Abigail Before Beatrice (2025): Brooklyn Horror Film Festival

Cult horror is one of our favorite subgenres so we were looking forward to checking out Cassie Keet's Abigail Before Beatrice. Starring Olivia Taylor Dudley as Beatrice and Riley Dandy as Abigail, the film explores the aftermath of a cult’s collapse through the eyes of two women with vastly different perspectives after their leader’s arrest. This film is thick with raw turmoil, emotion and trauma. It honestly needs a trigger warning; but everything about it feels painfully authentic. 

Grayson convinced a group of women to believe he was a god, or the Infinite. These women are obedient, broken, and searching for something only he can give them. Abigail Before Beatrice isn’t about Grayson, though; it’s about the wreckage he leaves behind in the lives of Beatrice and Abigail. This one is a slow burn, focused less on spectacle and more on the fractures that form when someone survives an abusive relationship: or worse, a cult.

The performances from Olivia Taylor Dudley and Riley Dandy are what really make Abigail Before Beatrice compelling. Dudley’s Beatrice is awkward and haunting, while Dandy’s Abigail is fragile but raw in a way that makes you feel every bit of her trauma. Together they carry the story, making the slow burn worth it. Their interactions, sometimes tense and sometimes tender, pull you into their world and make the film feel emotional and real.

Abigail Before Beatrice is a slow, deliberate watch, but it’s worth every minute. Cassie Keet handles the story with care, letting the tension and trauma unfold naturally while keeping the focus on these two women and their fractured lives. It’s a devastating look at survival, control, and the lingering effects of abuse that leaves a mark you won’t forget.

This film was reviewed during Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2025.