Vampire tales have staked their claim on popular culture since Bram Stoker’s Dracula was published in 1987, but the last year has seen an uptick in movies that put a fascinating spin on the lore of yore. Fresh off the critical acclaim heaped on Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, which each tackled vampiric mythology from very different perspectives, Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story takes a closer look at Van Helsing. The тιтular character (played by Bosch‘s тιтus Welliver) is now married to Mina (Jocelin Donahue), but the demons of their past return to haunt them and their two sons.

Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story is written and directed by Natasha Kermani, who is also helming Sophie Turner and Kit Harington’s upcoming gothic horror film, The Dreadful. Her screenplay is a thoughtful expansion on Joe Hill’s short story of the same name, which deals with Max (Brady Hepner, The Black Phone) and Rudy Van Helsing’s (Judah Mackey, The Young and the Restless) forced coming-of-age when their father’s previous life in London begins to take over their new one in California. Aurora Perrineau, Jonathan Howard, and Corteon Moore round out the cast.

ScreenRant had the pleasure of visiting the set of Abraham Boy’s last July, during the filming of a few crucial scenes in the movie. While there, we interviewed Kermani about her vision for the project, along with Welliver, Hepner, Mackey, and Howard — the last of whom was key to the day’s proceedings, as he portrays original Dracula character Arthur Holmwood, whose unexpected visit kicks off the latter half of the movie’s action. Read on for an in-depth preview of the haunting story before its July 11 release, courtesy of RLJE in collaboration with Shudder.

Abraham’s Boys Will Have You Questioning Everything You Know About Dracula

Natasha Kermani Considers Her Movie A Subversion Of The Dracula Story

When Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story was brought to Kermani in short story form, she found herself immediately drawn to the time period. “I was very excited about the 1915 of it all,” the director admitted. “It’s just such a strange time to see on camera, but a really cool period. I loved that idea of seeing that transitional time between the old world of Dracula and our modern one.” That transition has an invaluable effect on Abraham himself, and it’s fascinating to see it reflected in the setting.

Her second reason was “the subversion of the myth.” Fans of vampire stories have a lot to chew on with the premise, but “just by proxy of it being the next generation of Van Helsings, it’s already so removed from Dracula.” That removal is aided by the environment of a Californian desert, and by the perspective of the kids. “Max’s character starts from a place of obedience but slowly moves away from that,” Kermani explained. “That’s also the audience’s experience… The idea of this mythological Zeus, and the son replacing father as the broad strokes of it, with the specifics of Dracula.“

Some of the specifics included characters from Bram Stoker’s work. “As I was putting the script together, I thought to myself, ‘What could be an interesting visitor from the original book?‘” While she revealed that “there was a draft with Quincey Morris,” the actual additions were equally as exciting: namely, Mina Murray and Arthur Holmwood. “Holmwood kills his fiancée, and I always thought it was really interesting to be so persuaded by Abraham.” In her eyes, Van Helsing reads as “a cult leader who comes in and tells you your fiancée is a monster, so you kill her.”

Kermani acknowledged Hill’s enthusiasm for her screenplay. “Joe has been super supportive. He read the script and sent me a very nice note about it, although I don’t know that he thought it would get made because it’s so crazy.” The craziness drew her in, but also challenged her to make changes. “His work is extremely dark, which is fun, but you can’t have a 90-minute experience in just that darkness. It was interesting finding the beauty in the story and the setting; all that stuff that Joe didn’t have the real estate to get into with his short story.“

The movie may be named after Abraham, but Mina’s experiences are just as crucial to her sons’ development. Kermani shared how the movie picks up where Dracula left off for her (despite her having a new husband). “Mina was bitten by the Count, and she has a telepathic connection to him,” Kermani recapped. “She didn’t fully transform, but she is kind of in this weird in-between place.” Eighteen years of that have left her “very sick, and she is also mentally ill…At the beginning of the movie, everyone is on the decline. Everyone’s starting to completely lose their grasp.”

The director spoke with actor Jocelin Donahue about how Dracula’s attack shaped her. “She had a traumatic experience, and for her to acknowledge what happened to her is harder to accept than this legend of a monster.” As for Welliver’s Abraham, she discussed how he was a working man unafraid of getting his hands dirty. “That is so essential to how Abraham sees himself — as this legendary savior who gets in and solves the problem — and that was something тιтus understood from the get-go.” She praised the “almost Puritan aspect, sobriety, and stillness” he brought to the role in particular.

тιтus Welliver Plays Van Helsing Very Differently From The Norm

Abraham’s Boys Deals With Unexpected Aftereffects Of The Encounter With Dracula

While speaking to Welliver myself on set, the stillness Kermani referred to was immediately apparent in his description of Abraham. “He’s not an emotionally demonstrative man,” the actor began. “He’s a very sober man and very internalized.” Nothing is quite as internal as his relationship with his children, which he described as one that “exists, but it also doesn’t exist.” In place of the “normal machinations of parenting,” Abraham is focused on “trying to prepare his children for this darkness that he warns them has followed them from Europe.”

The biggest difference from the famous Van Helsings of page and screen and the one in Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story, at least according to Welliver, is “the handy doctor’s bag of stakes and crucifixes.” Without that piece of iconography, “I don’t have those big set pieces to chew on as an actor,” he explained. “But I am really enjoying trying to find the places to bring some of the Van Helsing that we know and love, and to pay homage to the previous ones.“

Welliver also pointed out the “very subtle” themes of isolation and tradition versus globalization and modernization. “There’s no dialogue with him explaining it to anyone outside of the family, but he has a moment with Max where they see that the railroad is being built.” Such a sign of progress concerns Abraham because “the railroad is bringing more people, and that brings this ominous possibility that there are vampires here and the pestilence will spread faster through the population.” Such recalcitrance in the face of change creates a widening divide between the father’s supersтιтions and the son’s newfound observations.

Abraham’s Boys Is A Brutal Coming-Of-Age For Max Van Helsing

Hepner Also Details His Surprising Connections To The Creatives Behind The Movie

Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story is a breakout role for Brady Hepner, but Kermani and Hill have crossed paths with him before — some might even call his casting fate. “I read the short story in the same collection as The Black Phone,” he admitted. “I’ve read all of Joe Hill’s short stories before. That’s why, when I read Natasha’s script, I was like, ‘This is oddly familiar…’” Of course, Hepner previously acted in The Black Phone, written by Hill and directed by Scott Derrickson, who has worked with Kermani in the past as well. “It’s a super connection-based project, and I love it!“

Though he “didn’t realize it was Joe Hill at first,” Hepner appreciated the support he received from the author after the fact. “Joe was super excited to see that I was recurring with him. It’s cool to be able to work for people that you’ve already worked with.” He was no stranger to the material either, but he studied plenty for the project. “I went over everything again because that was Natasha’s homework for me.” The ᴀssignment was a piece of cake because, “As long as I can remember, I’ve been a fan of Dracula and Van Helsing stories.“

As a fellow fan, he cautioned audiences to enter this new interpretation of the classic tale with an open mind. “I think if you are a Dracula fan, go into this movie without expecting a Dracula,” he warned. “Just get ready for the psychopathic mind of Abraham Van Helsing and his deterioration through this movie.” That deterioration is an important part of the parent-child relationship in the story as well. “At the beginning of the movie, Max trusts whatever his parents say. There’s nothing else except what his parents say because he’s very disconnected from the outside world.“

The Van Helsing’s isolation from the outside world serves not only as a vehicle for the story to unfold, but as a metaphor for the changing of the old world into the new. As transportation and information evolve, Max’s lonely but idyllic life in Central Valley is confronted by the encroachment of said outside world. “Max starts to take the situation into his own hands and figure things out for himself,” Hepner explained. “We start to see Max choosing his own choices and taking his own path, instead of just doing what he’s told.”

Hepner’s dynamic with Welliver as an actor was far different from Max’s with Abraham. “тιтus has been one of my favorite pros to work with in a long, long time,” he revealed. “We show up to set, we’ll run through the lines once, and it’s almost like our minds just click.” Hepner even shared his co-star’s invaluable advice. “тιтus believes the number one step to being an actor is listening. If you can listen really well, take it in, and react, then you have a good movie.”

Judah Mackey Offers Insight Into Van Helsing’s Youngest Son

Rudy Is A Ray Of Innocence Amidst The Horrors Of Abraham’s Boys

Although Judah Mackey did not have many scenes to film on the day I was on set, his role is pivotal to Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story, as he represents untainted innocence and hope for the future. While Abraham has begun training his eldest son to follow in his footsteps, his youngest is often kept away from the darkness and allowed to dabble in childhood pursuits. Nevertheless, he cannot fail to absorb some of the generational trauma, and the actor teased that “his curiosity eventually leads him to make some dark discoveries.” He also hinted at “an action sequence that is a pivotal point in the story.”

Part of his initial ignorance stems from his age. “Rudy was born after his family fled London and Amsterdam,” Mackey explained. “He didn’t know about his dad’s past, but is aware of supersтιтions and rituals that are meant to protect the family from some evil threat.” Those well-versed in Dracula will be able to match some of the comments he makes to important pieces of lore from Bram Stoker’s novel and successive iterations. But rather than hope to learn from his father, “Rudy has a closer relationship with his mom, who adores him and wants to preserve his innocence.”

The young actor was enthusiastic about the movie for a myriad of reasons, chief among them being his own enjoyment of the genre. “My brother and I shared a set of classic books reimagined for kids, and one of our favorites was Dracula,” Mackey revealed. “I just finished reading the original, which was really cool.” The cast was another incentive, as he gushed that “тιтus and Brady have been awesome to work with. тιтus is such an accomplished actor and shares some good stories, while Brady and I get along really well. He’s already like an older brother to me.”

He continued giving his onscreen family members their props, saying, “They both give such honest and real performances, making it easy for me to be in the moment.” Director Natasha Kermani also received some well-deserved praise, as Mackey exclaimed, “I like working with Natasha because she’s collaborative. She answers everyone’s questions and is open to ideas. I hope we get to work together again!“

The Return Of Arthur Holmwood Unlocks A Key Storyline In Abraham’s Boys

Howard Breaks Down His Meaningful Moment With тιтus Welliver’s Van Helsing

On the flip side, Jonathan Howard filmed all his scenes on the July day I visited the set, and so I had a front row seat to Holmwood’s tense confrontation with Van Helsing. The duo had to give life to the entire history between their characters, as well as account for the 18 years of separation since the death of Count Dracula, which was no easy task. “I have to remind myself that I’m just here for a day,” the actor said good-naturedly. “It’s always a little tricky because I always get nervous before the first day on any set.”

“If I’m doing a film for three months, the first day is always a little nerve-wracking, so it’s always hard when you just come in for a day,” he continued. “I’m saved by the fact that I have such a big scene, so I can just forget about all the noise and the nerves. I can really just focus on trying to be truthful and tell the story through this character.”

While that big scene is not present in Joe Hill’s short story, it is derived from the original Bram Stoker novel. “I rewatched Dracula, and I’ve got the book in my trailer,” Howard explained regarding his preparation. “It’s been really interesting reading all the letters. I would skim through it and be like, ‘Where is Holmwood in this and what is he writing?’ It revealed some character details about him, and it was just really exciting.” Especially exciting is the revisionist lens with which Abraham Boy’s approaches Dracula. “The twist makes a really good point,” the actor teased. “It really makes you think ‘What if…?’ I love the premise of this movie.“

Without spoiling the exact nature of the previously mentioned twist, Howard provided some more context for his scenes. “I want Abraham to help me. I’m seeking absolution.” He borrowed Kermani’s point of comparison, which was perfectly fitting for the student-mentor dynamic at play. “I’d liken it to being a part of a cult and then 20 years later, suddenly realizing ‘S–t, was it actually a cult?’ How is it to leave a cult? What is it like to go meet the cult leader?“

Of course, Welliver does indeed have the charm of a supernatural cult leader, as his time on Lost can attest. Howard was equally effusive in praising his costar as he was in praising the plot. “тιтus has such presence and charisma and gravitas to him naturally that it just makes it really easy to play off him,” the actor said. “I can feel the fear as I’m talking to him and questioning my whole life.“

Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story arrives in theaters on July 11. Stay tuned for more in-depth interviews in the coming weeks!