Movies
Unpacking Cults and Humanity in ‘Abigail Before Beatrice’ with Filmmaker Cassie Keet
I was one of the few people lucky enough to catch the East Coast premiere of Abigail Before Beatrice at Brooklyn Horror Film Fest. This southern cult horror moment gives us a lot to talk about, and I decided to go right to the cool filmmaker herself. I caught up with Cassie Keet to talk about her new film, cults, and getting the perfect take even when the bowling alley has been overrun by small children. Read on for our spoiler-free discussion to help you prepare for this devastatingly sad film.
An Interview with Filmmaker Cassie Keet on Her Movie Abigail Before Beatrice
Horror Press: So, this is your second feature with cults being part of the problem. While Abigail Before Beatrice has a much different vibe than Scream Therapy, it’s safe to say you have thoughts about cults and cult mentality. What is it about the world of cults that draws you in as a filmmaker?
Cassie Keet: I’ve always been curious and sympathetic to people who are drawn into cults. They’re looking for something that’s missing in their life (Abigail Before Beatrice), or they’re born into a system that’s already been put into place for them (Scream Therapy). I’ve always found the members of the cult more interesting than the cult itself or even the leader. Who are these people? Who did they used to be? I know how easy it is to wake up one day and realize, “Oh shit, is this relationship toxic?” The catch is, sometimes that wakeup call doesn’t happen until years later. I think part of my sympathy for people in cults is a way of giving myself and the past relationships I participated in a little bit of grace.
HP: I think people are not as aware of how easily they can exhibit cult-like behavior. Trying to fit in is a slippery slope to becoming part of a pack and not thinking for yourself. However, people tend to look down on people in cults without looking at their own actions and realizing they are not so different. Why do you think there is this reflex to judge people who join cults instead of empathizing with whatever reasons made them feel like a cult was the only place they could find community?
CK: I think people want to believe that they’re different and would never “fall for” something like that. But there are cults everywhere. Cults of personality (looking at you, shitty YouTube manosphere dudes), MLMs (looking at you, girls I went to middle school with), cults of religion (looking at you, every religion). These are ways of thinking that are being weaponized against people by people acting in bad faith, who are the ones who are benefiting the most from your participation. I don’t want to sound callous – I love myself a fun YouTube or TikTok series. I tried to sell makeup in my early 20s, and I’m still a practicing reformed Methodist. It’s about how these things are used.
It’s easy to look at someone who has slipped down a slope and want to congratulate yourself for wearing the right shoes. But no one is “too smart” to be influenced by something that speaks directly to them on a deep, personal level. We’re all looking for something. Sometimes we find it in the wrong place.
HP: It’s hard to not love Beatrice (Olivia Taylor Dudley) in the first act. Then we get to start to get a fuller picture and discover she’s not quite who we thought she was. In your Q&A, you mentioned that you wanted to highlight that even logical people can find themselves in a cult. Can you discuss what went into crafting this character, whom we empathize with even when we are not on board with her thought process?
CK: I wrote Beatrice with the intention of challenging myself as a writer while also exploring some of my own past experiences. I wanted to approach some painful topics that were close to me from a compassionate, if somewhat ambivalent, lens. Beatrice is who she is. I recognize myself in her, and I recognize so many others who have experienced toxic or traumatic relationships. She’s a deeply flawed human because humans are deeply flawed. There’s the joke “I support women’s rights, and women’s wrongs,” and honestly, that applies to Beatrice. Well, maybe not all of her wrongs.
HP: One of the things I like about Abigail Before Beatrice is that it specifically explores how gender plays into cults. Grayson (Shayn Herndon) is clearly a predator, and these women put up with these abuses and his lies, in some small part, because society conditions women to put up with toxic male behaviors. Because there are so many cults getting documentaries or living in our collective consciousness, is Grayson based on someone(s) specifically?
CK: Grayson is a mixture of some cult leaders (Manson, Koresh, Jones), but mostly he was a personal creation. VERY personal. I asked myself, “Who is the type of guy that you would leave your life behind for?” Grayson was my answer. He approaches with a soft hand and a charming smile, tells you you’re special and that you belong somewhere special, and then whisks you away with a romantic kiss. After watching the scene where Grayson meets and seduces Beatrice, several people have said that they would have been tempted to go to the farm with him if he’d done the same. I know I would have.
HP: I think one of the saddest things about Beatrice is that she is clearly capable of living a full life outside of this cult. Yet, she can’t see that, so she mourns the sisterhood, abuse, and routine. As someone who went to grad school for theatre, I find that depressingly relatable and sad. However, many people have a hard time seeing themselves as competent individuals who deserve more. How many of our friends continue to settle in their relationships, jobs, etc.? Why do you think so many of us prefer the devil we know rather than seeing what else is out there?
CK: There’s a term called ‘familiar suffering.’ We choose the pain we’ve experienced in the past or are currently experiencing, because it’s a known quantity. We fear the unknown and the possibility that it contains worse suffering, so we stay where we are. It’s a coping mechanism. It’s built into our brains as a survival technique, even though it lessens our quality of life and leads to self-sabotage. You have to willingly break yourself out of it, but damn it’s hard. Combine that with an abusive environment or relationship that tells you what you have is the best you’ll ever get and that you’ll fail within a world that’s different, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.
HP: Because everyone handles trauma differently, I love that Abigail (Riley Dandy) and Beatrice have two completely different journeys with the aftermath of their stint in a cult. Was there a draft where we got more time with the two of them? Or was the vision always to focus on Beatrice?
CK: When I was first conceptualizing the story, I originally wanted to split the narrative between the two of them to show them both in the present. The scene where they reunited at the coffee shop was the first scene I wrote. However, the more I wrote about Beatrice, the more I wanted to explore the specific story of someone who can’t move on because they can’t let go. If I had a million dollars, I would make mini-movies about all of the cult girls and their lives before and after. I just find it so fascinating.
HP: You have so many stories from filming this movie in intense heat and battling wildlife in Arkansas. I have been lucky to hear a few stories, but what is the one you find the funniest and can share with our readers at Horror Press?
CK: Oh god, there are so many. Every day was a hot, sweaty adventure. I will say that the day we filmed at the bowling alley was insane. They let us rent three lanes for free a month before shooting, mentioning off-handedly that they had rented out a few other lanes. When we started setting up our lights and gear, SEVERAL BUSSES OF CHILDREN arrived. Apparently, every other lane had been rented out to day camps. It was the loudest day of my life. Hundreds of screaming children ages 6-11 are sprinting around like maniacs.
Our amazing grip team built a privacy wall for the actors (and for sound, god bless), but at one point, some kid did the inchworm past it. The entire cast and crew stared at him. It felt like a mass hallucination. But, fun fact: we were able to get the shot of Will (Jordan Lane Shappell) bowling a strike and Beatrice (Olivia Taylor Dudley) hitting one pin in just one perfect take. When I called cut, we screamed louder than all of the kids!
HP: What is one thing you have been dying to talk about regarding this movie (non-spoilers obviously) and haven’t been able to?
CK: Olivia’s performance. Every single performance is incredible, but oh holy shit, Olivia just knocks it out of the park. I spent half of filming either staring in shock at the monitor or openly weeping between takes. She’s just beyond amazing. I am so in love with our cast – especially my supporting leads Riley Dandy, Shayn Herndon, Jordan Lane Shappell, and Molly Jackson. I couldn’t have made this movie without this cast.
HP: What are you working on next after you finish your festival run with Abigail Before Beatrice?
CK: I’ve got a couple of things in development right now, which is super exciting! A script I wrote in 2024, right before we went into production for ABB, made the Black List, so that’s with two production companies right now. Fingers crossed!
HP: What social media apps can people find you on, if you want your fans to find you?
CK: Find me on Insta! @kissmycassiek
Abigail Before Beatrice, is still touring festivals. Keep your eyes out for more updates and make sure you follow Cassie Keet to stay in the loop.
I was late to the Radio Silence party. However, I do not let that stop me from being one of the loudest people at the function now. I randomly decided to see Ready or Not in theaters one afternoon in 2019 and walked out a better person for it. The movie introduced me to the work of a team that would become some of my favorite current filmmakers. It also confirmed that getting married is the worst thing one can do. That felt very validating as someone who doesn’t buy into the needing to be married to be complete narrative.
Ready or Not is about a fucked up family with a fucked up tradition. The unassuming Grace (Samara Weaving) thinks her new in-laws are a bit weird. However, she’s blinded by love on her wedding day. She would never suspect that her groom, Alex (Mark O’Brien), would lead her into a deadly wedding night. So, she heads downstairs to play a game with the family, not knowing that they will be hunting her this evening. This is one of the many ways I am different from Grace. I watch enough of the news to know the husband should be the prime suspect, and I have been around long enough to know men are the worst. I also have a commitment phobia, so the idea of walking down the aisle gives me anxiety.
Grace Under Fire
Ready or Not is a horror comedy set on a wealthy family’s estate that got overshadowed by Knives Out. I have gone on record multiple times saying it’s the better movie. Sadly, because it has fewer actors who are household names, people are not ready to have that conversation. However, I’m taking up space this month to talk about catharsis, so let me get back on track. One of the many ways this movie is better than the latter is because of that sweet catharsis awaiting us at the end.
This movie puts Grace through it and then some. Weaving easily makes her one of the easiest final girls to root for over a decade too. From finding out the man she loves has betrayed her, to having to fight off the in-laws trying to kill her, as she is suddenly forced to fight to survive her wedding night. No one can say that Grace doesn’t earn that cigarette at the end of the film. As she sits on the stairs covered in the blood of what was supposed to be her new family, she is a relatable icon. As the unseen cop asks what happened to her, she simply says, “In-laws.” It’s a quick laugh before the credits roll, and “Love Me Tender” by Stereo Jane makes us dance and giggle in our seats.
Ready or Not Proves That Maybe She’s Better Off Alone
It is also a moment in which Grace is one of many women who survives marriage. She comes out of the other side beaten but not broken. Grace finally put herself, and her needs first, and can breathe again in a way she hasn’t since saying I do. She fought kids, her parents-in-law, and even her husband to escape with her life. She refused to be a victim, and with that cigarette, she is finally free and safe. Grace is back to being single, and that’s clearly for the best.
This Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy script is funny on the surface, even before you start digging into the subtext. The fact that Ready or Not is a movie where the happy ending is a woman being left alone is not wasted on me, though. While Grace thought being married would make her happy, she now has physical and emotional wounds to remind her that it’s okay to be alone.
One of the things I love about this current era of Radio Silence films is that the women in these projects are not the perfect victims. Whether it’s Ready or Not, Abigail, or Scream (2022), or Scream VI, the girls are fighting. They want to live, they are smart and resourceful, and they know that no one is coming to help them. That’s why I get excited whenever I see Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s names appear next to a Guy Busick co-written script. Those three have cracked the code to give us women protagonists that are badasses, and often more dangerous than their would-be killers when push comes to shove.
Ready or Not Proves That Commitment is Scarier Than Death
So, watching Grace run around this creepy family’s estate in her wedding dress is a vision. It’s also very much the opposite of what we expect when we see a bride. Wedding days are supposed to be champagne, friends, family, and trying to buy into the societal notion that being married is what we’re supposed to aspire to as AFABs. They start programming us pretty early that we have to learn to cook to feed future husbands and children.
The traditions of being given away by our fathers, and taking our husbands’ last name, are outdated patriarchal nonsense. Let’s not even get started on how some guys still ask for a woman’s father’s permission to propose. These practices tell us that we are not real people so much as pawns men pass off to each other. These are things that cause me to hyperventilate a little when people try to talk to me about settling down.
Marriage Ain’t For Everybody
I have a lot of beef with marriage propaganda. That’s why Ready or Not speaks to me on a bunch of levels that I find surprising and fresh. Most movies would have forced Grace and Alex to make up at the end to continue selling the idea that heterosexual romance is always the answer. Even in horror, the concept that “love will save the day” is shoved at us (glares at The Conjuring Universe). So, it’s cool to see a movie that understands women can be enough on their own. We don’t need a man to complete us, and most of the time, men do lead to more problems. While I am no longer a part-time smoker, I find myself inhaling and exhaling as Grace takes that puff at the end of the film. As a woman who loves being alone, it’s awesome to be seen this way.
The Cigarette of Singledom
We don’t need movies to validate our life choices. However, it’s nice to be acknowledged every so often. If for no other reason than to break up the routine. I’m so tired of seeing movies that feel like a guy and a girl making it work, no matter the odds, is admirable. Sometimes people are better when they separate, and sometimes divorce saves lives. So, I salute Grace and her cathartic cigarette at the end of her bloody ordeal.
I cannot wait to see what single shenanigans she gets into in Ready or Not 2: Here I Come. I personally hope she inherited that money from the dead in-laws who tried her. She deserves to live her best single girl life on a beach somewhere. Grace’s marriage was a short one, but she learned a lot. She survived it, came out the other side stronger, richer, and knowing that marriage isn’t for everybody.
My New Year’s resolution is to spend more time watching my favorite app. Luckily, Shudder is not taking it easy on us this holiday season, so I may meet my quota this January. The streamer is bringing in the new year with quite a few bangers. We have classics from icons, a new title from the first family of indie horror, and a couple of lesser-known films that have finally found a home. So, I am obviously living for this month’s programming and think most of you will too. I have picked the five films that I believe deserve our collective attention the most. Get into each of them and start your 2026 off on the right foot.
The Best Movies to Stream on Shudder This Month
Carrie (1976)
A sheltered teen finally unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated for the last time. Carrie is the reason I thought proms might be cool when I was a kid. This Brian De Palma adaptation is one of my favorite Stephen King adaptations. It is also an important title in the good-for-her subgenre. I cannot help rooting for Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) when I watch her snap at this prom and then head home to accidentally deal with her mom. The only tragedy of this evening is that Carrie had to die, too. I said what I said, and I will be hitting play again while it is on Shudder. This recommendation goes out to the other recovering sheltered girls who would be the problem if they had powers. I see you because I am you.
You can watch Carrie on January 1st.
Marshmallow (2025)
A shy 12-year-old gets sent to summer camp and finds himself in a living nightmare. While Marshmallow did not land for me, I know plenty of people who love it. Which makes this the perfect addition to the Shudder catalogue. I am actually excited to see more folks fall in love with this movie when it hits the streamer. If nothing else, it will help a few folks cross off another 2025 title if they are still playing catch-up with last year’s movies. It also gets cool points from me for not taking the easy route with the mystery it built. I hope you all dig it more than I did, and tell your friends about it. Perhaps you could even encourage them to sign up for the app.
You can watch Marshmallow on January 1st.
Chain Reactions (2024)
Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre cemented his horror legacy over fifty years ago. So, it is long overdue for a documentary where horror royalty can discuss its impact on them and their careers. I have been waiting for a couple of years to hear Karyn Kusama and Takashi Miike talk about Hooper’s work and how he inspired them. So, I am super geeked that Shudder is finally giving me the chance to see this film. The streamer is also helping the nerds out by adding The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2 (1986) this month. If you are also an overachieving couch potato, I will see you at the finish line next week.
You can watch Chain Reactions on January 9th.
In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
An insurance investigator discovers the impact a horror writer’s books have on people. I love chaos, and John Carpenter chaos happens to be one of my favorite kinds of chaos. While we talk about The Thing and Halloween all the time, this maestro has given us plenty of horror to celebrate. In the Mouth of Madness is very much one of those titles vying for a top spot among the best of his filmography. To sweeten the batshit pot, this movie features Sam Neill. You know that he only shows up in our genre if the movie is going to be legendary. You cannot tell me this is not a Shudder priority this month.
You can watch In the Mouth of Madness on January 10th.
Mother of Flies (2025)
A terminally ill young woman and her dad head to the woods to seek out a recluse who claims she can cure her cancer. The Adams Family has been holding court on Shudder for years, so it feels right that Mother of Flies is a Shudder Original. More importantly, this fest favorite has one of the best performances of 2025. Which makes it a great time for people to finally get to see it and get in line to give Toby Poser her flowers. Whatever you think your favorite Poser role is, it is about to change when you see her as Solveig. I am being serious when I say that this movie might be the first family of indie horror at their best.
You can watch Mother of Flies on January 23rd.
New year, but same Shudder. I would not want to go into 2026 any other way, personally. I hope these horrific recommendations bring you the good kind of anxiety. Or at least distract you from the state of the world for a bit.
‘Night Patrol’ Review: Vampiric Cop Horror Undone by Messy Execution
The 10 Most Satisfying Deaths in Horror Movies
‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’ Review: Nia DaCosta Has the Cure
The Horror Press Podcast Episode 54: Heated Rivalry & Yahtzee
‘Sleepy Hollow’ Review: Seeing Really Is Believing
‘Ready or Not’ and the Cathartic Cigarette of a Relatable Final Girl
‘Carrie’ Review: A Look At Two Adaptations
The Best Horror You Can Stream on Shudder in January 2026
The Best Horror You Can Stream on Netflix in January 2026
‘The Taking of Deborah Logan’ Review: An Overlooked Gem
‘The People Under the Stairs’ Review: A Brilliantly Bizarre Horror Classic
Slappy Was the Blueprint: How the Dummy from Goosebumps Became A Horror Icon
‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ and The Story of William Afton Explained
Glen and Glenda: Don Mancini’s Reverence for Queerness in ‘Seed of Chucky’ (2004)
‘Truth or Dare’: Who Did it Best?
V/H/S Franchise Ranked, Best to Worst
Everything You Need to Know About Jason Voorhees
The 11 Most Disturbing Horror Movies Ever, According to an Actual Horror Fan
[REVIEW] ‘Cherry Falls’ (1999) Brittany Murphy Shines in This Cult Classic Slasher
