Abigail Stars Kevin Durand & William Catlett Shed Light On Radio Silence's Directing Style

Summary Abigail features a star-studded cast with standout performances by Barrera and Weir, who bring grace and terror to their roles effortlessly.

The genre-bending film seamlessly weaves elements of comedy and horror, creating a unique and thrilling experience for viewers.

The directing duo, Radio Silence, sets the tone perfectly, allowing the actors to shine and create infectious chemistry on screen.

A group of criminals abduct a young girl in order to ransom her back to her wealthy and powerful father in Abigail. However, they soon discover that there is more than meets the eye about this seemingly normal little girl when she reveals herself to be a bloodthirsty vampire in disguise. The criminals struggle to survive in this house while evading this deadly predator as tensions rise between them.

Abigail features a star-studded cast led by truly phenomenal performances by Melissa Barrera and Alisha Weir. As the vampire ballerina, Weir taps into grace, innocence, and menacing terror, effortlessly shifting between these vastly different emotions throughout the movie. Kathryn Newton and Kevin Durand are an unexpected comedic pair while infusing their roles with pathos as well.

Related Abigail 2024 Cast & Character Guide (With Secret Details & Reveals) Abigail brings together seasoned performers and young horror stars for a grisly vampire/heist fusion that is elevated by the cast.

Screen Rant interviewed Kevin Durand and William Catlett about their new horror movie, Abigail. Durand explained how, even while shifting genres, the characters' reality stays consistent and reflected in creating the hilarious dynamic with Newton. Catlett broke down the directing style of Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett.

Abigail Stars Explain Why The Genre-Bending Feels Natural: "It Never Changed The Reality"

Abigail is a true blending of genres, with its signature horror comedy tone shining through. The movie begins as a heist movie but soon shifts into a monster movie in which the criminal crew is desperately trying to survive. Catlett and Durand explained how the shift in genre felt natural throughout, with the directors able to "seamlessly weave these elements together.

William Catlett: I don't think it impacts it. I think Matt and Tyler did a great job of just blending it. You felt like you were in one movie, but separate movies inside of a movie, especially when I'm on top and I'm doing the lookout thing, I'm like, Okay, I'm in a heist. Next thing you know, I'm like, Nah, I'm in a scary movie. So it was good just to allow that whole space to kind of evolve. Kevin Durand: It never changed the reality of what the characters were going through, so I don't even know if I was fully aware of the mastery they were engaged in at the time. Because watching the film, all of those elements are so seamlessly woven together. You scream for your life, and then all of a sudden you're laughing your butt off, and then all of a sudden you don't know why you're crying, because that's really sad. You start laughing again. It's really cool that they were able to do that. Who else can really do it at that level? I'm really, really impressed with those wonderful young fellas.

Abigail Stars Break Down The Radio Silence Directing Style: "They Set The Tone"

Image via Universal Pictures

Radio Silence has become an iconic directing duo, bringing scares and laughs to the big screen with Ready or Not, Scream, and Scream VI. Catlett and Durand offered a peek into their directing style and how they work together to capture the tone and style, as well as the technically impressive shots they need. The stars praised the directing duo for their ability to set the tone during production.

William Catlett: I would say one is Tyler's a little bit more technical, a little bit meaning that Matt is not technical. They just have a nice chemistry and alchemy with each other. Tyler will be setting up the shot and then Matt will come over and be like, Yeah, nah, I need this a little bit more gravitas here. You are going to pull too big out and you are going to look like this. So it was nice to just see them work together. Kevin Durand: They work as one. It's a two for one deal because they make one super director together, and they have the same idiosyncratic mannerisms and walk and talk. They never seem to ever disagree. They set the tone in a way where it's like, Hey, we're living our dream over here. You want to come live our dream with us? Oh, but in the meantime, we're living our dream too. So let's all live our dream and have fun.

In Abigail, Durand has infectious comedic chemistry with Newton. The pair offer fantastic comedic relief throughout and unexpected heart as their friendship grows. Durand admitted that "it's hard for me to tell" which elements were from the script and which were improvised between them because of how deeply they both jumped into their roles.

Kevin Durand: It's hard for me to tell because I feel like I almost disappear, and she disappears too. She's immediately in, so we were just dancing. It was just so playful. She's so easy to play off. She's so funny. She's so committed. That chemistry, that alchemy, I don't understand why it works, but the way that they put the chemistry together within the whole cast. From the script, there were hints that these two got along really well, but we just did. We did have scenes where we just improv. Some of it didn't make it, but it set the tone for us. So we were just always like, Oh, we get to play again.

About Abigail

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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.

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Abigail is now in theaters.

Source: Screen Rant Plus