In the 128 years since Bram Stoker’s genre defining Dracula was published, we’ve seen Abraham Van Helsing depicted in a number of ways. From a scientific savior and eccentric kook to an action star staking vampires in 19th century finery, we know him as a knowledgeable champion and the malevolent Count’s greatest rival. It’s he […]
In the 128 years since Bram Stoker’s genre defining Dracula was published, we’ve seen Abraham Van Helsing depicted in a number of ways. From a scientific savior and eccentric kook to an action star staking vampires in 19th century finery, we know him as a knowledgeable champion and the malevolent Count’s greatest rival. It’s he who swoops in to save the undead Lucy Westenra from an eternity of stalking children through the night and he who becomes the galvanizing force that ultimately ends Dracula’s reign of terror.
But not everyone views this Dutch nobleman as an unwavering protagonist. Joe Hill’s 2005 short story “Abraham’s Boys” takes a different approach, positioning the scientific crusader as equally nefarious to his bloodsucking foe. Director Natasha Kermani expands this disturbing exposé in an unusual sequel to Stoker’s classic tale. Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story challenges our belief in supernatural creatures while complicating one of the genre’s most celebrated heroes.
Eighteen years after Count Dracula’s death, Abraham Van Helsing (Titus Welliver) lives a quiet life in California’s central valley. Widowed and in need of protection, Mina (Jocelin Donahue) has married the European doctor and given him two sons named Max (Brady Hepner) and Rudy (Judah Mackey). But a shadow hangs over their isolated home.
Mina has never fully recovered from her vampiric encounter and remains mentally connected to creatures of the night. She and Abraham are certain their old enemy still lives and will one day return to exact his revenge. When strange noises go bump in the night, the Van Helsing boys begin to fear that a sinister force has entered the house. But is this the monster from his parents’ past or a human threat much closer to home?
Kermani finds power in ambiguity, presenting just enough information to jolt us out of our complacent beliefs. Viewed through his sons’ horrified eyes, Abraham’s methods are shocking and cruel, much more akin to sadistic murder than the heroic actions of a vampire slayer. We linger on gruesome imagery and a recreation of the literary Lucy’s gruesome death presented in cold and unflinching detail. Narrative tendrils reach back to Stoker’s iconic novel as characters are forced to reckon with the horrors they endured.