The Irish vampire horror-comedy, Boys From County Hell, just made its way to the AMC Network owned Shudder. Luckily ScaryNerd was able to review this film back in October as part of the Nightstream Film Festival. The film was written and directed by Chris Baugh, and stars Jack Rowan (Born to Kill), Nigel O’Neill (Bad Day for the Cut), Louisa Harland (Derry Girls), and Michael Hough (Game of Thrones, Chapelwaite).
Boys From County Hell focuses on a group of blue collar construction workers in a rural part of Ireland, who are tapped to build a roadway through a stretch of Irish wilderness. After their work ends up disturbing an ancient bloodthirsty vampire, they must work together to save their town. We recently spoke with three of the lads From County Hell, (Jack Rowan, Nigel O’Neill and Michael Hough), and they talked about horror, Irish folklore and how much fun they had making this killer flick.
The following is a transcript of an interview, some of the questions have been edited for brevity and clarity.
SN Paul: My first question is are you horror fans?
Jack: Yeah, I’m a fan of slashers like Halloween. I think I like slashers more than the supernatural, the supernatural scares me more. But I like Shaun of the Dead.
Nigel: I’m a fan of the old Hammer horror films, but I like all sorts of horror. I like Shaun of the Dead and From Dusk til Dawn, I like horror films where you think one thing is going to happen, but then another thing does.
Jack: The director gave us a list of movies he wanted us to watch, what’s that one, it was Peter Jackson it takes place in New Zealand? Peter Jackson’s early movie, it was set in New Zealand and there’s just loads of blood.
SN Paul: Bad Taste?
Jack: Yeah, that one is definitely in my top 10 now.
SNPaul: So how did you guys feel when you first read the script, what did you think of the story?
Jack: Nigel, you knew them boys from before you know.
Nigel: I knew Chris and Ben from way back, you see we did this shorter version of the film many years ago. And my relationship with them has always been Boys from County Hell over the years, they were trying to make a feature at that point but it didn’t happen which was probably a good thing. It developed over the years and it changed a lot and we always talked about it and Ben was writing away and making changes.
The story is great, especially the feature, it has a lovely balance of humor in it and horror. Which is a very fine balance to get it quite right because it could be one or the other, but I think Chris has managed to do a lovely job. It’s not too scary, it’s not too funny just a bit of both. I really enjoyed the journey of the father and son in it, they way their relationship develops over the story. It’s a lovely arch in their relationship and in the meantime we’ve got to fight this vampire with all these crazy characters that are in it. I love all the characters because they’re all so bizarre and funny. It was just a joy, the whole thing.
Jack: It was one of those that when I first read it I was immediately looking to the future thinking if I got this part how fun it would be to actually film the scenes. Also, my dad’s from Ireland, funny enough my family only lives like five minutes from Nigel, in this small town in Northern Ireland. For me it’s set in Ireland and I always wanted to do a movie with an Irish accent. It was fun to go back to a place that’s very dear to me and to be able to film and make friends and memories.
When you read the movie on paper you know it’s going to be one hell of a ride. When we actually filmed it each day was so different, you get up in the morning and you’re like “I get to do this today!”. Chris set up a lovely environment where everyone was free and we were having fun and I think you get the best out of ourselves, even though the shoot was very physical. It required a lot of energy to stay up and energetic, there was a lot of night shoots. It was an absolute joy, I’d go back and do it all over again I wouldn’t change a thing.
SNPaul: I feel all the characters really meshed well together. I think that really let the comedy come through, especially with S P, was that chemistry from the start or did that develop over the shoot?
Jack: It was definitely from the get go we all met each other and immediately became friends. We’re all such different characters in ourselves, from different parts of the world, and we bring different things to the pot, if you will. But, yeah from day one and S P, good old Mike Hough, what a legend, he’s exactly like that. I miss that man, I wished he lived closer to Ireland or England so I could see him more often, he lives in Canada. It’s good that you recognize that the person comes across on screen.
SNPaul: Nigel, you’re no stranger to playing the gruff dad, I recognize you from Derry Girls.
Nigel: Yeah, I know, that was funny. I get offered a lot of dads and farmers some way or another. Playing the dad is easy, I’m a dad myself so it’s all good. Francie is a funny sort of dad, he has a rough relationship with his son. As you said, they don’t get along with each other, but, they get through the day somehow with this tension all the time. You can tell he loves his son, he cares for him but he shows it in a very strange sort of way. In the film he’s trying to protect him, but his way of protecting him is to give him a left hook.
Jack: A strange way to care but it works.
SN Paul: It’s literal tough love, right?
Nigel: Tough love, yeah. But that’s the cleverness of Chris Baugh, he has a great way of observing people. Especially where we’re from, these types of characters, they’re very real. There’s people like Francie I know, there’s people like Eugene and S P. So really great characters.
SN Paul: Were either of you familiar with the Legend of Abhartach before the film?
Jack: Not before, I kinda researched a little bit, and from what Chris said about it. But I didn’t really take too much notice to the actual history or myth as I was interested in what was happening on the pages of the script. In a way Eugene’s character has sort of grown up in this town where it’s a myth, but it’s almost funny that no one really knows much about it themselves. They’re just like “yeah, that thing over there brings tourists over here and we’re just gonna muck about with them”.
Nigel: I didn’t know much about it, little bit of shards of the story about it. But, there’s many myths and legends here in Ireland. But as Jack said it’s what happening on the page and what’s going on between the characters in the scenes themselves. Bringing that to life at the time, to me that was the joy of getting up everyday as Jack said.
Jack: We sort of learn on the go as characters about this Abhartach fellow, we’re sort of like how do we kill this man? Does sunlight work, no it don’t, chop his head off, no that don’t work. So what works?
SN Paul: I really thought the blood draw from the humans was a very interesting take on that. Did that take you by surprise to read that in the script and then see it in the film?
Nigel: That wasn’t in the short, that was all a new thing and I’d never seen anything like that in a horror movie before. I’m sure it’s been in different things, but I’ve never seen it before. It was terrible to watch, it was scary, it was amazing the way they did it was so clever.
Jack: They actually did the opening scene, when it comes out of the eyes of the guy, they filmed that before the main cast had arrived for the shoot. We came aboard actually two days in, so I didn’t know any of that stuff, obviously it was in the script. But it wasn’t until I watched the movie that I actually saw it. I was watching it with my mom, my girlfriend and her parents and they were like “Oh, I don’t like that”. I just said, “trust me the vibe of the move is gonna change a lot.” It’s cool how they did it especially coming out of the eyes, it looked very real.
Nigel: It’s obviously CGI, but when you see it all put together it’s just amazing. Because you never know how it’s gonna look or how they’re gonna shoot this or how that’s gonna work. But to me I thought it was amazing.
SN Paul: If there was a sequel would either of you be on board for that?
Jack: A million percent.
Nigel: Without a beat.
Jack: I don’t even know what we’d be up to, bloody hell, but we’re ready for it. When the end of the movie comes there is that scene where there is kinda that big shed gate thing and on the wall there is just loads of different weapons.
Nigel: He’s ready for ‘em again
Jack: and all his mates, if all his mates come we’re ready this time.
Nigel: We beat em once, we can beat em again.
Jack: But you got one leg at that point so you wouldn’t be doing much.
Nigel: I can run the show from the side. Shouting a lot and hitting em’ with a stick.
SNPaul: Hey there’s been a lot of great one legged characters throughout lit and film history, so you never know (laughing).
Jack: We can get one of those things, there’s the motor bike and then the little thing that someone sits in next to it. Thats what we’d be rolling off in, Moffatt and Son…
SNPaul: Vampire slayers, there you go (laughing)
SNPaul: So whats next for you guys?
Jack: Luckily, I’ve got a job coming up at the end of May. That I’m going to film but its been a while because of everything in the world. So I’m looking forward to going out there and doing that, but it’s far more serious than this film. I always say this in regards to Boys From County Hell it was the most fun I’ve had on a job. Pure joy, pure fun. You know, you get up in the morning and it’s like and you love every second. I would do anything that Chris and Ben are making.
Nigel: Yeah absolutely, I’ve worked with Chris and Ben before and Chris’ sets are always good sets to be on. As for me I’ve just been auditioning a lot because of the pandemic, but I shot a film at the end of last year and I think it’s coming out in the latter part of this year called Mandrake. But who knows whats in the future. It’s all a bit crazy at the moment, you don’t know where you are one day to the next.
SNPaul: Yeah we’re still trying to get back to movie theaters.
Jack: Us too, us too.
Nigel: We want to see this film on the big screen because I think its the type of film where you can hear the mannerism. Especially from Ireland, you’ll hear all those grunts and groans the way us Irish do and thats where the humor will play nicely. I hope it plays well in America too.
Jack: It deserves to have it’s moment on the big screen. You know Boys From County Hell was ready to come out and we had something like Tribeca or something down the pipeline. We wanted that experience and all be together and watch it on the screen, much like loads of independent movies all over the world. It will taste that little bit sweeter when we get to sit down and watch it on the big screen. Because it will be almost like a sign of how much time has passed but also as humans we’ve all come over and gotten through something. Yeah I look forward to that day, and it’s on the horizon for sure.
Nigel: Definitely, me too. Seeing everybody again, because I haven’t seen anybody since then. Like Jack I miss them all as well because everybody is so lovely and we had a great time. So I want to see the film with everybody just to relive bits of it again.
Michael Hough’s press day was the following day and he was asked many of the same questions
SNPaul: Are you a fan of horror?
Michael: I am yeah, from growing up, Tremors, The Thing, The Omen, The Shining. A lot of these movies had a big impact on me as I was growing up. I’ve drifted away from modern horror lately. But I feel with a lot of these older ones, it’s hard to top them. Ya know. Maybe I’m getting old. (Laughs)
SNPaul: Jack and Nigel mentioned that the director gave you movies to watch for prep.
Michael: I had seen Dog Soldiers before, which was one of the films that Chris referenced to me, so I rewatched that. It’s just that ensemble kind of, us against them thing, that I liked. But you can watch all the movies you’d like to prepare but I thought his take was fresh on the genre, ya know. He didn’t water down the Irish-ness, the colloquial kind of things. And it was true to what you would see in a rural town. I’m from a rural town in the south of Ireland and you come across these guys. Which isn’t something you see a lot.
SNPaul: You guys have great chemistry that translated well onto the screen. Did you like playing the character of S P?
Michael: I had great fun playing him. He is a guy that you’d come across in these town. He’s happy with his lot in life. He just gets on with it. He could go out and drink 15-20 pints and wreck a place, then wake up with a clear conscience the next day. (Laughs) With the chemistry, it’s always weird at first because you don’t know these people before you start. But we went out and had a couple drinks and told each other a few dirty secrets. It helped us band together and gave us a familiarity with each other when we got together on the first day to shoot.
SNPaul: What did you think about the story?
Michael: I thought it was great and I liked that it wasn’t over the top, with the reactions. It was so natural and it was so funny. When we did the read through, in Belfast, we were just in the stitches laughing through the whole way through. But I took to the story straight away, loved it.
SNPaul: Were you familiar with the Legend of Abhartach before the film?
Michael: No I had no clue. I thought it was a load of bull! (Laughing) It’s hard to keep track of all this lore. There’s all these curses. In my hometown if you’re a widow’s widow you can put a curse on someone’s head. (Laughs)
SNPaul: What did you think when you saw the opening scene with the blood for the first time?
Michael: I hadn’t seen it, when I saw it I was like Jesus. It looked brilliant and gruesome, and to have this old couple it was even better. To have these two old folks it was priceless, I loved it.
SNPaul: Would you be up for a sequel?
Michael: I would be but unfortunately as ya know, I’d come back as a vampire. But If Chris asked me, I’d be on board straight away. It was one of the best casts and crew you could work with.
SNPaul: What’s up next for you?
Michael: I just finished shooting Chapelwaite based on the Stephen King short story “Jerusalem’s Lot”. Thats coming out in the fall I think, but they’re really happy with it though. I’ve been doing ADR for it and they’ve been raving about it, so thats good. It has Adrien Brody and Emily Hampshire starring in it and it was shot in Halifax, Nova Scotia during lockdown. That was an experience dealing with all that, getting tested, trying to stay away from people when we weren’t working. We all kinda created our own little bubble with the actors and crew. So I’m looking forward to that but now I’m looking for a job, laughs.
Check out the trailer for Boys From County Hell below and the film is now streaming on Shudder. Be sure to stay tuned to ScaryNerd for more of all things horror, sci-fi and more.
![Boys from County Hell - Official Trailer [HD] | A Shudder Exclusive](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vssvkhvq6O0/hqdefault.jpg)
