Boys From County Hell

I love Ireland, for a number of different reasons. I really enjoy their whiskey, their beautiful landscape, and their whiskey as well. Did i say whiskey twice? That must be correct then, you have to be able to express what you appreciate. I remember especially while i was in Dublin, when i would go down to some really old pubs. As you entered you could feel the irish atmosphere in the air, with the irish folk music playing in speakers, you could smell the whiskey barrels, and the wonderful people working there welcomed each guest, some of the most friendly bar people i have ever met. I remembering asking the bartender if i could try a very tasteful whiskey that he could recommend, and he picked a perfect choice. As i was sipping on that whiskey glass, it felt like time was standing still. Everything felt perfect, just enjoying the whiskey in a cozy old Irish bar, could it get any better than this? I suppose it could have been perfect if pop singer Ronan Keating ( who have never made one bad album, trust me on that ) would join me for a drink, than i would be in heaven. Since we are talking about Ireland, there are a lot of really good film productions that have been film in Ireland, in a lot of different categories. Instead of talking about classics such as The Commitments and In The Name Of The Father ( both definetely worth checking out ), i would like to talk about an independent horror film known as The Hallow, released in 2015. Directed by Cordin Hardy ( who directed The Nun, from The Conjuring franchise ), this film tells the story of Adam Hitchens ( Joseph Mawle ), a British conservationist specializing in plant and fungal life, who settle down in a remote Irish village with his wife Claire Hitchens ( Bojana Novakovic ) and their baby son Finn. Adam discover a strange fungal substance on an animal carcass. What he does not know, is that this comes from a very strange creature. The Hallow is a great practical effect horror film in the creature feautre section, and i love the look of these creatures in this film. Definetely worth picking up on DVD or Blu Ray. Since late spring this year, i heard about a horror comedy called Boys From County Hell, that is filmed on Northern Ireland. Since i love vampires, and Irish whiskey, i just had to take a look at this film. Is this one of the bigger susprises of this year, or is Boys From County Hell a big disappointment?

Eugene Moffat ( Jack Rowan ) and William Bogue ( Fra Fee ) are best buddies, always hanging around the pub, and occasionaly working when they have to. When Eugene and William end up in a fight out in a well known grave site, William gets hurt through a fall and dies. Mourning his best friend, Euguene have a lot of regret of what happened. Since the grave site is said to have the body of an ancient vampire, during the construction of a bypass led by Francie Moffat ( Nigel O´Neill ) and his son Eugene, they remove the grave just to see if the legend is true. At first they don´t seem to see anything, but as people begin to become victims of something unknown, it seems that the legend might be true.

2021 have turned out to be a great vampire year so far, especially with the really good horror comedy Jakob´s Wife, and i did enjoy the Netflix horror film Blood Red Sky as well. Boys From County Hell is a bit different than both the films i mentioned, but that is actually a good thing, if you ask me. This film manage to capture the beautiful landscape of Ireland, and the Irish people´s friendly personalities, just the way we like them. Lots of beer is included of course, but that is what you would expect, since the Irish are known for loving beer ( and not only whiskey ). To mix a vampire story into the beautiful Irish landscape, is something i really appreciate. It is not often you see this combination, at least not in horror films that takes place on Ireland. It takes a little while before this film finds it´s right tone, but when it does, it knows exactly what kind of audience that will appreciate this film. There is no doubt that this is a horror comedy, and you will see that loud and clear. There are some scenes where you definetely will be entertained, where over the top humour helps the plot. So what about the vampire design in this film, is it any good? It actually works pretty well, so they did a good job on the make up effects. Especially on the vampire leader, looks really cool. How are the characters in this film? For the most part i think the characters work pretty good, i can´t complain about the acting. And i especially enjoy the chemistry between actors Jack Rowan ( who i guarantee fans of TV series Peak Blinders will recognize ) and Louisa Hardland ( kown from the TV series Derry Girls ) as the characters Eugene and Claire. Their scenes together are wonderful, and you get a sense that they matched really good on the set. Any blood and gore? Of course, and we actually get some fun bloody scenes, just the way we like it. Especially one insane scene, that i promise will make you laugh. Director Chris Baugh ( who also directed the short film of the same name, that this film is based on ) knows exactly how to combine horror and comedy, and throw in some fun Irish ingredients, that helps the film become more entertaining. Definetely worth picking up on DVD or Blu Ray, if you plan to gather the family for a fun evening. Boys From County Hell is a fun ride, and show you why the Irish are such a friendly people, and not always drunk ( well, not always, just most of the time ).

Rating: DDD