Abraham's Boys

Abraham's Boys is a really clever concept for any medium, and it is little wonder it began as a short story by Joe Hill (if it wasn't by him his dad would have taken a crack at something like this at some point); on the surface, it appears to be a "Sequel" to Dracula following Professor Van Helsing living in quiet **very sunny** California but, alas, the undead wont leave him and his young boys and wife Mina Harker alone. What stands out is the perspective and how this is closer to Bill Paxton's Frailty as far as twisted and grisly Father Knows Best pressure cooker where the two boys - one older (looking a lot like a stand-in for Zac Efron 20 years ago) and one younger - have to learn their dad's methods for destroying the cursed vampires... but are they that? Were they ever?

I think the movie means to make it clear that even if at some point there was just *one* blood-sucking Bad Guy Abe Van Helsing has killed innocent people (and the big guy Dracula is only mentioned in a cursory way, like it you say his name he will Beetlejuice into the story, maybe a slight misgiving but got to mention it), and that is what makes this so compelling and terrifying, even as this is not exactly a very scary "horror" so much as a domestic drama with the genre clothing. The film is also shot with a lot of harsh bright light during the day scenes (California and all) and there is this slow burn panic that sets in when we realize this story is not going the way we expected.

The Van Helsing of this story is so severe in fact, and giving TV's Bosch himself Titus Welliver a hell of a strong showcase, that he wouldn't be out of place in a brutal Ingmar Bergman existential tragedy. Once you know the tone that director Natasha Kermani has set and the stakes (hehe) for the kid characters to have in their way, not to mention their poor sick mom, you want to see where this goes next. If there is a downside in terms of execution of the material it's that the actors playing the sons are a little stiff, with Hepner keeping the same look of confusion and consternation while Mackey is just hanging on to get through some of the period-set dialog.

The more I think on the film though the more I respect it as it is a good formal swing, and not just because of the affected aspect ratio (though the black and white for the dream scenes is old hat). It gives a more genuine "what if" kind of twist on a world we all know than like Last Voyage of the Demeter, and if it is less than great it is more thoughtful as a rigorous tale of how some critical thinking skills need to take hold when it comes to parents sometimes (especially but not limited to when they are keeping helpless women locked in the cellar!) 6.5/10.

This movie is a fanfiction sequel of Dracula and therefore requires a solid basis of knowledge of the Dracula canon in order to "work" for its audience.

The characters themselves have their own steady convictions they aren't giving up any time soon: the doubts and questions must live in the viewer instead. The audience knows what happened with Dracula. We were essentially "there" ourselves, witnessing the horror, the terror, and the gore of it through various books, films, and TV shows. We got splashed with the blood and felt the seduction first hand.

But here, under the pleasant California sun and tranquil landscape, and all that darkness far away in another movie/lifetime, it's easy to doubt our memories and wonder: how easy would it be to fool us? Could we have made a mistake? Are we the same as those people in the past who were so certain as they burned witches we now know we're innocent?

The flaws of this movie are that you do need this built in background knowledge of the characters or it's just not going to work. You will be bored and lost and wondering why certain things are big deals and who all these people are.

And while it's fairly well done, it feels like they did a great job using Walmart acrylics, when it could have been a masterpiece in oil grisaille if they'd gotten just slightly better actors/ writers/ directors all around.

A must see for Dracula fans for the very interesting thought experiment, but a pass for everyone else.

Wow. They can even ruin a classic. Ever since movies don't all come out in the theaters, they think it passes as a movie. Every single person involved in this movie should quit. People must have money to burn to turn out this garbage. I guess I should be embarrassed I wasted over a hour of my life on this mess.

There mere fact that the 2025 movie "Abraham's Boys" was a horror movie that I hadn't heard about, nor seen obviously, was more than sufficient to make me sit down and watch the movie, as I stumbled upon it by random chance. Given my love of all things horror, of course I had to check it out. And the fact that it was a vampire movie spin-off based on the Abraham Van Helsing character, well that just sweetened the deal.

Writers Natasha Kermani and Joe Hill put together a fair enough script, however it was a bit on the bland and semi-boring side. I was expecting more of a vampire movie, to be bluntly honest.

Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with actor Titus Welliver. The acting performances in the movie were okay.

Watchable, for sure, but hardly a noteworthy foray into the vampire subgenre of the horror genre. Would I recommend this movie to fans of vampire movies? Hardly so. Will I ever return to watch "Abraham's Boys" a second time? Nope.

Ultimately a rather forgettable movie, and one that leaves you with a sense of 'let's just forget that this should be the legacy of Abraham Van Helsing'.

My rating of director Natasha Kermani's 2025 movie "Abraham's Boys" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Abraham's Boys had all the right ingredients to be a horror hit: a chilling premise, rich source material from Joe Hill, and the pedigree of Natasha Kermani (Lucky) behind the camera. Positioned as a Dracula sequel through the lens of trauma, inheritance, and paranoia, the film sets its sights high, but sadly, this Shudder release ends up being more of a missed opportunity than a memorable fright.

The story follows Max and Rudy Van Helsing, two teenage brothers raised under the increasingly unhinged rule of their father, Abraham Van Helsing-the same Van Helsing who helped destroy Dracula decades ago. While the Dracula novel is treated canonically (minus the final, somewhat tidy epilogue), this film is more of a slow-burn domestic horror than a vampire thriller. Unfortunately, the burn is too slow, and the tension fizzles before it truly ignites.

The film clearly aims to explore generational trauma through a Gothic lens, what it's like to grow up with a father scarred by monsters both literal and psychological. That concept is compelling, and the moments that touch on this theme are some of the strongest. Watching Max and Rudy slowly piece together the dark legacy they've inherited, and realize their father's madness may be rooted in terrifying truth, should be captivating.

But here's the problem: while watching it, I couldn't help but be reminded of another, better film and I found myself wanting to leave the theater to watch it instead. Revealing that title will be a major spoiler.

That's not to say it's a total loss. But that's part of the frustration: Abraham's Boys has so much potential. For those curious about Van Helsing's tragic legacy, it might be worth a watch-but only with tempered expectations. There's a much better film buried somewhere in here, but like Dracula himself, it never fully rises from the grave.