At 14, Alisha Weir has two big releases under her belt. She played Matilda Wormwood in “Matilda the Musical”, which was released in 2022, and she is the lead in the horror comedy, “Abigail”.
The film, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, is a reboot of the 1936 film, “Dracula’s Daughter”. It recently opened on the big screen.
To say that Weir was chuffed to land the part is an understatement.
In a recent interview, she said: “I had four auditions. My first one was a meeting with the directors, where we talked about the character and the storyline.
“Then, I did a self-tape and later a Zoom, as they were in America and I was in Ireland.
“Two days later, I had my final audition, which was a chemistry read with Melissa Barrera. I had so much fun going through the audition process and was really hoping to get the role, and then, my mom got a text from my agent, saying they’d like to offer me the part of Abigail.”
Weir added: “Oh my gosh, I can’t even tell you how excited I was. I really wanted this role because I loved the character, the storyline and just everything about it.
“So, when my mom said that they’d like to offer me the part, I was very excited.”
The plot centres on Abigail (Weir), a ballet dancer and the daughter of a powerful crime boss in New York City. She is captured by six criminals, who are dealing with their own struggles. They are demanding a hefty ransom for her safe return.
Held up in a secluded mansion, they motley gang realise that they have bitten off more than they can chew as Abigail is no ordinary girl at night.
Weir revealed: “When I first read the script, I was really intrigued and could not put it down. I wanted to know what was going to happen next and what was coming.
“Also, I was fascinated by the character because I’d never done a part like this, and I’ve always liked horror films.
“I just loved Abigail and how she was basically playing two different people, with her transition from an innocent girl to a vampire – which I thought was amazing.”
Given the duality of the character, Weir turned to an acting coach for help.
She explained: “When we went through the script, we'd have two names for the role: we called the innocent girl Abby, and the vampire Abigail.
“We had two different sticky notes (one was purple and the other one blue), and we’d go through the script, sticking in the purple one for Abby and the blue one for Abigail.
“That way, when it came to learning my lines or practising, I’d know, ‘Okay, I’m playing Abigail now’, or ‘Okay, I’m playing Abby now’. And when I was playing both, with hints of one in another, it also really helped.”
When it comes to vampire movies, Hollywood has delivered countless times with the “Dracula”, “Twilight”, “Blade” and “Underworld” franchises. That’s not forgetting, “Renfield”, “Priest”, “Van Helsing”, “Daybreakers”, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and too many more to mention.
But you get the idea.
As for what differentiates Abigail from others in the genre, Weir shared: “It’s quite original because I believe it takes the biggest turn ever. At the start, you see this beautiful angelic little ballet dancer, and then you would never expect her to be who she really is.
“No one has seen anything like that, especially from a little kid. So, it just gets stranger and stranger as it goes on and you find out what’s happening next. Also, I haven’t heard of any vampire dancers so far in my life.”
Also, the writers penned some “daddy issues” for the character.
She explained: “Her father has never really been there for her. That’s relevant when she meets Joey (one of the kidnappers, played by Melissa Barrera) and sees how much she cares about her son, as I believe that Abigail is looking for someone to be there for her.
“That’s also a main part of the story, as well as her killing people.
“I was excited about that transformation from an innocent girl to vampire, being a completely different mindset. You are not changing into a different person; you are changing into a different species: a vampire.
“I really enjoyed wearing the teeth, and having blood everywhere and getting into the mindset of the killing scenes where even the tone of my voice changed,” Weir continued.
For her ballet scenes, Weir worked with choreographer Belinda Murphy and sang her praises.
She said: “Belinda is incredible, and she’s such a good teacher. She has a lot of patience and is so kind. We talked a lot and exchanged ideas, which was very helpful because I hadn’t done ballet before, but I enjoyed the rehearsals and worked really hard. That was an exciting challenge”
And the young actor didn’t shy away from the stunt work either. If anything, she had a blast doing them.
“I’ve never done a horror film before, and I’ve never done a character like this before either; so, mostly everything was different, especially playing a vampire who is pretending to be this little girl.
“But as I have always wanted to do a horror movie, the experience was amazing.”
Critics have lauded the release, which is bolstered by an incredible ensemble cast. But you can decide for yourself.
∎ “Abigail” is showing at cinemas nationwide.