Boys From County Hell Review

Boys From County Hell was an Irish horror-comedy that puts an Irish spin on the vampire legend.

A small Irish town is a tourist hot spot because of its history with an Abhartach, an Irish version of a vampire. People come to see a stone mound that legend states an Abhartach is buried under. This mound gets targeted for demolition so a bypass can be made. Eugene Moffat (Jack Rowan) leads the construction crew. His actions lead to the Abhartach being disturbed and his crew has to find a way to stop the creature.

Ireland does have fascinating folklore and legends and it serves as the basis for many films. Irish legends have been used as a jumping-off point for three of Cartoon Saloon’s features and influenced the horror film The Hallow. There has also been an increase in horror films coming out of Ireland. So, Boy From County Hell is riding on two trends from the Irish film scene.

The rules with dealing with an Abhartach were different than with ‘traditional’ vampires. Even though the characters were Irish and told stories about The Abhartach to tourists, they didn’t actually know much about the creatures. They use Bram Stoker’s Dracula as a reference but they had to sift the fact from the fiction. A scene where the characters talk about ways to kill Abhartachs was similar to a discussion in From Dusk to Dawn.

The Abhartachs were more like a rage-filled zombies. All that guides them was their thirst for blood. There was no intelligence to them, just animalistic instinct. When it was revealed what happened to one character it brought back memories of the third season of The Walking Dead. It does raise the age of debate of what would a family do if a loved one becomes a monster?

Boys From County Hell attracted a cast of promising young talent. Jack Rowden (Noughts + Crosses), Louisa Harland, AKA Orla from Derry Girls, and Fra Fee (Animals) all had leading roles. They did make for a great trio of friends who liked to drink and play pranks.

Rowden was particularly impressive because his character had a strained relationship with his father (Nigel O’Neill). The tension between the pair was a driving force of the plot because Mr. Moffat browbeats his son into taking the job and Eugene’s desire to please his dad led to The Abhartach being disturbed. Rowden is an English actor and performs with a convincing Irish accent.

Harland’s Claire had a solid character journey due to her decision at the end. Derry Girls fans should be happy seeing ditzy little Orla driving construction vehicles.

Boys From County Hell was marketed as a horror-comedy. The trailer emphasises the comedy aspects. But the first act was more serious in tone than expected. Eugene was portrayed as a young man with daddy issues and seen as not fulfilling his potential. The Moffats get the contract to work on a bypass that would destroy the mound. This put them in conflict with the town because destroying the mound would destroy the tourism trade and unleash evil. The road construction led to a falling out between Eugene and Will (Fee) and that puts the events of the film in motion.

The humour was more prominent when the horror started. When the first Abhartach attacks there was a comedic, slapstick quality to it. The attack ended on a gag because one of the characters believed the Abhartach was a drunk – it felt like something from Shaun of the Dead. Sadly, most of the jokes fall flat which was really disappointing. There was the occasional subversion like what happened between the father and son during the climax but it wasn’t enough.

Horror-comedy is a difficult genre to make. That’s why films like Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, and Tucker & Dale vs. The World were so special. Boys from County Hell sadly suffers from tonal shifts and was unable to satisfy as a horror film or a comedy.

Boys From County Hell was a cast of unfulfilled potential. It had a chance to bring Irish folklore to a wider audience, redefine the vampire genre, and had a great cast with interesting characters. It was a decent film but I wanted to like it more.