Abigail parents guide: This kid vampire flick ain't for kids

Radio Silence's latest film is a blast-and-a-half, but it's not for children.
(from left) Abigail (Alisha Weir) and Sammy (Kathryn Newton) in Abigail, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett. - Courtesy Overlook Film Fest
(from left) Abigail (Alisha Weir) and Sammy (Kathryn Newton) in Abigail, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett. - Courtesy Overlook Film Fest /
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Sure, kids can seem like little monsters -- but maybe not as monstrous as Abigail. The Universal Pictures film is out now available for rent and purchase on digital, meaning you can watch all the bloody madness at home. And with the child vampire front and center on the key art, you might be wondering if you can plop the kids down on the couch to watch the latest flick from the Radio Silence collective.

The film is centered on a group of for-hire misfits who are tasked with overseeing the daughter of a major crime boss named Kristof Lazar (Matthew Goode). Led by a man named Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), they are instructed to stay in a gothic mansion for 24 hours, at which point they'll receive a $7 million check. It turns out the daughter, Abigail, is actually a centuries-old vampire who is capable of far more than just masquerading as a dainty ballerina in pointe shoes.

Abigail is directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from a screenplay written by Stephen Shields and Guy Busick. The ensemble cast includes Melissa Barrera (Scream franchise) as Joey, Dan Stevens as Frank, Will Catlett as Rickles, Kathryn Newton (Lisa Frankenstein) as Sammy, Kevin Durand as Peter, Angus Cloud as Dean, and Alisha Weir as Abigail.

If you want to know if Abigail is appropriate for kids, we have the breakdown for you! Read on to find out whether this sucks for kids. That's a vampire joke!

Abigail Parents Guide: Explaining The R Age Rating

Abigail has been given an R rating for strong bloody violence and gore throughout, pervasive language, and brief drug use. There's definitely merit in that decision.

Sex/Nudity: There's nothing overly explicit in Abigail when it comes to sex and nudity. There is some non-platonic tension between some of the characters as one of the leads flirts heavily with another character who shuns his advances. One of the characters has male genitalia drawn on their face.

Violence: Gore galore, folks! The main character is a vampire and we all know what vampires need to do in order to thrive: drink blood! Abigail dances with a headless corpse. Multiple characters die/evaporate in this film. There's a scene where a character is bitten, and an elongated scene with a ton of vomited-up blood. Abigail has her hand burned off by sunlight. Multiple stabbings occur in a scene and a character is seen being injected with knockout drug.

Language: You will definitely hear a lot of cursing in this film. Complete with the F-word, "motherf----r," "s--t," "S-O-B", "a--hole," etc. As usual, with films that are described to have harsh language and cursing, it tends to be present throughout the entirety of the film. This is no different.

Drinking & Drugs: Yes, you will find drinking in this film. There are multiple drug references due to the lead character being described as a "junkie" or a drug addict. You will see a character smoking marijuana.

Overall Verdict: What Age Is Abigail Appropriate For?

The R rating is 100% warranted and it's a given for the violence and dark/twisted subject matter alone. I think most parents may just see this as a blood fest. There are some interesting twists and turns in this film so we can confirm that the film is entertaining -- for adults. You can even compare this to Universal Pictures' other kid-led horror movie, M3GAN, but there are plenty of parents who may not be convinced. This is for 17 and up.

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This story has been updated to reflect Abigail's VOD availability.