Boys from County Hell

Boys From County Hell is a 2020 vampire comedy horror film.

Plot
Set in Six Mile Hill, a fictional backwater town, whose only claim to fame is that Bram Stoker stayed there once and based Dracula on the local legend of Abhartach. When Abhartach is awakened after the cairn over his remains is demolished due to the preparation for bypass already unpopular with the locals, the construction team that demolished the cairn must set out to make it right.

Cast

 * Jack Rowan as Eugene Moffat
 * Nigel O'Neill as Francie Moffat
 * Louisa Harland as Claire McCann
 * Michael Hough as SP McCauley
 * John Lynch as George Bogue
 * Fra Fee as William Bogue
 * Jordan Renzo as Christian
 * Lalor Roddy as Elliott
 * Morgan C. Jones as Charlie Harte
 * Andrea Irvine as Pauline Bogue
 * Robert Strange as Abhartach
 * Marty Maguire as Gabriel
 * Kathy Monahan as Marie McCann
 * Emma Paetz as Michelle
 * David Pearse as Cathal
 * Stella McCusker as Pearl
 * Conor Grimes as Thomas
 * Bronagh Elmore as Eugene's mum
 * Parnell Scott as teenage boy
 * Ellie McKay as teenage girl
 * Liam Miley as himself
 * Steven Miller as himself

Production
The film is directed by Chris Baugh, who also co-wrote the film with Brendan Mullin, expanding on a previous short film of the same name. Screen Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen were among the funders of the film.

Release
Boys From County Hell received its world premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film festival.

Critical reception
The film has a rating of on Rotten Tomatoes based on  reviews with the consensus "Boys from County Hell stands out as an uncommonly good time in the crowded vampire genre -- and proves the Irish countryside is a fine setting for slaying the undead." Writing in The Guardian, Phil Hoad found that the film, although inventive and amusing, did not always successfully mesh its comedy and horror aspects. Jordan King in Empire magazine also applauded its inventiveness, but also praised the depth of characterisation, describing it as "a playful yet surprisingly poignant vampire yarn that takes on folklore, familial turmoil, and the perils of poor town-planning with aplomb."

Accolades
At the 2021 Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival, Baugh and the film won the jury prize for best European Fantastic Film.