Abigail Repeats The Breakfast Club Formula, Becomes 2024's Horror Hit
No, in this movie, Allison does not bite Andrew in the neck. But the idea is pretty much the same.
Summary
- The new vampire horror movie Abigail has been released.
- It has been praised by critics and audiences for its clever references and homages.
- One of them is the use of The Breakfast Club formula.
The vampire horror sub-genre has become increasingly popular yet again. Of course, the main representative of the genre of the recent years is the new TV adaptation of Interview with the Vampire, based on Anne Rice's famous gothic horror novel, but today we will talk specifically about the movies.
Last year alone saw the release of two feature-length vampire horror films, Renfield by Chris McKay and The Last Voyage of the Demeter by André Øvredal. What they have in common are one aspect: an absolute failure in terms of critical and audience sympathy.
In this context, the new horror film Abigail is particularly noteworthy. Even though it is currently showing rather modest box office indicators, the new movie has already managed to get rave reviews. That's all thanks to how intelligently the script is constructed, with relevant and genuinely clever references and to the 20th century works that inspired it.
And oddly enough, one of them is an homage to The Breakfast Club, as the narrative and characters literally follow the same formula. And as it turns out, it's a winning formula.
What Is the New Movie About
Abigail is a vampire horror comedy that was released in theaters on April 19, 2024. It was directed by Radio Silence duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, known for the very popular films V/H/S, Southbound, Ready or Not, Scream and Scream VI. Stephen Shields and Guy Busick worked on the script.
The plot follows a group of criminals who are hired by a coordinator to kidnap a 12-year-old girl named Abigail for ransom. According to the terms, the group must hold her hostage until dawn, so they hide her in a mansion. But as the sky begins to darken, the horror begins.
As it turns out, Abigail is not only the daughter of a New York crime lord, but also the daughter of a centuries-old vampire on whom neither garlic, nor an aspen stake, nor crucifixion will work. As a result, the criminally unsuccessful criminals will have to resort to all available methods to survive the night.
The film stars Alisha Weir as the title character alongside Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud and Giancarlo Esposito. Abigail's father was played by Matthew Goode.
New Horror Movie Alludes to The Breakfast Club
Homages are great, especially when they are cleverly constructed and have a specific idea behind them, not just a nostalgic reference. For example, the group of criminals in the movie have completely different backgrounds, they don't know each other, but for the sake of anonymity they take on aliases inspired by the members of the Rat Pack.
Here we can already draw a parallel to The Breakfast Club, as the high school misfits have earned the nickname 'The Brat Pack'. Each of Abigail's characters has not only a different background and personal problems, but also special abilities.
Just as the members of The Breakfast Club are categorized as Brain, Athlete, Princess, Basket Case, and Criminal, Abigail's characters are categorized as Medic, Ex-Cop, Hacker, Ex-Marine, Muscle, and Driver. As for her coordinator, played by Giancarlo Esposito, he is a reference to Principal Vernon.
But the similarities don't end there, because this homage really carries the idea. The core ideas of the movie are those that deal with difficult relationships with parents and the environment, and how that affects everyone's personality, including positive and negative traits, as well as deep traumas. And like the teens in The Breakfast Club, Abigail's characters suffer from parental neglect.