Since the Marvel Cinematic Universe experiment demonstrated its success and claimed dominion over blockbuster entertainment in the early 2010s, every studio has tripped over itself to claim a piece of its pie. Most examples have been pitiful, cloying, and intolerably ill-conceived. Almost every other cinematic universe refused to put in the work Marvel dedicated to its first few entries and fell apart early. Universal tried the Dark Universe in 2017, but its first entry tanked so savagely that all future plans were abandoned. With this year's Abigail, they may be trying again.