Interview - Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story : Let’s talk with Joe hill

By Mulder, Los Angeles, 26 june 0002 to 26 june 2025

Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story, set for release on July 11, 2025, takes a bold detour from traditional vampire narratives by focusing not on the monstrous Count Dracula, but on the unsettling legacy left behind in his wake. Adapted from Joe Hill’s short story and directed by Natasha Kermani, the film transports us years past Dracula, into the isolated world of an older, disturbed Abraham Van Helsing, now a recluse in rural 1914 America. His two sons, Max and Rudy, are raised under his increasingly erratic, paranoia-fueled roof, caught in a psychological tug-of-war between trust and terror. Rather than indulging in gothic pageantry, Kermani drills into the internal decay of a family marked by secrecy and unspoken trauma. This is horror that simmers—a slow-burn tale of inherited fear, shifting identity, and the consequences of believing in monsters too long.

Backed by Tea Shop Productions and Illium Pictures with distribution from RLJE Films and Shudder, the 89-minute film debuted at the 2025 Overlook Film Festival, earning early praise for its unnerving restraint. The American frontier setting becomes an oppressive presence, where sunlight can’t quite pierce the psychological gloom blanketing the Van Helsing family. Titus Welliver’s portrayal of Abraham adds gravitas and ambiguity, while Brady Hepner and Judah Mackey give life to sons torn between loyalty and survival. Jocelin Donahue as the absent mother Mina and Aurora Perrineau as the mysterious Elsie inject further instability into the crumbling household. Early glimpses via the trailer hint at a dread-driven atmosphere akin to The Witch or The Others, where horror hides in withheld truths and generational scars. This isn’t just a Dracula spin-off—it’s a haunting meditation on what happens when fear becomes your family’s inheritance.

Q :  Your original story was published over 20 years ago. What made now the right time for a film adaptation of Abraham’s Boys ?

Joe Hill : oh i don't know you know that there was anything particular about the moment you know Dracula is always reemerging from his coffin to scare another generation you know every generation gets its own king vampire we've had recently  the Robert Eggers' Nosferatu picture which was so chilling and so powerful and  so unique you know so there was never really been a vampire film like it and you know i think i think it's natural for each generation to want to have its own exploration of those classic characters not just Dracula but Mina and Van Helsing and that world and certainly when i wrote this story 20 years ago you know it was a whole different period of vampire film it was you know Coppola’s Dracula and Hugh Jackman as Van Helsing so you know these things go through cycles it's very normal

Q :  This isn’t your typical vampire tale—it’s more about inherited fear. What themes did you hope would carry over into Natasha Kermani’s film ?

Joe Hill : So I became interested—you know—when I decided I was going to write a story about Van Helsing. I became interested in, you know, what would it be like if this guy was your father? Think about how strange that would be, because Van Helsing goes out at night and he tears the lid off a coffin, and there'll be a young woman sleeping inside, and he takes a hammer and a stake to her heart, and then chops off her head, and then stuffs a bulb of garlic in her screaming mouth. And that's his Friday night. You know, that's not a normal Friday night. And, you know, we've been told—we think—that Van Helsing is one of the good guys, right? The vampires are the bad guys. Vampires are evil and sick and infected. They prey on us, so it's right and proper to destroy them. That's what we think. But when you also consider the way Abraham Van Helsing spends his time, he actually sounds a lot like Ted Bundy. You know, this is how Ted Bundy spent his Friday nights. You know, and probably Ted Bundy told himself, “They have to die,” just like Van Helsing. When you think that way, it's pretty chilling.

Q :  The film plays with the ambiguity of Van Helsing’s paranoia. Did you and Natasha discuss how far to push that tension between belief and delusion ?

Joe Hill : No. Natasha knew what she was doing when she went into it. I think that she—you know—she only had a short time to make the film, and she didn't have a huge budget, and she used her limitations as strengths. You know, she let those become strengths in terms of making the film. And so she wound up making a picture that's very tightly contained, almost suffocating, almost claustrophobic, even though you have this huge California landscape to look upon. It still feels like we're confined. It's very suffocating. It's got this kind of hand-on-the-throat suspense.

And to me, that's pure Hitchcock. To me, that's Psycho, that's Vertigo, that's, you know, Rear Window. Actually, Rear Window and Psycho are really good points of comparison because they're both set in single locations. You know, we're trapped in the Bates Motel, or we're trapped in there, in Jimmy Stewart's apartment in Rear Window. So, you know, in some ways Abraham’s Boys is not like a modern picture at all. It's playing its own game. It's—you know—a film that aims to be the kind of picture that Hitchcock might have made. It has that feel.

It also feels a little bit like a John Ford western. There are these shots of Brady Hepner standing outside, and he's in his hat and his overalls, and he's got the hatchet in one hand, and the sun is setting over rattlesnake country. And you look at that and you think, “Western.” You know, looks like an early Clint Eastwood Picture.

So I sort of love that. And I sort of love that she was—she almost—you know, Natasha almost totally dismissed modern film. Eggers did the same with Nosferatu. Natasha almost totally shrugged off all the conventions of modern film and decided to make something—you know—to aim for something more classic and timeless. And I love that. You know, I think that's—that's kind of thrilling.

Q :  How do you feel about Titus Welliver’s portrayal of your version of Van Helsing ?

Joe Hill : Extraordinary. I can't believe how lucky we were to have him. There's a moment in the last—late in the picture—there's a moment with Titus where he does something emotionally that's so chilling and so shocking that I don't think anyone who sees the picture will ever forget it. And that's just great acting. You know, just extraordinary acting. So, we lucked out when he agreed to do the picture, for sure.

Joe Hill is an acclaimed American author best known for his chilling contributions to contemporary horror and dark fantasy, following in the footsteps of his legendary father, Stephen King, while carving a distinct voice all his own. With bestselling novels like Heart-Shaped Box, NOS4A2, and The Fireman, as well as his graphic novel series Locke & Key—adapted into a popular Netflix series—Joe Hill has earned critical acclaim for blending psychological horror with deeply human storytelling. His work often explores themes of trauma, identity, and legacy, infused with supernatural elements that are as emotionally resonant as they are terrifying. Despite the inevitable comparisons to his father, Joe Hill has built a fiercely loyal fan base and a respected literary reputation, proving that horror can still surprise, evolve, and move readers in unexpected ways.

Synopsis :
Abraham van Helsing moves his two sons to the United States in an attempt to escape their past.

Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story
Written and directed by Natasha Kermani
Produced by Tim Wu, James Howard Herron, James Harris, Leonora Darby
From the Joe Hill’s original short story
Starring Titus Welliver, Brady Hepner, Judah Mackey, Jocelin Donahue , Aurora Perrineau 
Music by Brittany Allen
Cinematography : Julia Swain
Edited by : Gabriel de Urioste
Production companies : Illium Pictures / Tea Shop Productions
Distributed by RLJE Films, Shudder (United States)
Release date : July 12, 2025 (United States)
Running time : 89 minutes