Scream directors’ new vampire horror Abigail is so bloody, they spent the majority of the shoot apologizing to the actors

Scream directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s new horror movie Abigail is so bloody, they felt genuinely bad for constantly dousing their actors in the sticky red stuff on set.

“All of our movies are bloody,” the filmmakers tell Total Film in our new issue out this Friday, which features Road House on the cover. “[But] I would say that this is definitely the most bloody. We spent a lot of time apologizing to our actors on this movie! 

“I mean, blood is in the DNA of a vampire movie, and the amount of blood work in this one is… It’s pretty extreme!” Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, whose previous works include Southbound and Ready or Not, continued. “But it’s still fun.”

Starring Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, and Matilda breakout Alisha Weir in the titular role, the film follows a ragtag team of kidnappers who realize too late that the 12-year-old girl they’ve been asked to keep captive isn’t just the daughter of a powerful criminal; she’s a vampire, and a ballet-dancing one at that.

Kathryn Newton, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Durand, and the late Angus Cloud round out the cast. In Total Film’s exclusive image above, you can see the cluster of crooks as they arrive at the place where they’re supposed to hide Abigail. In other words, it’s a shot from the start of the movie before everything goes seriously, seriously sideways…

(Image credit: Universal Pictures)
Pre-order the Road House issue of Total Film

Abigail is released on April 19. And you can read more about it and a whole lot else besides in the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Friday, March 1. This is one day later than usual, due to how the Leap Year falls. 

Check out the covers below:

(Image credit: Prime Video/Amazon MGM Studios/Total Film)

Pre-order the issue here to bag your copy, or click here to subscribe to Total Film and never miss another exclusive. You’ll get every issue before it’s in stores, and you’ll get subscriber-exclusive covers. 

(Image credit: Universal/Warner Bros./Prime Video/Amazon MGM Studios/Focus Features)