Abigail's "Rat Pack" Explained: Every Character's Real Identity, Backstory & Role In The Heist

WARNING! This article contains major spoilers for Abigail (2024)!

Summary Characters in "Abigail" take on Rat Pack aliases for a dangerous heist linked to vampire Abigail's father's criminal empire.

Each member of the heist team has a unique backstory and connection to Abigail's father, leading to severe consequences.

The film's twists reveal the real names and past betrayals of the characters, culminating in a bloody, gory ending.

Radio Silence’s Abigail sees a group of strangers anonymously unite for unique roles in a dangerous heist as the “Rat Pack,” with the film’s twists eventually revealing their real names and backstories connected to the titular vampire’s father. Early in the film, Abigail’s main characters are given aliases based on the real-life Rat Pack to conceal their identities, with elements of their backstories initially only being revealed when Joey correctly “guesses” details about them. Among the assembled team are Joey (Melissa Barrera), Sammy (Kathryn Newton), Frank (Dan Stevens), Peter (Kevin Durand), Rickles (William Catlett), and Dean (Angus Cloud) – each of whom serves a specific (albeit ultimately meaningless) role in the kidnapping.

Slowly, the horror movie explains exactly why each of the heist members was chosen for the scheme, connecting back to their wrongs against Abigail’s mysterious father, crime lord Kristof Lazar. After the 12-year-old Abigail reveals herself to be a vampire, the criminal team soon realizes that they were set up by Giancarlo Esposito’s Lambert, who was secretly working with Abigail to procure the heist members and get revenge against them to impress her father. With only one member of the group surviving Abigail’s bloody ending, the “Rat Pack” faces brutal consequences for betraying Lazar’s crime family.

Actor Character Alias Rat Pack Name Inspiration Real Character Name Heist Role Melissa Barrera Joey Joey Bishop Ana Lucia Cruz Medic Kathryn Newton Sammy Sammy Davis Jr. Jessica Hurney Hacker Dan Stevens Frank Frank Sinatra Adam Barnett Boss/"A**hole" Kevin Durand Peter Peter Lawford Terrence LaCroix Muscle William Catlett Rickles Don Rickles N/A Sniper/Lookout Angus Cloud Dean Dean Martin N/A Driver

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6 Joey (Melissa Barrera)

The Medic; real name Ana Lucia Cruz

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Scream VI star Melissa Barrera leads the cast of Abigail as “Joey,” who serves as the heist team’s medic. The alias of Barrera’s character, Joey, is inspired by real Rat Pack member Joey Bishop, an entertainer and comedian who hosted a weekly comedy show and his own late-night talk show in the 1960s. If anything goes wrong with others on the team, Joey is there to patch them up, as well as administer the drug that sedates Abigail for her kidnapping’s transportation.

The alias of Barrera’s character, Joey, is inspired by real Rat Pack member Joey Bishop.

By the end of Abigail, it’s revealed that Joey – whose real name is Ana Lucia Cruz – was formerly a field medic in the Army and is a recovering drug addict. Joey eventually became addicted to morphine during her time in the Army, leading her to work as an underground medic for criminals – until she fatally nicked the artery of a man close to Abigail’s father, Kristof Lazar. Joey also has a young son named Caleb who she was separated from, and she hopes that the $7 million she’s meant to earn from the heist will help her be reunited with him.

When Screen Rant visited the set of Abigail in 2023, Barrera also revealed the secret backstory behind her character’s real name. According to the star herself, the name “Ana Lucia” is a reference to Dracula, shortened to Lucy, with “Cruz” also being the word for “cross” in Spanish. Barrera elaborated that Cruz/”Cross” was chosen because it’s “something that would kill a vampire, that protects you from the vampire.” Considering Joey, aka Ana Lucia Cruz, is the only member of Abigail’s Rat Pack who survives, her name is a great clue to her character’s ending.

Considering Joey, aka Ana Lucia Cruz, is the only member of Abigail’s Rat Pack who survives, her name is a great clue to her character’s ending.

5 Sammy (Kathryn Newton)

The Hacker; real name Jessica Hurney

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Often providing comic relief for the vampire chaos, Lisa Frankenstein’s Kathryn Newton portrays “Sammy” in Abigail, who plays the role of the heist team’s hacker. During the opening heist scene, Sammy hacks into the gate and helps counter the security of the house they take Abigail from, but her technological ability becomes less useful without the internet at the mansion. During the scene where Joey “guesses” the team’s backgrounds, it’s revealed that Sammy comes from a wealthy family, and used her hacking ability to rebel against them and steal from her parents’ bank accounts.

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.

Later on, Alisha Weir’s Abigail reveals more about Sammy’s backstory and what she did to betray Kristof Lazar’s criminal empire – thus being chosen as one of Abigail’s victims. Sammy, whose real name is revealed to be Jessica Hurney, ended up using her hacking skills to steal a substantial amount of money from a subsidiary of Kristof Lazar. While Sammy thought that her crimes were less severe than the others because she’s behind a screen and more removed from her victims, she couldn’t hide from Lazar’s empire or the deadly Abigail after wronging them.

Sammy, whose real name is revealed to be Jessica Hurney, ended up using her hacking skills to steal a substantial amount of money from a subsidiary of Kristof Lazar.

Newton’s character earns her nickname “Sammy” from Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr., a legendary singer, actor, and dancer whose hits include “The Candy Man” and “I’ve Gotta Be Me.” Unlike the rest of the Rat Pack members in Abigail, Sammy isn’t on the team to make money or grow her skills as a hacker – she’s simply bored and found an outlet to rebelliously use her skills. Sadly for Sammy/Jessica, the heist would culminate in her bloody, brutal explosion after being turned into a vampire “puppet” by Abigail.

4 Frank (Dan Stevens)

The "A**hole"; real name Adam Barnett

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The de facto leader of the Rat Pack in Abigail, “Frank” is played by rising Scream King Dan Stevens. Frank is an experienced criminal who has worked with Lambert beforehand, so he comes off as if he’s the expert on the team. Seeing himself as the leader, it’s no wonder that Stevens’ character is given the codename “Frank,” inspired by legendary Rat Pack singer Frank Sinatra, who starred in the 1960 heist movie Ocean’s 11 as Danny Ocean. In Abigail, Frank is revealed to be a former detective, with Joey sensing his analytical skills and police-style approach to the scheme’s order.

Related Where To Watch Abigail: Showtimes & Streaming Status Another horror movie from Radio Silence is here, and there are different options for where to watch Abigail in theaters or at home on streaming.

Abigail later discloses that Frank, whose real name is Adam Barnett, had worked as an undercover detective on a case in which three of Kristof Lazar’s men were killed by a mysterious member of Lazar’s force, who turns out to be Abigail herself. Frank later left the police force and fell in with the mob, which was followed by him abandoning his kids and family. With Frank having had the most direct connection to Lazar and Abigail prior to the movie, the titular vampire’s revenge plan against him was the most severe.

According to Dan Stevens, “Frank” didn’t quite have a defined criminal role like the other members of the Rat Pack and rather “just seemed to be an a**hole,” which the actor described as the character’s “special skill.” While his character was the boss of the group, Stevens noted at Abigail’s set visit that it wasn’t entirely clear what Frank was doing in the heist other than being the “a**hole” leader. Considering the turn that Frank takes toward Abigail’s ending, he certainly lives up to the description after betraying Joey, Lambert, and Abigail all in one fell swoop.

With Frank having had the most direct connection to Lazar and Abigail prior to the movie, the titular vampire’s revenge plan against him was the most severe.

3 Peter (Kevin Durand)

The Muscle; real name Terrence LaCroix

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Kevin Durand stars in Abigail as “Peter,” a French Canadian who serves the role of the heist team’s muscle. From carrying Abigail from location to location during the kidnapping to later attempting to subdue her in vampire form, Peter’s strength provides one of the most helpful skills throughout Abigail’s chaos. Within the heist, “Peter” gets his alias from real-life Rat Pack member Peter Lawford, an actor known for his roles in movies like Ocean’s Eleven, Little Women, and Dead Ringer.

Alisha Weir’s character reveals that “Peter” is actually Terrence LaCroix, who previously worked as the muscle for a gang in Montreal. As Durand shared with Screen Rant at Abigail’s set visit, “Peter” was a mob enforcer who “was brought in to tenderize the meat of people’s faces.” Eventually, Terrence stole from the gang, which happened to be a subsidiary of Kristof Lazar’s larger criminal empire – a mistake that would cost him dearly in Abigail's gory movie.

2 Rickles (William Catlett)

Sniper; Ex-Marine

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Holding an important surveilling job during the kidnapping of the titular character, William Catlett is featured in Abigail’s cast as “Rickles,” who is the heist crew’s sniper. His sniping ability only really comes out during the movie’s opening kidnapping sequence, with “Rickles” being one of the earlier deaths in Abigail’s reign of terror. During the sequence in which Joey deciphers the characters’ backstories based on her observations of them, Rickles confirms that he was a former Marine sniper, thus having a similar military background to Melissa Barrera’s character.

William Catlett’s “Rickles” gets his Rat Pack nickname from comedian Don Rickles, who was actually noted as only being an “honorary” member of the celebrity group due to his close friendship with Frank Sinatra. Since the movie’s Rickles dies before Abigail is trapped and discloses the remaining heist members’ crimes and real identities, the 2024 horror film doesn’t reveal Rickles’ real name or what he did to betray Kristof Lazar’s mob. However, with his specialty being his sniper skill, it’s possible that Rickles was hired as an assassin to kill someone important within Lazar’s crime family.

The 2024 horror film doesn’t reveal Rickles’ real name or what he did to betray Kristof Lazar’s mob.

1 Dean (Angus Cloud)

The Getaway Driver

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In his final film appearance, the late Angus Cloud appears in Abigail’s cast as “Dean,” who is quickly assessed to be the getaway driver within the heist crew. Of course, Dean’s codename is derived from Rat Pack singer and actor Dean Martin. Not much is revealed about Cloud’s character Dean when Joey breaks down how she perceives her fellow criminals other than her assessment of him being a sociopathic driver. Before Abigail’s vampiric chaos begins, Dean serves another role as he provides comedic relief for the group, often cracking jokes and attempting to flirt with Kathryn Newton’s Sammy.

Angus Cloud passed away on July 31, 2023, shortly after he finished filming his scenes for Abigail.

Unfortunately, Dean becomes the first victim in Abigail’s massacre, as the character is decapitated in the basement early on. This means that, like Rickles, Dean’s real name, backstory, and wrongdoing against Kristof Lazar aren’t revealed to the crew by Abigail. However, his young age and erratic driving suggest that he may have been a member of previous heist teams as a getaway driver, potentially stealing money from a Lazar subsidiary or perhaps even stealing one of the crime lord’s vehicles.