Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story is one of those movies that’s all about the twist. The slow pace that leads up to the said twist makes you wish for something mind-blowing, but it struggles to make the wait worthwhile.
The story is set during the last years of the American Old West. Abraham Van Helsing and his family live in a house in the California countryside, 18 years after the death of Count Dracula. The opening scenes are mostly quiet and establish that Abraham and his wife left Europe after Dracula was killed, but the family bears scars from that time.
Abraham believes that the evil of vampirism has popped up in the West due to the tide of civilization swallowing up nature. Titus Welliver delivers an imposing performance as Abraham. It’s clear that he carries a heavy burden and it’s combined with his expectation that his two sons will carry on his work. Welliver comes off as stoic and scary with brief flashes of anger -- it’s solid work, even though there isn’t wide range in his performance.
Saying that this plot is a slow burn would be an understatement. Despite the threat of vampirism being established at the beginning of the film, it takes a long time before things become exciting. It all depends on the movie’s twist.
Given the title, you’d expect Abraham’s sons to play a bigger role in the plot as it develops. The focus is on Abraham and his wife Mina for the first half, and it’s really just one son, Max, who has any agency in the story. Brady Hepner, as the older son, does a fine job with the material he was given, and the dynamic between him and his father is one of the more interesting aspects of the movie.
Abraham expects a lot out of his boys and is disappointed by Max’s inability to learn quickly. Even his little brother Rudy mocks him for it, which is one of the only things Rudy ever does in the movie. Showing that rift between father and son is vital in making later developments make more sense, but it still ends up feeling undercooked.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one. This horror movie, which is seemingly about a supernatural evil from folklore, is actually about mental illness. It’s not original, but then again, neither is a movie about Van Helsing fighting vampires. As the movie goes on, the big twist becomes obvious, yet it keeps going with more exposition well after that point.
It’s an interesting twist, and I advise that anyone interested in the movie avoid any trailers before seeing it. The problem is that once the twist happens, the film does nothing to pay it off. It’s all laid out right in front of the viewer, and it plays out exactly as expected. It’s disappointing because a great climax and aftermath would have made the slow buildup worth it. That lackluster climax makes it hard to recommend the film.
Author Bio:
Ulises Duenas is a senior writer and film critic at Highbrow Magazine.
For Highbrow Magazine