Starring Jack Rowan, Nigel O’Neill, Louisa Harland Fra Fee, Robert Nairne

Directed by Chris Baugh

Vertigo Releasing, out now

 

 

 

A crew of  road workers, led by a bickering father and son, must survive the night when they accidentally awaken an ancient Irish vampire.

Chris Baugh’s Irish vampire movie is a whole lot of fun and keeps you onside for its ninety minutes because of its engaging characters and sense of fun. While the idea of a disturbed, toothsome beast upsetting the locals is nothing new, director and writer Baugh expands his 2013 17-minute short and adds his own spin on vampire lore to distinguish it.

Eugene Moffat (Jack Rowan, Noughts + Crosses) and friend William Bogue (Fra Fee) like nothing more then telling tourists about the great vampire Abhartach that lies buried beneath an ancient cairn in a field. Dracula author and Irishman Bran Stoker allegedly used this legend as the basis of his classic novel. However, following William’s accidental goring by a bull, blood flows into the ground and awakens the dormant nosferatu.

A bit like Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, we see a small town becoming infected by vampirism, but with the added charm of Irish humour and a credibility to the way that people act in the face of a supernatural threat. There’s a proper monster in Abhartach (Robert Nairne, a vampire in Penny Dreadful) and a genuine possibility that nobody will make it alive to the morning. And in one memorable scene, the survivors discover that one means of defence against the undead doesn’t work.

Verdict: Vampires, a farmhouse under siege, and some earthy Irishmen who aren’t putting up with this nonsense – it’s a fun combination. 8/10

Nick Joy