Where Was Abigail Filmed? The Real Manor From 2024's Movie Explained

Universal’s Abigail filmed the majority of the movie at a real manor that doubled as the mansion where the titular character is held. The vampire ballerina movie follows a group of aspiring criminals who kidnap the 12-year-old daughter of vampire crime lord Kristof Lazar. They must hold the girl overnight in an empty mansion, but their plan soon goes awry when they learn that Abigail is more than just an ordinary girl.

The movie Abigail is a clear reimagining of the 1936 horror movie Dracula’s Daughter. However, the film makes use of many other horror aspects that weren’t present in the inspiration. The most notable example of this is the fact that the movie takes place in a single setting. Even though the location is a mansion, this still induces feelings of claustrophobia and inability to escape danger, which increases the fear level in Abigail.

Dublin, Ireland

Rather than filming predominantly in a studio, the production team for Abigail used the famous Guinness manor in Dublin, Ireland as the mansion in the horror film. The Irish Independent explains that Lothorio socialite Arthur Ernest Guinness decided that he didn’t want one large house but two so that he could have a house solely for partying and fine dining. The houses’ Tudor Revival design provides a dynamic backdrop for Abigail.

The architecture includes multiple archways, large windows, and wooden beams that are visually interesting. Screen Rant did a set visit where they spoke with the cast and crew, who revealed that the production team also dressed the buildings up to match the aesthetic they sought out. Melissa Barrera explained that the creepy taxidermy was a production team choice. She stated:

I was like, ‘There’s a lot of taxidermy here, what’s going on? Is this part of the house?’ And no, it was all production design, but they they said taxidermy and they went for it, and they probably got all the taxidermy available in Ireland. And it was in that house. It was pretty creepy.

By using taxidermy, they added an extra layer of fear to Abigail. Many people who watch movies – even horror movies – struggle with harm to animals, to the point that the website doesthedogdie.com was created just to ease the discomfort of movie viewers. While taxidermy involves already deceased animals, it implies that at one point the animals were killed, providing some of the same chills and adrenaline as seeing an animal die onscreen.

Source

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On Stage Filming

Two Mansion Rooms Weren’t In The Guinness Manor

While the Guinness manor was the primary filming location for Abigail, director Matt Bettinelli-Oplin revealed to Screen Rant that two locations within the mansion weren’t filmed onsite. Instead, the production team used soundstages in a studio. He stated:

The finale of our movie takes place in the library, which story-wise would be part of this manor, and we’ve got that on set. Then there’s another set, which we call the kitchen cellar, that would also be part of this mansion.

Impressively, when watching the movie, it isn’t clear that the Abigail ending and cellar scenes weren’t filmed in the Guinness manor. They seem like they’re all in the same place. The architecture and style match up with the primary filming location, which is a testament to the production designers for Abigail.

Source: Irish Independent

Abigail (2024)

Director

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin , Tyler Gillett

Release Date

April 19, 2024

Distributor(s)

Universal Pictures

Writers

Guy Busick , Stephen Shields

Cast

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