THE STORY – Abraham Van Helsing moves his two sons to the United States in an attempt to escape their past.
THE CAST – Titus Welliver, Brady Hepner, Judah Mackey & Jocelin Donahue
THE TEAM – Natasha Kermani (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 89 Minutes
The thing about Dracula is that everyone knows what his deal is. Natasha Kermani’s new horror film, “Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story,” is likely to assume that the audience has a preexisting familiarity with Bram Stoker’s classic tale. And to be fair, if anyone is clicking on a movie that has the subtitle “A Dracula Story,” it can be assumed that they know all about Transylvania’s most famous cape-twirler. This frees Kermani up to explore the after-effects of the Dracula story without needing to weigh things down with unnecessary exposition and explanations. She makes the choice to tell a horror story that keeps its horrors mostly unseen or implied – a decision that gives this chamber film a sense of realism, although this muted approach sometimes saps the film of much-needed energy, almost like some sort of mythical blood-sucking creature. Still, it’s a thing of beauty, with stunning screen images that are reason enough to check it out.
The titular boys are Max (Brady Hepner) and Rudy (Judah Mackey), the sons of legendary vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing (Titus Welliver). He and his wife, Mina (Jocelin Donahue), fled their European home for sunny California after their legendary encounter with and defeat of Count Dracula 18 years prior. They now live in a remote home far away from all other people, both living and undead. But still, Mina is notably haunted by her experience with the vampire, and she’s begun exhibiting signs that indicate what may be sickness, madness, or something more supernatural. Concerned for her health and safety, Max takes it upon himself to protect his mother, which just may put him at odds with his own father.
The greatest choice Natasha Kermani makes in her screenplay (which is based on Joe Hill’s very short story of the same name) is to keep the story compact. It’s almost entirely set on the Van Helsing homestead, and there are fewer than a dozen named characters. As such, the film stays tightly focused; while it very slightly expands the story from its source material, it doesn’t do so by significantly increasing the scale and scope. However, it does struggle at times to remain compelling within this minimalist approach. Even with its short runtime, the plot becomes somewhat repetitive.
Kermani clearly has a strong clarity of vision when it comes to tone. Thanks to her direction, all of her actors ride the same wavelength, with none of them playing at a level that’s either too big or too small for the material or its approach. Welliver is able to walk the fine line between underplaying his part and still making clearly defined character choices. It’s particularly impressive that he’s able to play such a gruff, terse man while never letting the audience doubt that everything he does, no matter how seemingly misguided, is in service of and out of love for his family. Similarly, Donahue perfectly embodies Mina, playing her as an unwell woman who questions the truth of her situation without ever overplaying her as a stereotypical “crazy person.”
However, without a doubt, the film’s most notable accomplishment is its sheer beauty. Cinematographer Julia Swain constructs consistently breathtaking images, helping to make a film of such limited scale feel completely cinematic. The daytime scenes are lit and shot in a way that’s reminiscent of classic Hollywood Westerns, and the nighttime sequences utilize shadows for maximum effect. However, as with many contemporary films, the limited lighting during these scenes sometimes makes it difficult to discern exactly what we’re looking at. But even viewed on a television (most viewers will likely stream this film on Shudder), “Abraham’s Boys” is simply gorgeous to look at.
This isn’t Natasha Kermani’s debut feature film, but it’s undoubtedly going to be the one that solidifies her as a director to watch. “Abraham’s Boys” is stunningly shot with an expertly unified tone between the writing and performances. And although it’s not always the most captivating watch, Kermani clearly understands that the darkest fears and most unhinged decisions of the average person are scarier than any vampire.
