Warning: SPOILERS lie ahead for Abigail!

Summary

• Melissa Barrera shines in the new horror film Abigail alongside a talented cast hunted down in a bloody rampage by a centuries-old vampire.
• Barrera enjoyed the creative freedom she got to explore during the production, praising her co-stars for adding comedy, unique character quirks, and improv to the horror movie.
• Despite a violent and ambiguous ending, Barrera remains open to a potential Abigail sequel, expressing interest in teaming up with Radio Silence again.

Melissa Barrera's horror movie success streak continues with Abigail. Since making the leap to Hollywood with the Starz drama Vida, Barrera has enjoyed a steady rise through the industry thanks in large part to her role as Sam Carpenter in 2022's Scream and its sequel, Scream VI. She has also lent her talent to other genre territory, including the movie adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights and Netflix's survival drama Keep Breathing.

In Abigail, Barrera stars as Joey, one of a group of six mercenaries hired to kidnap the 12-year-old daughter of a wealthy crime lord and tasked with watching her for 24 hours in an old mansion until the $50 million ransom comes in. As the night progresses, though, the group come to realize that the titular girl with an affinity for ballet is actually a centuries-old vampire, with the tables turned on them as she begins hunting them down one by one in a bloody rampage.

Alongside Barrera, the ensemble Abigail cast includes Dan Stevens, Alisha Weir, Will Catlett, Kathryn Newton, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud and Giancarlo Esposito. The horror movie reteams Barrera with Radio Silence duo Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin after their work on the Scream sequels, with the script also being penned by frequent collaborator Guy Busick and The Hole in the Ground's Stephen Shields.

In honor of the movie's digital release, Screen Rant interviewed Melissa Barrera for Abigail, how her experience with the horror movie compared to the Scream sequels, the intentional ambiguity of its ending and scrapped alternate ending, a potential sequel, and her ongoing friendship with star Jenna Ortega.

Abigail Invited More Creative Freedom From Barrera & The Team

With the movie taking its own original path than the rules-driven Scream franchise, Barrera found her experience in Abigail to be "a lot more fun" with its creative freedom. In looking at its unique blend of horror and comedy, she not only praises her co-stars for leaning into the wilder side of its concept but even recalled feeling lost initially about whether it would be a serious movie or a humorous one:

Melissa Barrera: It was, honestly, a lot more fun, because we felt like we had more freedom. And when you have more creative freedom, you just go all out. Matt and Tyler were really excited about getting to do something on their own, and I was excited to do this next chapter with them. And we had a ton of fun making this movie. I mean, the movie is a lot of fun to watch, so you can imagine how fun it was to make. I was so in awe of all of my castmates, and what they brought to their characters.

The script was written with some comedy, but I think the movie ended up being a lot funnier, because of all the improv, and what everybody brought to their characters. Joey isn't really funny, she's the least funny character out of everyone. [Chuckles] She's the emotional pillar, but I was probably the actor that broke the most while we were shooting, because everyone just made me laugh so much. And it was just so beautiful to see these incredible actors bring it, like, that's why they're all so good.

I couldn't believe that I got to be in a movie with all of them, because I was already a fan of all of them from their previous works, but just seeing them in action, and all the little quirks and little ideas that they had for their characters that were so surprising. I think that's what differentiates a good actor from a great one, where sometimes when you read a script, you can kind of tell what it's going to be like on set. I feel like there's a lot of actors out there who are — I mean, it sounds awful — pretty lazy, they just kind of are like, "Yeah, I'll just read these lines and do it naturally and whatever."

But it's the actors that come in with a unique take on it that is surprising to everyone that really elevates the script and makes the movie better. And that's what they all did, and I think that's why the balance between the gore and the comedy is so great. Obviously, we have Matt and Tyler, who are geniuses at navigating that fine line, and finding the right balance, so it was just amazing. It was very confusing for me at the beginning, because I was like, "I don't know what movie I'm making. I didn't know that it was going to be that funny."

So, I was genuinely super confused, because I was like, "I thought this was serious." And maybe that's because, for Joey, it is super serious. She's the one that has a real important reason, it's life or death for her, it's either getting her child back or not. It's either getting her life back, and her family, or not. So, to me, I came in super serious like, "This is a big deal. This is her last job." So, I was very much in that zone, and then all of a sudden, they'd be doing all these crazy things, and I was like, "What is going on?"

And I'd go to Matt and be like, "Matt, what's happening? What movie is this?" And he'd be like, "You're perfect. Keep doing what you're doing. If you're keeping us grounded, everyone else can get wacky and crazy." And I was like, "Okay, great." So that was my part was to keep everybody grounded in reality so that they could get as wacky and as crazy as possible.

The action sequences in the movie were one of the biggest differences Barrera saw between her experience with the Scream franchise, citing her work with the stunt team on Abigail as another reason why she hopes to star in an action-focused movie in the future:

Melissa Barrera: It was awesome, it was a really long sequence. We rehearsed it for a long time, for like two weeks, and they ended up cutting it. It's still long in the movie, but there's so much more footage of the fight that they cut, because it just was too long, I guess. But it was exciting, I'd never done that extensive of fight choreography before. I'd done some, but not this level, and it was amazing just to work with the stunts, and to learn the punches.

It made me want to be a stuntperson, you know? I was like, "This is super fun." I've always wanted to do a big action movie, but it made me want to do it even more. Getting that last little taste of being immersed in a fight sequence and doing that and shooting it. It took us, also, like two weeks to shoot that final sequence. So it was pretty exciting.

Joey Nearly Had A Different Abigail Ending (But Barrera Feels They "Didn't Need It")

After watching many of her cohorts killed by the titular vampire ballerina, the Abigail ending sees a unique twist as she and Joey team up to take down the turned Frank before he can similarly turn the latter and use his powers for horrific means. Following a brutal fight in which they are victorious, Abigail's mysterious father finally arrives, with the daughter preventing him from feeding on Joey and letting her leave to be reunited with her son.

In the movie's final moments, Joey gets in the van the group drove to the mansion in, looking at her phone and smiling as she puts it to her ear, seemingly indicating that she received a voicemail from her son after leaving him an emotional message before the fight, only to then put the phone down and start the van. When asked about this moment, Barrera confirms it was left intentionally vague, though also reveals there was an alternate ending in which she did call him, and he answered, though she felt it was unnecessary:

Melissa Barrera: Yes, it was. We did record a call with my son in the van, so there was that option of him actually answering and Joey saying, "I'm coming home." But I think the guys decided that we didn't need it, because we had that big emotional call before, and because of the nature of the ending with Abigail and her dad coming in, it would have felt like a double beat. I think we didn't need it, and it's just a bada-- [fight] then leave like that. Just be like, "We don't know what's gonna happen. Is she gonna go home? Did Abigail tell the truth that she's going to turn into a vampire?" Who knows?

Barrera Is More Cautious About An Abigail 2 (But Wants To Team Up With Another Radio Silence Vet)

Prior to the movie's release, Barrera had expressed her interest in making an Abigail 2, even pitching her own idea in which Joey becomes a vampire and tries to hunt down the titular character, only for them to again join up to face a new clan of vampires. Though still very keen on reteaming with Radio Silence and open to a potential sequel, she's a little more wary to jump right on board for a follow-up:

Melissa Barrera: No, the idea of a sequel for me was always exciting, because I want to be a vampire. [Laughs] That's all I want in life, that's all I want. So that was, for me, it was the thing, but I don't know that we need one. And it will be actually really hard to do with Alisha, because technically, she can't get any older, and she's at that age where she is getting older. Not that you can't do it with deaging and CGI and all that stuff, but who knows? I'd definitely be open to coming back. I will work with Matt and Tyler whenever, wherever, for whatever project. So, if they were like, "Let's make another," I'd be like, "Yeah, when? Let's go back to Ireland."

She does, however, have one hopeful thought about reteaming with Radio Silence in the future, as she expresses her desire to work with Ready or Not star Samara Weaving in a proper capacity after not sharing any screen time in Scream VI:

Melissa Barrera: Yeah, we've gotta get a movie with the both of us. I would love that. I met her while she was there, but I wasn't even on set when she was shooting, because that whole beginning was shot separately. And that was a week off that I got, so I went back to Mexico. But yeah, she's incredible, she's an amazing actor and a really good friend of mine. And Matt and Tyler's, too, so it would be awesome.

Jenna Ortega Offered Barrera "Super Sweet" Support After Her Scream 7 Firing

Prior to the movie's release, Barrera was infamously fired from Scream 7 due to social media posts regarding the Israel-Hamas War. The months since have seen the majority of the franchise's cast voice their support for Barrera and expressing disappointment in the studio for her decision. On-screen sister Jenna Ortega later left the sequel over a reported pay dispute, putting plans into a complete turnaround. Reflecting on the experience, Barrera expresses her gratitude to Ortega for her "super sweet" support during the situation, while also humorously acknowledging one bump in their friendship:

Melissa Barrera: We talked a lot when it went down. She was checking in on me, and was super sweet. We haven't spoken in a while, but she's busy. She's crazy busy. And she's also not a great texter backer. [Chuckles] So, every time that I text her, I know, eventually, she'll get back to me. And she's just not glued to her phone like some of us are, I am glued to my phone. Which, bless her, good for her. But yeah, with her, it's one of those things where no matter if you don't talk for months, when we do call each other, or when we do connect or see each other somewhere, it's like no time has passed. We go right back to where we left off, so I am always cheering her on, and I'm rooting for her, and I will protect her forever with my life.

About Abigail

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.

Check out our previous Abigail interviews below:

• Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (WonderCon)
• Dan Stevens (WonderCon)
• Melissa Barrera & Alisha Weir (Pre-Release)
• Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett (Pre-Release)
• Dan Stevens & Kathryn Newton (Pre-Release)
• Kevin Durand & Will Catlett (Pre-Release)
• Alisha Weir (Post-Release)

Abigail is now available to rent or purchase on digital platforms and is in theaters.