If you paid close attention watching Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Scream VI, then you know that the filmmakers are big fans of the comedy series I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson. In an early scene, a character can be spotted at a party wearing one of the shirts from the Dan Flashes sketch, but Robinson himself has a voice-only cameo as one of Quinn Kirsch’s sexual partners. This influence on the slasher movie is a wonderful treat for fans of the brilliant Netflix show – and those same folks will be excited to know that they should pay attention for even more references in the directing duo’s next film, Abigail.
This fun detail about the upcoming horror movie was revealed last month when I joined a small group of other reporters for a virtual roundtable interview with Abigail star Dan Stevens. In the film, Stevens plays “Frank,” one of the criminals who is enlisted on a mission to kidnap the titular ballerina vampire, and while speaking about the development of the character’s look, he explained how I Think You Should Leave ended up being a reference point. He explained,
I think the role originally had been written for sort of a 60-something Italian American, and because of the demands of the role, I guess, or other reasons, they didn't find somebody of that casting, so they came to me. So we sort of had to amend quite what sort of a cop this guy had been and what his background was. But yeah, we took particular inspiration from I Think You Should Leave – you know the slicked back hair? [Laugh] That seemed to make us laugh [Laugh]. So that definitely stayed in from that.
For those who don’t understand the reference, “slicked back hair” comes a sketch called “Baby Cries” from the second season of I Think You Should Leave. When a character played by Tim Robinson tries to pick up a baby and it starts crying, he is convinced that it is because said baby knows that he “used to be a piece of shit.” Specifically, he would slick back his hair, wear white bathing suits and enjoy “sloppy steaks” (which is when you order a steak at a restaurant and dump a glass of water on it before eating). It’s one of the show’s many beloved sketches, and you can watch it for yourself below:
So when you go see Abigail and note Dan Stevens’ slicked back hair, feel free to use it as a jumping off point for judging his character.
A week after the Dan Stevens interview, we also had the chance to do a virtual roundtable with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and I took the opportunity to follow-up about Dan Stevens’ comments. It turns out that the filmmakers really bonded with Stevens based on a shared love of I Think You Should Leave, and Gillett discussed their experience meeting Tim Robinson in the making of Scream VI:
I would say 90 percent of our text chain with Dan Stevens is just I Think You Should Leave references and memes. We're collectively huge fans of that show. Dan was early to the project, was first out in Dublin, I remember we kind of bro'd out about that show and it was like, 'Alright, we're all kindred spirits.' I can't say enough about how much we love those guys, and honestly, what a starstruck moment meeting Tim Robinson on Scream 6 to come in and do that cameo. We have so many awkward selfies where we're just fanboying out with him. He’s truly incredible.
If your curiosity is piqued about I Think You Should Leave, all you need is a Netflix subscription to watch the existing two seasons (and a third is on the way). And if you’re now more excited than ever for the extreme carnage of Abigail, all you need to do is exhibit a little patience, as the film will be in theaters everywhere next week on April 19.
