Kathryn Newton’s New Horror Movie Repeats A Wild Twist From Her $13 Million Box Office Flop Earlier This Year

Warning: Major spoilers for Abigail & Lisa Frankenstein below!

Kathryn Newton’s 2024 has been horror-heavy thus far, and her latest movie Abigail repeats a plot point from her $13 million horror flop from earlier in the year. Newton’s star is rising, thanks to leading roles in the likes of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The actress has an impressive list of credits behind her too, including roles in the acclaimed likes of Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The role that broke Newton through to viewers was Freaky, a gory horror-comedy where her character Millie undergoes a body swap with Vince Vaughn’s serial killer.

Newton is no stranger to the horror genre, with one of her earliest leading parts being 2012’s Paranormal Activity 4; she also had a recurring role in several episodes of Supernatural. Newton seems to be at home with horror comedies, with her latest project being Abigail, where her character is part of a gang that kidnaps a young girl and holds her hostage. Of course, Abigail’s big twist reveals the “innocent” little girl is a vampire, so the gang must try to survive the night while being stalked by the seemingly unkillable creature.

Kathryn Newton’s 2 Horror Characters This Year Both Die & Are Resurrected

Newton’s Abigail and Lisa Frankenstein characters have something in common

Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

Lisa Frankenstein is a comedic fantasy-horror film by first-time director Zelda Williams and is a twist on the classic Frankenstein formula. Set in 1989, a high school outcast named Lisa accidentally revives a handsome corpse from the Victorian era and resolves to rebuild him into the perfect man. 

Director

Zelda Williams

Release Date

February 9, 2024

Distributor(s)

Focus Features

Cast

Kathryn Newton , Cole Sprouse , Liza Soberano , Henry Eikenberry , Joe Chrest , Carla Gugino

Newton’s other 2024 horror outing is Lisa Frankenstein, where she plays a lonely teenager who falls in love with a resurrected, Victorian-era corpse (played by Cole Sprouse). The Zelda Williams-directed movie received mixed reviews (earning 51% on Rotten Tomatoes) but is a fun homage to 1980s genre mashups like Weird Science. What’s interesting aboutAbigail and Lisa Frankenstein is they both feature Kathryn Newton’s character dying and being resurrected by their respective monsters, though in the case of the latter, this is meant to be a good thing.

In Lisa Frankenstein’s ending, the title character decides to burn herself to death so she can fully be with her beloved “Creature.” The final scene reveals Lisa has been resurrected, with The Creature reading to her. In Abigail’s ending scenes, however, Newton’s hacker Sammy is bitten by the title character, later dying and being brought back as a vampire puppet. Sammy dies on a more permanent note after being exposed to sunlight.

Kathryn Newton’s Next Horror Movie Needs To End Her Recent Character Streak

Newton has what it takes to be horror’s next big final girl

It’s doubtful Newton is specifically seeking out horror scripts that require her to die and be resurrected, but her next genre outing still needs to break this trend. She received praise for her work in Freaky, and deservedly so, since she played two completely different characters who happened to share the same body. Freaky didn’t make much of a dent at the box office but has gathered a loyal cult following, with Newton’s performance being a key ingredient.

Freaky also confirmed Newton has what it takes to become the next big final girl of the horror genre, so her Abigail follow-up must position her that way. She would fit well into the Scream franchise – which is fitting since Scream 2022 and Scream VI directors Radio Silence helmed Abigail – so a project in that vein would be a great move. Alongside dropping the whole dying/being resurrected angle, Kathryn Newton should find a straight-ahead horror film without the comedy angle too.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, The Numbers

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

Release Date

April 19, 2024

Writers

Guy Busick , Stephen Shields

Cast

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

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