In the mood for a film about Irish tradies fighting vampires? Come right this way – ABC News

In the tradition of modern classics like Shaun of the Dead and What We Do In The Shadows, now comes Boys from County Hell.

All of these films assume correctly, imho that even when faced with the dead rising from their graves to feast on the fluids of the living, humans wont suddenly stop being d*ckheads. The smartarsery wont suddenly leave their body.

Smartarsery is, of course, a well-known Irish trait. A perhaps less well-known but equally strong Irish trait is spinning stories of the undead, the most famous being Dracula, from Dublins very own Bram Stoker.

But some of the other Gaelic proto-vampires can be found in folklore about dearg dila (which translates to red blood sucker), Fled Bricrend (Bricrius Feast) and the legend of Abhartach (dwarf).

In 1869 (nice) Patrick Weston Joyce wrote about a town in County Derry in which said chieftain dwarf was killed and buried, only to arise and spread terror through the whole country. In some of the retellings, Abhartach was keen on drinking blood and the only way to kill him for real was with a yew wood sword + burying him upside down + covering the grave with thorns and stones.

Enter: Boys from County Hell.

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The Irish and Australian film industries are kind of similar, in that they either do serious, moody and beautifully shot or kooky and heartfelt. (Think Animal Kingdom The Castle). Theres rarely an in between.

This particular horror/comedy starring Jack Rowan (Peaky Blinders), Nigel O'Neill (Vikings) and Louisa Harland (Derry Girls) follows a crew of road workers who accidentally awaken an ancient vampire as they make way for a new bypass.

Aside from the recent resurgence of Twilight appreciation on TikTok, its been a while between drinks for vamps on our screen. This is one of only a few entries in the bloodsucking cannon in almost a decade, since 2015s Dracula Reborn, Vampyres and Bloodsucking Bastards.

Despite being a relatively low-budget indie, the effects sprinkled throughout never look cheap, and certain concepts set it apart from most other films in the genre.

[The writer and director] didnt want it to be like another vampire movie, so the whole idea of the blood being sucked out the way it does is unique, explains Nigel ONeill. And the fact you cant kill it, only [REDACTED for spoilers] is also different.

Boys from County Hell features some great horror and comedy scenes (see: pole and foot) ((youll know when you see them)), but isnt overly gory or scary. It takes the hallmarks of the genre and mashes them lovingly with some great craic.

You can watch it online in Australia this week as part of the Irish Film Festival (3 - 12 of September). The line-up also features a few docos about some of Irelands greatest singer/songwriters: Songs For While I'm Away about Thin Lizzys frontman, Phil Lynott and Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan, on The Pogues' frontman.

Info on tickets and the films can be found here.

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In the mood for a film about Irish tradies fighting vampires? Come right this way - ABC News

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Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero
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