“Boys from County Hell” 2021 Review – Great Irish Vampire Lore

A significant cairn of stone sits piled waist-high in the middle of a lush green field in a small Irish town called Six Mile Hill. A historical lore pertaining to the cairn, stating that it is the burial site of one Abhartach, a villain of the town ages ago, who was said to drink the blood of the village folk. Also said to be the inspiration to Bram Stoker’s famous “Dracula”, thus setting in motion the famous vampire creature and story for years to come. There’s even a pub in the movie called “The Stoker” where the characters enjoy their beverages and good times.

This is the opening setting to Boys From County Hell, a vampire horror comedy directed by Chris Baugh.

In truth, there exists real Irish folklore pertaining to Abhartach and his evil powers during the fifth and sixth centuries. The locals under his rule and wrath convinced a chieftain named Cathain (Cathrain, O’Kane? It depends on your source) to rid them of the foul being. Abhartach returned from the grave and demanded blood from the villagers. And after slaying the undead creature several teims only to have him return for more blood, Cathain sought the help from a Druid. Here Cathain found that he needed to kill Abhartach with a sword made from yew wood, bury the evil beast upside down in the grave, and place large stones on top of of the site to trap him forever.

Some do believe that some of Bram Stoker’s inspiration may have come from this myth, as he was Irish-born and had lots of exposure to this story throughout his life.

There’s also a story of land workers who were to remove the tree growing above the real location of Abhartach’s grave. They ran into suspicious events as their chainsaws malfunction constantly, disallowing the removal of the tree. Also, a large chain broke from trying to lift the stone, cutting the hand of one of the workers, soaking the gravesite in blood.

Why does all this matter?

Boys From County Hell took all of that rich lore and myth and injected it into this movie as the backdrop. That, and the always-stunning green hills of Ireland. Throw in a quiet rural village and you have a great setting for an Irish vampire horror movie. Speaking of the land workers, the main characters in the film are road workers who are set to remove the special aforementioned cairn to make way for a new road. In doing so, they unleash and awaken something horrific with the need for blood. Perhaps Abhartach himself?

After releasing the creature, the “boys” of County Hell (which is referencing the construction crew) try to figure out how to stop the menacing entity, as well as the victims that turn into mindless bloodthirsty beasts. “Boys” is in quotations because there is a woman (Louisa Harland) in the main group of the construction crew. Perhaps that’s part of the witty humor in the movie. She turns out to be a really enjoyable character in the story.

The crew consists mainly of twenty-something year-old lifers of the small town with low aspirations of doing much else, save for William who is planning a move to Australia. They all have a great rapport with each other, including the main character’s father, Francie (Nigel O’Neill), the crew manager. The genuine closeness between all the characters makes them believable and solidifies the jokes that are played out between them. Specifically, between Eugene (Jack Rowan) and his father Francie as they banter and bicker in an endearing manner.

Boys From County Hell is a fresh take on the vampire genre and seems to banish most of the basic tropes. It is humorous as the characters try to kill the newly turned vampires, using what we all remember from vampires from movies and books, only to find that they don’t work. The humor throughout the movie is witty and comes naturally from the actors. I won’t be the first to say this, but one of my notes was that it reminded me of Shaun of the Dead with its comedy and even some of the characters remind of that movie as well.

I love how Baugh based this movie heavily from the folklore and really stuck to a lot of the beliefs in the legendary Bram Stoker’s fascination with Abhartach. It’s what gives this movie an original feel compared to other vampire movies. Another cool trick is that you don’t actually see the big baddy old crone vampire until the very end. Sometimes this can be effective in creepiness and suspense. It worked here.

I really liked Boys From County Hell, but it is far from perfect. The pacing was a little up and down through the entire movie. And, although there were some gruesome bloody scenes in the movie, you could tell at times that this was a low-budget movie. That’s not to say it was poorly done by any means, just noticeable. Still…the blood flows regularly in this one!

Also, the Irish accents are super heavy through the movie. If you don’t have an ear for that then subtitles can help through this one. Certainly though, this aspect adds superb authenticity for the setting!

I thought Boys From County Hell was a fun fresh vampire comedy with some rich history and bloody scenes. I recommend it!

Boys from County Hell

Released: 4/22/2021

Rating: NR

Genre: Comedy, Horror

Running Time: 1 hour 28 minutes

Director: Chris Baugh (Debut as Writer/Director for film)

Writer: Chris Baugh (Debut as Writer/Director for film) and Brendan Mullin

Stars:

Jack Rowan as Eugene (Benjamin, Born to Kill)

Nigel O-Neill as Francie (Eugene’s Father) (Bad Day for the Cut, small roles in Game of Thrones & Vikings)

John Lynch as George Bogue (The Banishing 2021, The Secret Garden 1993)