Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Boys from County Hell’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the motion picture, ‘Boys from County Hell’.
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Something that is truly fascinating about humanity, is how we view the past. In that, we are eager to hold onto it as tightly as possible. Simply because we firmly believe that if we let it go, a part of ourselves will forever disappear. Which is a line of thinking that has merit. For hanging onto the memory of people we’ve lost or of big events, helps to keep that special person alive and it keeps us grounded in what an important moment taught us. Because the past is indeed a wonderful teacher, and without it we wouldn’t be the person we are today. But while there is a positive side to keeping part of ourselves firmly planted in yesterday, our holding onto it isn’t always a healthy way to go.
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Because it can haunt us and terrorize us. For the emotions that come out of ugly moments and loss and grief, can overtake us since they are so powerful and so compelling. To the point where we might shut down and collapse emotionally. And oddly enough, when the past brings us great strife, we are suddenly compelled to remove it from our lives and our minds because that’s just what people do when they’ve had enough and even that, brings about issues. Because we simply cannot wipe what happened away, which means we truly need to view our past as part of the fabric of our being and resolve the emotions bad moments send our way and learn to live with them, and this is a lesson that is central to the brand-new horror film on Shudder, Boys from County Hell.

Now in this particular film, we are introduced to a young man named Eugene, who has a lot of emotional baggage hanging over his head. For he’s lost his mother and really doesn’t have that great of a relationship with his father and being haunted by his past and hurt by his current situation, drives him to drink and putter about through life with zero direction. In fact, he’s so lost and unable to cope with yesterday, that he’s stuck, and the world is beginning to pass him by. But the loss of his best friend in a freak accident might be what Eugene needs to finally move forward in life. For the death of his buddy, has brought about the discovery of an ancient vampiric legend, one that is awake and ready to feed on the entire town to restore its energies. And that means that this is Eugene’s chance to shine since he knows plenty about the legend, provided of course… he can reconcile his fears and his pain from so long ago. 

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Which is a plot that is quite frankly… as unique as they come. For it makes the vampire in this story, become the allegory for our past. For this ancient monster is the creeping fear we carry about losing those we love or the failures we’ve taken part in and that makes this movie brilliant for certain. Because we get to watch all of our heroes in this story, confront the power of grief and loss and trauma and everything in between so that they can survive the night. Which only adds to the depth and the commentary on this matter since it uses amplified doom to help the audience understand that hanging onto our past will indeed drown us and damage us in ways, we never thought possible and well, it’s rare to see a horror movie be this direct about its message, but this one pulls it off no problem, thanks in part to one key storytelling twist.
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Because this is a story that is also heavy on the comedy, which seems like an odd thing to inject here, but it really is necessary to hammering home the message. Because being able to laugh in the midst of some powerful and/or harrowing sequences, allows for our minds to easily digest what the story is trying to teach us and it doesn’t hurt… that the comedy in this story works like a charm. Because every single twisted comedy sequence really did leave this reviewer laughing out loud and they truly do bring forth wonderful levity and it oddly motivates you to continue the journey, so you can see how this story is going to top the last gag and well, that makes the ending worth the viewer’s while. Since it features some downright incredibly hilarious moments, the kind that might motivate you to pause the movie while you get the laughs out of your system.

If anything, this is just a flawless horror/comedy through and through. Because not only is it loaded to the brim with powerful commentary and side-splitting jokes and gags, but it also features some quality character development as well. Since everyone we meet in this story has depth to them and a journey to go upon. But above all else, what truly allows for this motion picture to stand out, is that it is also unconventional and original. For what it explores in regard to the vampire mythos, is genuinely refreshing since it doesn’t feature a single trope from this storied sub-genre, and really all of these elements make this a delightful and satisfying watch for certain. One that does a wonderful job of providing horror fans with everything they love about the genre and manages to stay with you for quite some time by asking the viewer… if they’ve done enough to make peace with tough days gone by.

‘Boys from County Hell’ is available to stream now, on Shudder.

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