Writer Joe Hill’s unique take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the Van Helsing family is getting the movie adaptation treatment from Shudder.
Titled Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story, the upcoming movie adapts Hill’s 2004 short story Abraham's Boys from his collection, 20th Century Ghosts. The story follows vampire slayer Abraham Van Helsing from Stoker’s Dracula, as he raises his two sons to engage with the family business, vampire slaying. Abraham’s Boys explores how Van Helsing’s life and experiences create an abusive and traumatic upbringing for his sons.
Much like Hill’s works, Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story follows Max and Rudy, who have spent their lives under their strict father, Abraham Van Helsing. The official synopsis from Shudder reads: "Unaware of his dark past, they struggle to understand his paranoia and increasingly erratic behavior. But when they begin to uncover the violent truths behind their father’s history with Dracula, their world unravels, forcing them to confront the terrifying legacy they were never meant to inherit."
Shudder has already released the movie’s first trailer, which you can watch below. The clip shows Van Helsing's family living in a rural area to escape the chilling discovery the vampire slayer made years before. But it looks like the undead assailant has found him, as Van Helsing’s wife starts acting as if she has been put under a spell. Later, we get our first glimpse at the movie’s interpretation of Dracula, who looks extremely similar to Mr. Barlow from the onscreen adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, Salem’s Lot.
This is not the first time that Hill, who just so happens to be the son of Stephen King, has had his work adapted. The writer’s 2010 novel Horns was given the big screen movie treatment with the 2013 horror film of the same name starring Daniel Radcliffe, and his comic book Locke & Key was turned into a Netflix series in 2020.
More recently, Hill and King’s joint effort, In The Tall Grass, was reimagined by Netflix in 2019, and Hill’s 2004 short story, The Black Phone, was brought to the big screen by Sinister director Scott Derrickson in 2021. The Black Phone 2, starring Ethan Hawke, is due to hit theaters later this year.
Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story is directed by Natasha Kermani and stars Titus Welliver, Jocelin Donahue, Judah Mackey, Aurora Perrineau, and Brady Hepner
Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story hits theaters on July 11, and will be available to stream on Shudder sometime after. For more, check out our list of the best horror movies, or keep up with upcoming horror movies heading your way.
