Written Chris Baugh And Brendan Mullin
Directed by Chris Baugh
Claire: "Hang on. When you said he tried to bite you?"
Eugene: "Aye. Like a... Like a... Like a..."
Francie: "Like a cunt."
It's not Halloween and I fancied a vampire flick and while there's a certain one I'll catch up with later in the month, I thought I'd watch this Irish one from a few years.
Set in an unspecified part of the country in a backwater town, this one at least had some notoriety to it. It's not just any backwater town. Nope, this one came with its own legends, notably the fact that Bram Stoker got his inspiration for his most famous work.
It's a story that local drifter Eugene Moffat (Jack Rowan) liked telling the tourists but it's more than just a story. Following the accidental death of his best friend, William Bogue (Fra Free), it turned out that a creepy looking monument had some rather unique abilities to anyone unfortunate enough to get cut by it's stones.
For William, this meant losing his humanity and becoming a vampire, much to the horror of his grief stricken parents George (John Lynch) and Pauline (Andrea Irvine). It's also a lot for Eugene and William's girlfriend, Claire McCann (Louisa Harland) to come to terms with as well.
Of course while William did pose a threat in the movie, it was Abhartach who was the real concern. It was his burial place that was disturbed and his presence meant that the whole town was becoming infected. It also meant that Eugene, Claire, the former's dad, Francie (Nigel O'Neill) and SP McCauley (Michael Hough) had to save the day but not without some casualties.
I'll give the film it's merits for it's use of Abhartach. At no point in the movie was the character shown clearly but he's an effectively menacing figure nonetheless with some added backstory to Eugene's maternal lineage to give a bit more personal context as well. By the end of the movie, both Eugene and Claire's lives are changed forever by the events.
- Fans of a certain Doctor Who spin-off might spot Jordan Renzo as one of the gullible tourists that got easily spooked.
- Abhartach was a real legend and did provide inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Nosferatu was also referenced.
- Standout music: The Saw Doctors Joyce Country Ceili Band.
- Chronology: Present day Ireland, though again the actual setting of this movie was never specified.
Boys From County Hell did show that the Irish can do a suitably strong vampire flick with the right references while also cementing some solid family drama/history and the dynamics of a small town with difficulties in progression. Also again, top marks for how effectively done Abhartach was done too.
Rating: 7 out of 10
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