After her breakout role in the 2021 musical In the Heights, Melissa Barrera made a name for herself in the horror genre with the fifth and sixth installments of the Scream film franchise. Even after she was unceremoniously fired from the upcoming seventh movie for posting about the Israel-Hamas conflict, Barrera hasn’t turned her back on horror cinema.
In her upcoming film Abigail, Barrera plays Joey, a kidnapper who targets a young girl named Abigail who turns out to be a vampire. The film is loosely inspired by the 1936 film Dracula’s Daughter. According to Universal, Abigail is “a unique take on legendary monster lore and will represent a fresh, new direction for how to celebrate these classic characters.”
In the first trailer for the film, Joey and a group of criminals kidnap the girl, who is the daughter of an extremely wealthy man. One of Joey’s fellow kidnappers is played by the late Angus Cloud (Euphoria). The ransom the group is demanding is $50 million.
During one scene in the trailer, Joey attempts to connect with Abigail and keep her calm. “If you behave and do as we say, I pinky promise you, it’ll all be over soon.” Abigail responds with some unnerving words: “Joey, I’m sorry what’s going to happen to you.”
Once the kidnappers discover they have kidnapped a “ballerina vampire” and are trapped with her in a house, they try to figure out a way to survive. Joey wonders what they can do to kill Abigail. Another kidnapper says it depends on whether she’s a True Blood vampire or a Twilight one.
Prepare for a lot of blood and decapitations in this blood-soaked creature feature by the directors of Ready or Not and 2022’s Scream.
Ballerina, starring Melissa Barrera, hits theaters on April 19, 2023.