Vertigo Releasing has announced the acquisition of Boys From County Hell, the ultimate Dracula ‘origin story’. Vertigo is planning to release the film in cinemas and on digital platforms this Summer, and will be partnering with Wildcard for the Irish theatrical release.
Just when you thought the vampire film had been drained dry, along comes an unexpected and original spin on the genre from writer/director Chris Baugh, with the follow-up to his acclaimed crime thriller debut Bad Day For The Cut. With nods to Ireland’s formidable horror heritage (the local pub is called ‘The Stoker’ after the Dracula author), it follows recent Irish folklore horror hits The Hallow and The Hole in The Ground, whilst also injecting some surprisingly hysterical moments. It echoes Clive Barker’s Irish-set eighties creature feature Rawhead Rex, as well as a delectable sense of the backwoods dread present in 2019’s Scottish rural thriller Calibre.
You can see the official synopsis below for more story details:
‘Welcome to Six Mile Hill, a sleepy Irish backwater whose only claim to fame is the somewhat dubious local legend that Bram Stoker once spent a night in the local pub. It’s home to Eugene Moffat, a young man who fills most of his days drinking pints with his friends and pranking tourists who come to visit the gravesite of Abhartach, a legendary Irish vampire some believe to have inspired ‘Dracula.’
When a personal tragedy forces Eugene to go and work for his gruff, no-nonsense father he finds himself on the site of a controversial new road development that threatens to destroy the town’s livelihood. But strange events unfold when Eugene and the crew tear down a famous cairn believed to be the final resting place of Abhartach and they soon come under attack from a sinister force that has infected one of their workmates. As the night closes in The Boys must fight for survival while discovering the true horror of a myth that hits much closer to home than any of them realise…’
With a fantastic cast, including Jack Rowan (Peaky Blinders, Noughts + Crosses), Louisa Harland (Derry Girls), Nigel O’Neill (from Baugh’s debut), and John Lynch (The Banishing, Isolation), Boys From County Hell is rich in celtic atmosphere, drenched in gore, wildly funny and splendidly scary – the very definition of a crowd pleaser.
Boys From County Hell received its World Premiere in Official Selection in the Midnight section at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, and played in the Panorama Fantastic section at Sitges. The film recently played at this year’s Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival and will be released in Summer 2021.
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