тιтus Welliver is going from the dark crime world of the Bosch universe to the sunny-yet-chilling California desert for Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story, joined by Jocelin Donahue and Brady Hepner for the unique take on the Bram Stoker classic. While Welliver is better known for his crime genre work with the aforementioned Bosch series and Western series ᴅᴇᴀᴅwood, both Donahue and Hepner are known for having broken out in the horror genre, with the former having starred in everything from The House of the Devil to Doctor Sleep, while the latter most recently found success in The Black Phone.

Welliver leads the Abraham’s Boys cast as Abraham Van Helsing, now living in the California desert in 1915, 18 years after the events of Stoker’s novel and raising his two sons, Max, played by Hepner, and Rudy, played by Judah Mackey. Donahue stars in the film as Mina Van Helsing, formerly Mina Harker in the original Dracula, who was only mentioned in dialogue in Joe Hill’s short story, but now properly stands alongside her family. However, when Mina’s mind begins to fracture, and Abraham begins telling his sons of their history, the Van Helsing family find themselves starting to crumble.

In anticipation of the movie’s release, ScreenRant interviewed тιтus Welliver, Jocelin Donahue and Brady Hepner to discuss Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story. The former reflected on his transformation into Van Helsing and trying to find a new approach beyond the iconic monster hunter tale of previous Dracula adaptations, while the group all discussed developing the relationships between their characters, collaborating with writer/director Natasha Kermani and the design of the тιтular vampire in the film.

Welliver Sought To Highlight The “Stoicism” Of Van Helsing Compared To Prior Adaptations

“…Joe’s Story Really Fleshes That Character Out In A Different Way.”

With nearly a century of adaptations of the classic novel, there have been nearly two dozen actors taking on the role of Van Helsing throughout the years, ranging from Edward Van Sloan to Peter Cushing, Hugh Jackman, and now тιтus Welliver. However, coming into Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story, the movie offers a different take on the character, no longer the theatrical monster hunter of yore, but instead a paranoid man who has pᴀssed on his fears to not only Mina, but also their children.

In reflecting on his transformation, Welliver pointed to Joe Hill’s short story as having “really fleshed that character out in a different way“, praising it for being “very original” even as it “still maintains the integrity of the character that Stoker created“. The Bosch alum goes on to explain that both the story and film offer “a much more psychological evaluation” of Van Helsing than prior films, comparing it to Roman Polanski’s The Tenant, in which the audience is “not sure if he’s descending into madness, or if all this stuff is going on, because all evidence points toward it“.

One element that Welliver found himself particularly drawn to about Abraham’s Boys‘ depiction of Van Helsing is how “he’s oddly unflappable“, detailing how there is “a kind of stoicism” with the character and that he “doesn’t have a tremendous amount of affect“. He also denotes that there is still the beating heart of the “Van Helsing that we know” throughout the film, in which he is “dogged in his pursuit to rid the Earth of these evil creatures“.

Welliver went on to praise Natasha Kermani for her approach in not only adapting the character, but also Hill’s short story, calling her an “inordinately talented writer and director“ and recalling being “really blown away“. “I thought she really nailed it, and brought nuance and grace notes to the characters that made for some really great stuff to act,” Welliver praised. “Also, her vision for the film sort of contradicts itself. Typically, in vampire things, there’s not a lot of bucolic, flowing fields, this landscape is bright and beautiful and juxtaposed to the interior of the house that’s incredibly well realized. So she just kind of threw up this canvas, with her cinematographer, and we got to kind of live in it.“

The Cast Didn’t Have Much Time To Find Their Fractured Family Dynamic

Welliver Was Enthralled By Many Of His Co-Stars’ Work

Though acting as a sequel to its vampire horror classic, Abraham’s Boys is something more of a psychological family drama, particularly as Van Helsing tries to teach his sons about the dangers of vampires while their mother slowly deteriorates. When it came to how the two parents approach raising their children, Donahue expressed that they’re both “coming from a place of sincerely wanting to protect and love their children“, while Welliver acknowledges that “Abraham is not a guy who’s overly demonstrative” and is “not the poster child for touchy-feely parenting“.

Expounding on the latter point, Donahue goes on to share her feelings that both Mina and Abraham “are kind of stuck in this 20-years-prior [mentality]“, recalling a line of dialogue from the short story in which “they brought the old world over with them“ and therefore impacting their outlook. “They don’t know how to parent these kids in any other way than to kind of scare the pants off of them, to just be very, very careful,” Donahue expressed. “Abraham is obviously overbearing, Mina is trying to explain his motivations to the kids.“

This, in turn, leads to a deviation in how the two go about raising their kids, with Donahue recalling the discussions had throughout filming being that “Max is very much under the spell of Abraham“, with Hepner’s older sibling character “having been indoctrinated from a younger age“. With Rudy, on the other hand, “Mina is trying to protect his innocence“, offering him a much sweeter demeanor than her other son and “almost treats him like a baby more than she should“, which further fractures her relationship with Max.

“I thought it was really beautiful that Mina is trying to reach out and connect with her kids, even though it’s a little too late,” Donahue expressed. “I think she realizes the cognitive dissonance that she’s going through, she’s coming to the same realization that the boys are, as she’s getting sicker and sicker. I think she tries to reach out and warn them, but it’s a little too late.“

This was also key for Hepner in discovering the troubled family dynamic with his co-stars, with his biggest goal being “finding the moments where Max begins to doubt” both Abraham’s stories and his mother’s actions. “Being able to have Max as this good soldier who followed his father’s every command, and never doubted a single thing until he eventually decides that everything that his father, his hero, has told him his entire life is false, and that he starts to come up with his own ideas, and how he’s going to take control of the situation,” Hepner detailed. “That was just a really, really interesting path in this script.“

Hepner went on to praise getting to work with Welliver on this complex dynamic as being “fantastic” and bringing a great atтιтude to the set, while also finding that his co-star “brilliantly plays” the scenes in which Max is learning about the past from his father. Recalling having seen the film with an audience, Hepner recalls there being a “comical” nature to some of his and Welliver’s scenes, even as there’s a “seriousness that [тιтus] brings” to explain to Max “the answers that he needs“.

Welliver reciprocated the praise Hepner had for him, calling both him and Mackey “very talented actors” and recalling them being “eager to learn” during production. He was also taken aback by the young duo’s ability to accept “the responsibility of being the point of view of the audience“, particularly given the cast “didn’t have the luxury of rehearsal to try and create these relationships“, calling it “very, very tricky stuff to act“. Noting that less-experienced actors “might have had issues with that“, he felt Hepner and Mackey “both stepped up to the plate” and “worked extremely hard” in their roles.

“I became aware of Brady from The Holdovers, and I thought he was marvelous in that, so our bond was really formed in real-time on the set, in between takes,” Welliver shared. “They were lovely to work with, and I think their performances are super strong, as is everyone. Jocelin is great, she’s always great. And Johnny [Howard], we have that one great scene together. And Aurora Perrineau, she’s like family for me. Her father and I are extremely close friends, so I’ve known Aurora since she was a little girl, and to suddenly be acting across the table from her was exciting.“

Beyond the actors themselves, Welliver again pointed to Kermani as being key to the cast turning in the exceptional work they did on the film. Comparing her to Oscar winner Orson Welles with the approach of “I’ve hired you to do this thing, and I’m here to facilitate what you need, but I trust you to do your work“, he praised the writer/director for being “just unflappable“, even in the face of various hurdles they faced during production, including the intense heat of the desert location and technology “sometimes going awry“, having recalled never seeing Kermani “get agitated or lose her temper in any way“.

“She’s just a great leader and a wonderful, wonderful director,” Welliver expressed. “And I think a director — I don’t think I know — that this film will be a mᴀssive spring forward for her. She has an incredible eye, a real sense of the visual aspect, which is everything in that medium, and yet she knows how to give very, very specific directions. She’s incredibly good with the boys, and she has a kind of shepherd’s touch of just realigning [things].“

Hepner Recognized Joe Hill’s Handiwork Before Realizing It Was An Adaptation

Mina Harker Has Been A Dream Role Of Donahue’s

As previously mentioned, Hepner is coming into Abraham’s Boys fresh off of his work in The Black Phone as Vance Hopper, one of the victims of Ethan Hawke’s Grabber. Interestingly, while the new film is technically a reunion of the star with the work of Joe Hill, the actor didn’t know that when going into the project, but instead could feel the author’s tone and style of storytelling through Kermani’s script, having a “sneaking suspicion” he had read it before, but was unsure from where.

“What I found out is it’s in the same book as ‘The 20th Century Ghost’, which is in the same book as ‘The Black Phone’,” Hepner recalled. “So, it was really cool having already read it years before, but with Joe, I fell in love with his stories, and being able to tell his stories to an audience is always a pleasure.“

In our conversation with Kermani, she recalled her surprise to learn that Donahue was a big fan of Dracula, with the actor telling both the director and us the role of Mina Harker has been on her wishlist for a long time, as “she meant a lot to me when I first read the book” as a young teenager. “She’s a very courageous and modern, kind of protofeminist character,” Donahue expressed. “She’s like one of the gang, and she’s respected for her mind, and her contributions, and her bravery.“

Reflecting on the film’s version of the character, in which it’s been “18 years since the trauma of being attacked by the Count” and has become “isolated” in her new life with Abraham, Donahue feels that this new interpretation is “subverting the expectations that fans of these characters have“, particularly now that Mina is a “shell of her former self“, describing her as a “very tragic character in this movie” when even compared to Stoker’s source material.

It was just so interesting to think about her headspace with Natasha, and to think about what this family is going through. Her relationship with her boys, and whether or not she is still going to believe Abraham’s explanations for everything, as she’s getting more clarity, and as she’s getting sicker and sicker.

The On-Location Production Added To The Paranoia & Isolation Of The Tale

It Also Led To More Than A Few Hurdles For The Production

With the movie being set in the isolated California desert in 1915, the crew took a very practical approach to depicting its setting, taking the production to the Simi Valley and using the same house used for Little House on the Prairie, with Welliver chuckling as he notes “there weren’t a lot of vampires on that show“. As Abraham’s Boys is almost entirely set at the Van Helsing home, Welliver went on to praise the art direction and set design teams of the film for the “really beautiful” way they crafted the interior of the home, while also making the exterior have an “almost militaristic” feel with its 360-degree view.

“I just think it’s a much more thought-provoking and psychological take on that world,” Welliver expressed. “It’s sort of a combination of paranoia and real-time action. Mina is clearly unwell, and he is struggling, and the boys are sort of just like, ‘What’s going on?’ Abraham entrusts his eldest son with this information, and enlists his aid, but ultimately, you’re anticipating that there’s going to be some sort of a siege on the house. So, it also has a little bit of Romero’s Night of the Living ᴅᴇᴀᴅ aspect to it, but all with this beautiful backdrop of the rolling hills.“

Even still, the isolated nature of the production did lead to a few hurdles for the production, as Welliver recalls, with the heat making it so that “it was about 110–115 degrees in the shade” while everyone was wearing “period wool clothing“. The production even had to evacuate at one point during shooting as “there were fires one day“, though with the joint collaboration of the “marvelous crew“, they were able to push through and bring the film together.

Dracula’s Design Was A “Very Striking” Discovery For Hepner & Donahue

“…It’s Almost This Fear Of The Unknown…”

Even as the film largely focuses on the family drama at the heart of its story, Abraham’s Boys doesn’t forget its Dracula roots, featuring nightmare sequences from the perspective of Hepner’s Max in which he sees the iconic vampire looming over his mother. However, the Count is largely only seen as a haunting silhouette, with a large black cloak drawn up his entire body and halfway up his face, with a pale, bald head poking out of the top.

With the two being the ones to primarily see and interact with the character in the film, both Hepner and Donahue found themselves in awe of the design Kermani and costume designer Abbie Martin, who Donahue praised for having created “this amazing, chic cape“, came up with. Both stars also took a moment to recognize the “great person” that is Forrest McClain, the actor who played Dracula in the film, particularly given the actor stands at over 6’5″.

“Seeing some of the sH๏τs that they got with Forrest, I really could appreciate the creativity, because he wasn’t this slicked-back, jet-black-haired [person], they brought this whole new look to Dracula,” Hepner opined. “He has these eyes, and I thought that hiding who this monster was a solid choice, because it’s almost this fear of the unknown, in this sense, and that’s what I really could appreciate about the Dracula that Natasha created.“

“He’s very, very striking in this look, and then also the way that Julia Swain, our DP, sH๏τ it,” Donahue added. “I just love how high contrast this movie is. We have the sunny, Western horror, but then we have, at nighttime, these really cool and dramatic scenes with Dracula, and the nightmare sequences were so much fun to shoot with Brady and Forrest.“

Stay tuned for our other Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story interviews with:

• Writer/Director Natasha Kermani
• Author/Executive Producer Joe Hill

Source: ScreenRant Plus