Every Death In Abigail, Ranked By Brutality

The following contains spoilers for Abigail, now playing in theaters

Abigail is a tightly contained film with a relatively small number of characters, which makes the staggeringly brutal kill count by the end of the plot all the more harrowing. The film follows a group of criminals who’ve been hired to kidnap Abigail, the daughter of a mysterious and wealthy businessman. Their intent is to keep her captured for 24 hours and extort a massive payday that can change all their lives. However, they soon realize they’ve fallen into a trap set by the deadly crimelord Kristof Lazar and are set to become the latest victims of his vampiric daughter.

Even before this reveal, the earliest deaths in the film underscore the kind of brutality that awaits the rest of the cast. Once Abigail is exposed though, the film ups the gore and violence to a purposefully ludicrous degree. Across the course of the film, several characters are ripped apart, drained of their blood, and even explode due to the circumstances of how vampires work in the film. There are also notably a handful of survivors. Of Abigail‘s nine characters, only three survive the film — and two of them benefit from being immortal vampires. Both Abigail and Lazar survive Abigail.

Of the crew hired to kidnap Abigail, only Joey makes it out of the manor alive. This only happens because of an unexpected connection that forms between Joey and Abigail, with the latter even defending Joey from her bloodthirsty father when he arrives in Abigail‘s ending. Even then, Joey has been forced to endure a litatny of injuries and near-death close calls. The rest of the cast are steadily wiped out across the course of the film, with their deaths ranging from standard horror movie fare to more gruesome turns. Here’s every death in Abigail ranked in terms of brutality.

6 Peter

Killed By A Corrupted Sammy

Played by Kevin Durand, Peter is the muscle of the criminal crew introduced at the beginning of Abigail. A bulky and dim enforcer, Peter is brought to the Manor because of his disloyalty to his local gang. His immense strength ends up coming in handy during the film, as it allows him to largely brush off Abigail stabbing him with his crucifix and even briefly hold her down. However, all that power means nothing if he’s caught by surprise, which is what dooms him. While exploring the manor alongside Sammy, the young woman is corrupted by Abigail into her puppet.

Taking on vampiric attributes as a result of the bite Abigail gave her earlier in the film, Sammy sneaks up on an unsuspecting Peter and attacks him. Despite his best efforts to get her off him, Peter ultimately gets his throat ripped out by Sammy and quickly expires. The sudden nature of Peter’s death is what gives it a brutal edge. His death is perhaps the most basic in the film, the standard kind of fate that befalls victims of vampires in horror films. While it’s a harsh death, it pales in comparison to the vicious fates of his allies.

5 Rickles

Dies Without Warning In Front Of Joey

Played by Will Catlett, Rickles is the lookout and sniper for the crew that kidnaps Abigail. A no-nonsense former Marine, Rickles quickly develops a kinship with his fellow veteran Joey — who is revealed to be a former Army Medic — and even suggests the pair be prepared to bring down the rest of the group if neccesary. After discovering they are targets of Lazar and his seemingly unstoppable hitman Valdez, Rickles voices a desire to leave the manor. However, he doesn’t get far, with his death happening suddenly on-screen while his back is turned to Joey (and by extension, the audience).

Abigail sneaks up on Rickles and quickly and rips out a chunk of his face. By the time Joey reaches him, he’s left struggling to breathe and remain standing. He quickly collapses dead, with the wound exposing muscle and bone in his face and throat. It’s a harsh death for the former Marine, and another early showcase of how deadly a sudden vampire attack can be. However, compared to the other deaths in the film, it could have been far worse. Rickles at least seemed to die quickly, potentially sparing him the pain felt by the others when they’re killed.

4 Dean

Beheaded By Abigail

Dean is played by Angus Cloud in his final film role before he died in 2023. Angus Cloud is the wheelman for the crew, an unprofessional slacker who becomes the film’s first death. While exploring the manor after a failed prank on Sammy, Dean ends up lured down to the kitchen. A mysterious force (later revealed to be Abigail) knocks him down, leaving him bloodied. Despite his best efforts, Dean is dragged into the shadows and has his head ripped off. It’s a gruesome death that changes the trajectory of the film away from a crime-thriller and into pure horror.

Dean’s death is harsh, but that’s actually not the most brutal element of it. Afterwards, Abigail uses Dean’s mutilated corpse as a means of mocking her targets. Off-screen, Abigail promptly places Dean’s body back in the kitchen and leaves it to be discovered by Sammy. Dean’s death is the first true indicator of how gruesome (and darkly comedic) Abigail can become, as the rest of the crew all react with unexpectedly over-the-top surprise at his demise. Dean’s death might lose some brutal points for happening off-screen, but his head remains a grisly tease of how vicious Abigail can really be.

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3 Lambert

Stabbed In The Back By Frank

Lambert is played by Giancarlo Esposito. Lambert is initially introduced as a criminal associate of Frank and the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Abigail. However, a plot twist late in the film reveals that Lambert is actually an agent of Lazar. After betraying Lazar before the events of the film, Abigail and her fatherturned Lambert into a vampire. Lambert’s attempt to recruit Frank as an ally in a coup against the vampires results in Frank being bitten and transformed into a monster as well. However, Frank has no interest in working with his former ally after his prior betrayal.

Lambert is stabbed in the back by Frank with a wooden stake. The blow catches Lambert by surprise and results in his sudden detonation. Vampires in the world of Abigail physically explode when they are dispatched, with Lambert showering Joey and Frank in gore. Like with Peter, Lambert’s death stands out more for its sudden nature than its sheer brutality. More than anything, the turn solidifies Frank as the final threat of the film. However, the added element of his body exploding adds a grisly layer to the turn, turning the control room of the manor into a gruesome mess.

2 Frank

Frank Is Staked By Joey & Abigail

Frank is played by Dan Stevens. Frank is the nominal leader of the gang when they kidnap Abigail and serves as a well-connected source of background information about Lazar. He survives several injuries across the course of the film, including getting stabbed through the leg by Abigail. However, his eventual transformation into a vampire sets off the gruesome final stretch of Abigail. Deciding to embrace his new vampiric form and planning to murder Lazar, Frank tests out his newfound abilities and endurance against Abigail and Joey in a brawl that ultimately ends with the pair working together to stake Frank.

Frank is the final character to die in Abigail. Like Lambert and Sammy, dying results in his body exploding in a shower of gore. Frank’s demise is a more prolonged battle than Lambert’s, with the now monstrous former cop taking some brutal hits before he’s finally dispatched. His death stands out more as a result, with the film drawing attention to Joey and Abigail having to pull his entrails off of themselves afterward. This highlights the sheer brutal nature of his death, and serves as a fitting final piece of gleeful gore for the horror film to go out on.

1 Sammy

Exposed To Sunlight

Sammy is played by Kathryn Newton. A young hacker and tech expert, Sammy has the most brutal death in Abigail. Although she isn’t among the initial fatalities in the film, Sammy does get bitten by Abigail during an early scuffle with the vampire. This leaves her vulnerable to Abigail’s powers, which include mental manipulation and control. Transformed into a gruesome puppet by the vampire, Sammy quickly attacks and murders Peter while alone with him. Her efforts to lure Joey to a similar fate fail, leading the Abigail controlled Sammy to chase after Joey and Frank, following them into the library.

Sammy is able to use a silver tray to reflect sunlight at her. This kills her instantly, with Sammy exploding and covering the two remaining criminals in blood and guts. It’s a hilariously sudden death, one that had been teased earlier in the film when exposure to sunlight destroyed one of Abigail’s hands. The explosion is a big moment for the film, highlighting how over-the-top Abigail is willing to become in the third act. The fact that Sammy died while not in control of herself adds a tragic layer to the moment. Sammy’s death is easily Abigail‘s most brutal moment.

Abigail (2024)

Abigail is a 2024 horror thriller directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The plot follows a group of people who kidnap the daughter of a dangerous crime lord only to discover that the little girl is actually a vicious vampire out for blood. Alisha Weir stars as the titular character alongside Kathryn Newton, Melissa Barrera, and Dan Stevens.

Director

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin , Tyler Gillett

Writers

Guy Busick , Stephen Shields

Cast

Kathryn Newton , Dan Stevens , Giancarlo Esposito , Kevin Durand , Melissa Barrera , Alisha Weir , Angus Cloud , William Catlett