Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the directing duo known as Radio Silence, have just released their newest film into the world. Abigail sees a band of kidnappers go from predator to prey when they realize they’re trapped in a spooky house with a blood-thirsty vampire. CinemaBlend’s Abigail review sings the praises of the new movie, which balances humor and horror quite well. In that way, the film has a lot in common with one of the duo’s previous hits, Ready or Not, one of the best horror comedy movies ever. It seems, however, that the two films have more than a simple thematic relationship, and the they might take place in the same universe, so bring on the crossover!
On paper, Abigail and Ready or Not have more than a little in common. Both are horror movies set in spooky mansions. Both have supernatural influences. In Ready or Not, one woman is chased by a group of people intent on killing her and she must fight to survive. In Abigail, the roles are reversed and a girl is the one hunting the group, who must still fight back to survive. Both movies are also just as funny and action-packed as they are pure horror.
But the similarities don’t stop there. In an interview with Collider, Radio Silence reveals that Abigail contains a particular easter egg reference to Ready or Not. On the wall in the house, eagle-eyed viewers will spot a portrait that fans of Ready or Not will likely recognize. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin specifically stated that this wasn’t just an easter egg, but something that tied the two films together in a small way. He explained…
There is a portrait in the background of one of the scenes of Henry Czerny’s [ancestor]. There is a little bit of a tie to the Ready or Not universe within the movie.
If we want to take the portrait at face value, it indicates that the La Dornas family at the center of Ready or Not exists in the world of Abigail, and even has a direct connection to the house in the latter movie. In Ready or Not, we learn that an early member of the La Dornas clan made a literal deal with the devil to ensure generational business success. All the family needs to do in return is occasionally murder people who marry into the family.
It’s certainly not a stretch that a world that includes demons also includes vampires. So it wouldn’t exactly be complicated to bring these two stories, and their surviving characters, together in a crossover if somebody had a great idea for a story.
As the person who wrote our Ready or Not review and gave the movie five stars years ago, as well as who enjoyed Abigail almost as much, I would love to see it. We could get an entire cinematic universe of hilariously gory horror movies where strong women fight for their lives in spooky houses. I would be there for every entry.
Despite the fact that the Ready or Not ending was quite definitive, we know that Ready or Not 2 is a project in development. We’ll have to wait and see if the forthcoming sequel makes any Abigail nods that expand this universe further.