Abigail Explained: What were the vampire rules?

Abigail is a 2024 action horror movie which follows a group that kidnaps a young ballerina and soon learns that her father is no ordinary person. I know that is vague, but anything more will spoil the film which is otherwise a fun ride; do check it out! Here’s the plot and ending of Abigail explained; spoilers ahead.

Contents

Here are links to the key aspects of the movie:

• – Kristof Lazar, Abigail, Lambert
• – The Rat Pack
• – Rules Of Vampirery 
• – Who lives, who dies, who becomes a vampire?
• – Ending Explained

Abigail: Who is Kristof Lazar?

There once was an unfriendly neighbourhood vampire who may have gone by the name Dracula. We don’t know. It doesn’t matter. No one knows why people are making such a big deal about it. He started his empire of evilness, which grew and found its way to various parts of the world. Seeking parenthood, he abducted a girl, Abigail, and turned her into a vampire. While the initial centuries were all fun and games, he eventually got tired of his daughter’s literally endless teenage tantrums, distanced himself and got busy with other evil matters.

Who or what is Abigail?

Abigail was once a regular girl centuries ago until she was captured and converted into a vampire by Lazar. One can only guess that Abigail was a ballerina at the time. The art has stayed with her, and she’s updated herself with newer stuff, like Swan Lake from the 1800s. By the way, Black Swan deals with the same ballet, and that’s why you’ll hear the same music in both films.

Why is she hunting people?

Abigail is looking to get her father to rediscover his love for her, and so she’s hunting down people who have harmed her father’s business in one way or another and is killing them and offering their blood to her daddy. Of course, the people she’s hunting down are such low-grade folks that it practically would mean nothing to Lazar, and this cycle of hunt-kill-feed-lovelessness will continue forever, it appears.

Abigail: Who is Lambert, and why did he set them up?

Lambert was once a trusted figure orchestrating heists, kidnappings, and the works until he got caught and turned by Abigail. She came for him and threatened his family. Now, all he does is bring her father’s enemies to that mansion so she can play her hunting games.

The Rat Pack

While the team believes Lambert calls them rats in reference to the iconic musical group Rat Pack, he’s actually calling out that they are merely a pack of scurrying rats trapped in a maze destined to die.

Joey is Lucia Cruz, who was a former Army medic and was expelled for consuming morphine. She became a drug-addicted underground doctor and one of the patients she killed by mistake while high was someone important to Lazar.

Frank is former Detective Adam Barrett, who infiltrated Lazar’s New York operations but was corrupted by money, power, and the lack of rules. He changed his name, ditched his family, and started a new life.

We don’t know about Rickles‘ past other than that he was a sniper for the Marines, went rogue and is now doing illegal jobs getting rich. He’s obviously done some shady work that affected Lazar’s operations but we don’t get to know what that was.

Sammy is actually Jessica Hurney, who got rich syphoning money from her parents’ accounts and eventually moved to higher-order hacking crimes. However, one of the accounts she hacked belonged to Lazar’s operation.

Peter is Terrence Lacroix, who got tired of his team’s taunts and eventually stole money that belonged to Lazar from them.

We don’t know anything about Dean or how he’s connected to Lazar, but he’s a skilled diver and Abigail’s target.

Abigail Explained: Rules Of Vampirery 

Garlic has no effect on a vampire.

A cross has no effect on a vampire.

A stake through the heart is an instant kill.

Sunlight blows up the exposed parts of a vampire, which will heal.

Sunlight blows up a vampire if directed at the heart/torso.

A vampire biting someone doesn’t make them a vampire instantly; they’re not zombies.

An expert vampire can bite someone and then use their powers to control the person. Control is only up to one level. If A turns B and then B turns C, A can control B, and B can control C. However, A cannot control C. Hey, I don’t make the rules.

An expert vampire can bite someone and convert the victim into a vampire by offering their blood.

A person bitten by a vampire will stay human; they may die by bleeding out if the wound is fatal.

If a vampire kills the vampire who turned them, they become autonomous. 

Abigail: Who lives, who dies, who becomes a vampire?

As the cat and rat chase begins, Abigail picks the Rat Pack off one by one. Let’s use the rules above to see what happens to each character in the film.

Dean is the first to go. Abigail slips out of her room, kills Dean, beheads him for fun, and leaves his body assembled for Sammy to find. Later, she dances with his headless corpse. Dean is just food.

Rickles is mauled and bitten by Abigail, who slips out of her room as soon as Joey and Rickles walk in opposite directions. Rickles, too, is just food and dies.

Sammy is bitten by Abigail, and in a short while, Abigail controls Sammy fully. Sammy is turned into a vampire and is blown to bits when Joey reflects sunlight onto her chest.

Peter is bitten by Sammy, who is now a vampire under the control of Abigail. Peter bleeds out and dies and is not turned into a vampire; he is also just food.

Lambert bites and turns Frank into a vampire. Lambert promises autonomy and plans to kill Abigail and Lazar. However, Frank is still furious about Lambert setting him up and doesn’t trust him. Remember, Lambert converted Frank and can technically control him. To be truly independent, Frank impales a stake through Lambert’s heart, who promptly explodes.

Frank overpowers Abigail, drinks her blood and weakens her. He then bites Joey and believes he can control and convert her with a snap of his finger. He does neither, and Joey and Abigail join hands and drive a stake through Frank’s heart, who blows up all over the hall.

Abigail Ending Explained: Why didn’t Joey become a vampire?

Joey was bitten by Frank, who is inexperienced and hence doesn’t successfully turn Joey; the bite is not fatal either. With Frank gone, Joey gets to walk away as a human. Had Frank survived, over time, he would have learnt the art of mind control and used it to possess Joey. It’s true that I was expecting Joey to leave the mansion and be blown up by the sun as Abigail and Lazar chuckled. But based on the film rules, she remains human throughout the fight, and since Frank dies shortly after biting Joey, she gets to walk away from this incredible mess of a kidnapping gig.

Why didn’t Peter become a vampire?

Peter is bitten by Sammy, who is a young vampire under the control of Abigail. Sammy bites Peter fatally, and he bleeds out and dies. Sammy, too, is killed by sunlight. That’s why Peter doesn’t emerge as a vampire. However, I understand that all of us were waiting for him to show up as a brutal beast vampire. Missed opportunity.

What were your thoughts on the plot and ending of the movie Abigail? Drop your comments below!