Dan Stevens Teases Abigail As A "Bloody" Good Time Full Of Comedy & Scares [CinemaCon]

Summary Abigail is a gory horror comedy with a twist - the young girl kidnapped is not what she seems.

Dan Stevens praises the film for its bloodiness and unique horror comedy style from Radio Silence.

Stevens teases his character as the leader of the kidnappers, sharing insight into the film's dark humor.

Radio Silence once again brings their signature flavor of horror comedy back to the big screen with Abigail. A young girl, Abigail, is kidnapped and held for ransom by a ragtag group who are hoping to extort money from her father, a powerful figure from the underworld. Things take a turn when it is revealed that Abigail is not merely a ballerina, but a monster in her own right, sending the kidnappers scrambling as they realize surviving the night will be much harder than they anticipated.

The dynamic horror directing duo, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, team up once again with an original story after revitalizing the Scream franchise. The pair teamed up with Scream star Melissa Barrera once again for an all-new horror comedy full of blood and monstrous mysteries. The talented cast of Abigail includes a number of incredibly talented actors who have proven their skills in the horror space, including Kathryn Newton and Dan Stevens as well.

Related Abigail Review: Scream 6 Directors Reinvent Vampire Movies In Highly Entertaining, Gory Horror In what may become one of the greatest vampire movies of all time, Abigail provides an extremely bloody, fun, humorous & fresh take on the subgenre.

Screen Rant had the opportunity to catch up with Dan Stevens while at CinemaCon, where he shared why fans should be hyped for Abigail, praising the director and sharing insight into his character. Stevens also discussed the possibility of reprising his Legion character in the MCU, joking that he'd have to talk to Shawn Levy.

Dan Stevens Teased Abigail Being "Cool, Funny, and Scary"

Image via Universal Pictures

Stevens explained what sets Abigail apart from the other horror movies he's worked on. He shared that Abigail is likely bloodier than all his past horror projects. He also praised Radio Silence for their signature blend of horror and comedy.

Dan Stevens: I think there's probably about four times as much blood than any other movie - maybe all the other movies I've ever done combined. It's also just a very particular kind of horror comedy that Radio Silence really are the masters of. I love the way they work. There's such a sense of humor. There's mischievous filmmaking at work there. It's bloody, it's scary, but it's also very silly and very funny.

Stevens also revealed that Abigail is the first project he's worked on with a directing duo. He praised their directing style and shared a theory that made the rounds on set due to Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett being so calm. Stevens shared that the cast thought they must be splitting the stress between each other because of how lovely the working environment was.

Dan Stevens: We were often commenting because they are so sweet. They're such lovely guys, and they're so chill on set. It was my first time working with a director duo. We were theorizing that maybe they just divide the stress. There's half the stress in each of them, so that it's just a lovely working environment. We were just laughing our asses off in between takes and just trying to make something that audiences would find cool, funny, and scary - and just very silly.

Stevens also shared insight into his Abigail character, Frank. He revealed that while Frank is the leader of this ragtag crew he is also the one with the least useful skills.

Dan Stevens: Frank is a real... I don't know if I can say this, but he's a real piece of s--t. He's an awful character. He's supposedly the leader of this heist gang. I'm not quite sure what his special skill is. They all seem to have special skills. Frank is just an a--hole.

Dan Stevens Reflects On Playing Legion: "It Was A Really Fun Role"

With mutants coming to the MCU fans are on the edge of their seats waiting for the X-Men's debut. Stevens played David Haller aka Legion in the FX series Legion, the son of Charles Xavier. Although there has been no word about Legion joining the MCU, Stevens recalled how fun the role was and joked that he needed to corner Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy about getting him into the MCU.

Dan Stevens: It was a really fun role. I've never had anything like it come across my inbox, and it was such a fun gang to work with. The director of Deadpool is here tonight. I think we could maybe have a word. Do you think we should corner him and see what we can do? This is Vegas. We can sort this out.

Ironically Stevens reflected on advice that Levy gave him as an actor that helped him. So, while he may not be able to help him jump into the MCU Levy has had an impact on his career.

Dan Stevens: I think Shawn Levy, who's here tonight receiving an award, told me, "Don't blink as much." It's great advice. Sometimes you see inexperienced actors, and they just blink too much. I think I was guilty of that early in my career, and now I blink less thanks to Shawn Levy.

About Abigail

Close

After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.

Learn more information about Screen Rant's Abigail set visit here and check out our interview with directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin.

Abigail hits theaters on April 19.

Source: Screen Rant Plus