308. Boys From County Hell; movie review

 

 

BOYS FROM COUNTY HELL

Cert 15

89 mins

BBFC advice: Contains very strong language, strong violence, gory images, horror

Father Ted meets Nosferatu in this strange but entertaining vampire romp in the Irish countryside.

The same comedic vacant expressions used so affectively by Ardal O'Hanlon's Father Dougal are rekindled aplenty in Chris Baugh's film.

But they are woven into a tale of gore, prompted by the disturbance of a grave which has long been at the centre of local legend.

Boys From County Hell begins with blood running down the eyes of an old couple who had just settled down to watch an evening's telly.

The movie then flicks back to the antics of pals Eugene (Jack Rowan) and William (Fra Fee) who spend their time drinking and scaring tourists with ghost stories.

They dream of leaving for the bright lights but Eugene's stern dad (Nigel O'Neill) insists he help him and his team in a project to build a road through their village.

However, to do this, the grave of a reputed vampire, marked for centuries by a pyramid of stones, must be disturbed.

Regular readers will know that I am not a huge fan of spoofs or blood-splattered horrors but Baugh has set his movie apart from the crowd.

It is a micky-take of the vampire genre while simultaneously being a tad scary.

And there are some League Of Gentlemen-style "local people" gags which play quite nicely.

It isn't a classic movie by any means but, in a very poor year for cinema, it is a pleasing diversion.

Reasons to watch: Offbeat vampire movie

Reasons to avoid: Joke repeats itself

Laughs: Two

Jumps: Two

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6.5/10

Did you know? After a location scout on the film Yesterday, director Chris Baugh wrote the screenplay in five days while in his underpants and drinking vodka after visiting Stokers actual grave in Golders Green.

The final word. Chris Baugh: "Everyone here knows that Bram Stoker’s Irish. It’s kind of a point of pride [laughs]. But the Abhartach myth was something that I came across as I was writing the script and doing research. I just thought it was a really fascinating jumping off point for an Irish vampire story, the idea that there was this blood drinking chieftain that was one of the first-ever sort of undead, blood drinker myths. "

Share this post