Movie Review: ABRAHAM’S BOYS

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: July 11th, 2025 / 01:41 AM

Rating: R
Stars: Titus Welliver, Jocelin Donahue, Brady Hepner, Judah Mackey, Aurora Perrineau, Jonathan Howard, Fayna Sanchez, Corteon Moore
Writer: Natasha Kermani, based on the short story by Joe Hill
Director: Natasha Kermani
Distributor: IFC Films/RLJE Films/Shudder
Release Date: July 11, 2025

ABRAHAM’S BOYS is a slow burn tale of period what’s-going-on-here horror. Directed and scripted by Natasha Kermani from the short story by Joe Hill (one of the film’s producers) ABRAHAM’S BOYS begins with a 1895 quote from the journal of Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, stating that he sees vampirism as both a medical disease and an existential evil.

An onscreen title then informs us that we’re in California’s Central Valley, 1915, eighteen years after the death of Count Dracula. The film reasonably assumes that we know the general history associated with that event.

Abraham (Titus Welliver) lives in an isolated house on a low hill with his wife Mina (Jocelin Donahue) and their two sons, teen Max (Brady Hepner) and youngster Rudy (Judah Mackey).

We know from the outset that something is lurking in the shadows of the big trees on the surrounding landscape, even when it’s broad daylight in the fields beyond. A woman (Fayna Sanchez) is attacked and dragged away.

It therefore makes sense that Abraham insists that the boys are in before dark. He speaks obliquely to them about a contagion that he had tried to outrun, but that now may be coming closer as civilization starts to encroach. He has fears about the construction of a railroad.

It is also evident that Mina is not well, mentally and physically. Both boys are becoming alarmed at her state. Rudy believes Abraham’s hints about monsters but is ambivalent about obtaining further information. Max is more circumspect but certainly wants to know what ails their mother.

Kermani builds dread and character in approximately equal measure. Max and Rudy are mostly solemn but still have vitality, and we come to care for them. She knows her way around a jump scare and does an expert job of keeping us guessing about multiple aspects of what is occurring.

The filmmaker is also adroit at making ABRAHAM’S BOYS feel expansive, even though the only interiors we see are the house and its barn, and the exteriors are likewise on the property and the surrounding wilderness.

The music score by Brittany Allen has pleasingly evocative echoes of Robert Cobert’s compositions for the 1972 vampire telefilm THE NIGHT STALKER.

Welliver is properly authoritative and intense as Abraham, hinting at but not overdoing the European accent. Donahue is ethereal and touching as Mina. Hepner is stalwart as our protagonist, and Mackey has staunch conviction as Rudy. Aurora Perrineau and Jonathan Howard also make strong contributions.

ABRAHAM’S BOYS creates a kind of daylit darkness, both visual and metaphorical. It is a collection of hints that come together for an impactful finale.

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