‘Abraham’s Boys’ Review: Natasha Kermani Reinvents Van Helsing in a Sunlit Psychological Slow-Burn
‘Abraham’s Boys’ Review: Natasha Kermani Reinvents Van Helsing in a Sunlit Psychological Slow-Burn
With Abraham’s Boys, director Natasha Kermani continues her run of thought-provoking genre films that defy convention. Best known for the striking Imitation Girl and the razor-sharp Lucky, Kermani brings her signature offbeat vision to a vampire legacy tale—but flips expectations at every turn.Based on Joe Hill’s short story, Abraham’s Boys picks up eighteen years after Abraham Van Helsing’s battle with Dracula. Now settled in a remote part of America with wife Mina Harker (Jocelin Donahue) and their two sons, Max (Brady Hepner) and Rudy (Judah Mackey), the famed vampire hunter has grown into a haunted, complicated figure. Played with quiet intensity by Titus Welliver, Van Helsing is a father preparing his eldest son to inherit a legacy shrouded in blood—and possibly delusion.
A Reimagining That Subverts the Dracula Template
Kermani resists the urge to rehash Gothic horror tropes. Gone are foggy London nights and dark, candlelit crypts. Instead, Abraham’s Boys unfolds under the glaring sun of the American West, a bold visual choice that casts the familiar vampire mythos in a completely different light—both literally and thematically.With its warm color palette and open landscapes, the film intentionally distances itself from the traditional atmosphere of Dracula lore. The result is a film that feels fresh, grounded, and unnerving in its quiet tension.
Family First: Expanding Joe Hill’s Premise
Hill’s original story focused tightly on the strained bond between father and sons. Kermani expands that core, adding Mina Harker as a living, present influence, where Hill had made her absence a source of grief. Here, Mina provides an emotional anchor, softening the growing divide between Abraham and Max, and adding depth to the family dynamic.What emerges is less a horror film than a psychological coming-of-age drama, haunted not by monsters, but by trauma, paranoia, and generational legacy.
Truth, Trauma, and the Question of Madness
Perhaps the most compelling element of Abraham’s Boys is its narrative ambiguity. Kermani keeps viewers on edge by asking: Was Dracula real, or is Abraham Van Helsing an unstable man chasing ghosts? As Max begins to question his father’s sanity, the audience is drawn into the same dilemma.The film never answers outright. Instead, it lingers in the uncertainty, drawing comparisons to films like Frailty—a spiritual cousin in tone and theme. Kermani excels at exploring the grey space between fear and belief, asking whether monsters are real, or whether they live inside the minds of those who hunt them.
Verdict: A Haunting, Genre-Defying Gem
Abraham’s Boys is a quiet triumph—not a vampire thriller in the traditional sense, but a rich, introspective piece about belief, family, and inherited darkness. Kermani brings a delicate touch to a story that could’ve easily leaned into genre excess, instead crafting something more cerebral and emotionally resonant.It’s not a film for those looking for cheap scares or fang-bearing showdowns. But for viewers willing to sink into a slow-burning, character-driven narrative, Abraham’s Boys offers one of the most original reinterpretations of Dracula mythology in recent years.
