characters meet each other was also the directors meeting and watching the actors in action.
eleven. Most of the film was shot at Glenmaroon House, even though the script was intended to take place in an abandoned hotel. However, once they found Glenmaroon, they and the production designer gave it more of a mansion/hunting lodge feel. That’s their usual pattern: they work out the story, are happy with the narrative and characters, and then decide on locations, which in turn often leads to adjustments to the story. Two areas of the house are actually sets: the library and the kitchen/basement.
12. The role of Abigail was the most difficult and stressful to cast, but after auditioning Weir over Zoom, they knew they had the vampire girl.
13. Sammy (Kathryn Newton) watches an episode of Woody Woodpecker on TV, but they previously tried it with The sting (1973) and the “jumping the shark” episode of Happy Days (1974-1984).
14. Part of pre-production involved having Angus Cloud Drawing a series of penises that were then sent to the filmmakers so they could choose the style that would remain on them. Kevin Durand“How do you make the dick land?” became the question, before they decided on the perfect moment.
fifteen. Was Dan Stevens‘Choosing to have his character wear those big glasses, and while it introduced complications (reflections, continuity, etc.), they quickly realized it was the right decision for the character.
sixteen. It was Weir’s idea to wipe his bloody hand over his face at minute 55:42.
17. There are approximately 212 expressions of “fuck” in the film, more or less.
18. They talked early on about the various vampire abilities that have become familiar in pop culture, from flying to shapeshifting and things like that, but they were worried about opening that door. “We wanted to make sure you didn’t feel like, ‘wait, why doesn’t he do x, y, z in every scene?’ so we just didn’t make him a part of this movie.”
19. Frank’s real name is Adam Barrett (Stevens), “shout out to Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, our friends,” and the filmmakers behind films like You are next (2011) and The guest (2014).
twenty. There’s a great story behind why Abigail loves to dance, “but it felt like we were telling them something just for the sake of telling them something.” A wise observation that more filmmakers could learn from.
twenty-one. Director of photography Aaron Morton He raised a good point regarding vampires when he asked, “Isn’t moonlight just a reflection of sunlight? So why can they come out at night?” They chose to ignore the question.
22. The scene where Abigail is doing mind puppetry with Sammy and the two young women dancing is set to Danzig’s “Blood and Tears,” but it was choreographed to an electric guitar version of “Swan Lake.” They love the idea that Abigail is a huge Danzig fan.
23. The big fight between Joey and Frank was filmed after the strike, and Universal happily provided them with more resources for it based on what had already been filmed. This allowed them to bring Wade Allen and the 87North team to help redesign the fight choreography and subsequent stunts. Allen also had ideas about vampire teeth. They were made of a very sharp epoxy resin, sharp enough to cut through skin, and Allen immediately suggested softer alternatives for the action-focused scenes.
24. When it came time to trim the film, Shawver made several cuts and then played the footage back to the directors without telling them specifically what was removed. “If it works, it works,” they add, suggesting that if they don’t miss it, then it’s not important.
25. They discussed the option of not bringing Lazaar (Matthew Goode), Abigail’s father, in the movie at the end, but his comparison was something like The Usual Suspects (1995) if we never got to meet Keyser Soze. They cleverly realized that not only is this a fun final reveal, but it’s also necessary to the film’s themes of love and parental responsibility.
26. The film is dedicated to Cloud, as he passed away in July 2023, before filming was completed. He had signed an autograph (the drawing of the cloud seen above the dedication) for a crew member during his time on set, and Barrera had it printed on t-shirts for the cast and crew when filming wrapped.
27. There are seven people credited on the editing team besides Shawver, and he mentions four of them at the end. Oddly, but I’m sure unintentionally, he mentions the four men on the team by name, but ignores the three women. So I’ll mention them here. Good job. Diana Yip, Michelle Inzunzaand Elaina Koutras!
28. They recorded this commentary on April 2, 2024, just fifteen days before the film was released in theaters.
29. The great Larry Fessenden makes a cameo as a radio DJ around the 17:00 mark, and is the same “character” he voiced in the Radio Silence segment in the 2015 horror anthology. To the south.
The best in comments without context
“This movie lives or dies by its cast.”
“From here, it’s all downhill, guys.”
“What’s your favorite penis?”
“This is a Scooby Doo Shooting.”
“Some people spray and pray.”
“Does that sound too much like a puppet?”
“When is The guest 2 coming out?!”
“At this point in the film, there are still many people alive.”
“We are reaching the height of absurdity.”
Final Thoughts
As mentioned above, the guys at Radio Silence offer fabulous commentary tracks, and this one is for you. Abigail It’s no different. They’re funny and share compliments like candy with their love and appreciation for everyone who worked on the film, and they’re equally happy to share details about the highs and lows of production. It’s clear they love genre films, both watching and making them, and it’s great to hear the positivity. Great movie, great review!
Read more Comment Comment From the archives.
Related topics: Comment Comment, Horror, Radio silence
