You Know Count Orlok, But Have You Met His Irish Cousin, Abhartach?
It’s been a great time to be Count Orlok. Since Robert Eggers’ 2024 remake of Nosferatu, the vampire has inspired everything from TikToks to drag performances to adorably macabre Funko Pops. I’m glad he’s finally getting recognition beyond his iconic SpongeBob SquarePants cameo—but as a lifelong vampire fan and the granddaughter of Irish immigrants, I can’t help but think about the bloodsuckers who came before him. Enter Abhartach: the Irish vampire at the center of Boys From County Hell, a 2020 horror-comedy that not only resurrects an overlooked legend, but also the folkloric source that might have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula and, by extension, Count Orlok himself.
Like An American Werewolf in London, Boys From County Hell opens with two best friends up to no good in the countryside. Eugene (Jack Rowan) and William (Fra Fee) love pranking tourists after guiding them to the tower of rocks that mark Abhartach’s supposed grave. The fun can’t last forever, though. Eugene and his father, Francie (Nigel O’Neill), have been tasked with digging up the field to make way for a new bypass, destroying not just Abhartach’s final resting place, but William’s family’s land as well. The boys get into a fight, but before they can resolve anything, a wild boar attacks William, awakening the ancient vampire.
What makes Abhartach so interesting is that he doesn’t need to make direct contact with his victims in order to drink their blood. In the film’s shocking opening, an elderly couple bleeds profusely from their noses, eyes, and ears, unaware that the vampire has found his way into their home. The typical rules for dispatching a vampire don’t apply to Abhartach, either, making Boys From County Hell one of the more “unconventional” vampire movies we’ve seen in a while here at Dread Central. Forget the sunlight or trying to behead this undead warlord. Abhartach can fight, and he won’t go down easily.
So if you clicked on this thinking Abhartach was going to be as sexy as Egger’s Count Orlock, think again. Sorry to everyone expecting Paul Mescal with fangs. But if you want a vampire who’s actually scary, Boys From County Hell delivers. No Funko Pops here.
If you love vampires and Irish legends and folklore, let me know: @ashjenexi on Instagram and X.
Categorized: News
