What if a classic hero turns out to be a villain in someone else’s story? Adapted from Joe Hill’s short story, Abraham’s Boys, Natasha Kermani’s rendition is a slow burn that at first focuses on creating an eerie environment, making the audience wait in anticipation of the unknown. You gradually realize that the floating pale figure with fangs and cold breath that you’ve been waiting for might not be the cause of the horror and agony the family we witness experiences; instead, it was the familiar that left them traumatized.
Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story is centered around Abraham Van Helsing from the gothic novel “Dracula” and his beloved family. It had been eighteen years since Count Dracula’s death, and the Dutch polymath doctor/vampire slayer had moved to California with his family. He’d built a house in the hills, away from the population. But lately, the workers surveying the area to build a railroad had become a bother for Abraham. His peace was interrupted, and the fear of the ‘undead’ turning up at his doorstep felt very real to him.
Spoiler Alert
How did the boys find out about their father’s secret?
Abraham’s sons, Max and Rudy, were always told that there were blood-sucking creatures outside and their house was the only safe haven. His wife, Mina’s health started to deteriorate rapidly, and it strangely coincided with the arrival of the railroad workers. Mina had had a close encounter with Count Dracula, and the incident had scarred her for life. After the encounter, she was left with a strange power—she could determine if the undead were near her, and lately she had been sensing their presence.
Mina started to speak in riddles; her words did not make sense to those around her. It was as if she was waiting every night for the undead (vampires) to come for her, and the wait had started to wear her down. The interaction between Mina and Elsie, who had arrived at the remote countryside of California for the railroad project, is crucial in understanding Mina’s worldview. Elsie was grateful to Abraham for saving her brother’s life. They’d been living in the camp with the workers, and when her brother fell sick, Abraham treated him. She had brought cookies from the town for the Van Helsing family. Mina accepted it, and when Elsie was about to leave, she asked her if she’d been living with the workers in the camp. Elsie’s confidence resulted in Mina growing envious. She perhaps had always wanted to be as free and independent as Elsie, but that had become a distant dream for her. She couldn’t leave her house on her own, and she didn’t have a life beyond her husband and her two sons. She was scared of the world outside, and Abraham was responsible for her fear. She was repeatedly fed on the idea that it was dangerous out there, and only Abraham could protect her. She had come to believe that independent women were the ‘bad ones’ or the ‘evil ones’ who needed to be marginalized for the welfare of society. Since she couldn’t be free, she chose to believe that the ones who could were rotten and she was better off.
Mina’s health got worse with time. She needed a blood transfusion, and Max stepped up to donate his blood to his mother. On her deathbed, Mina blamed Abraham for her condition. She had finally come to realize that Abraham didn’t save her; he’d pushed her further into the pit. The weaker she was, the more she needed him, and thus he felt important. One day, when their father left for work, Max and Rudy stepped inside his study. Rudy, the younger one, was brave, while Max was too afraid of offending their father. But they both were curious, and they hoped to find out what secret project their father was always working on. They discovered a door to a secret passage in his room. Soon after they opened the door, a hand crawled out from the darkness. They saw the face of a woman—pale and fatigued. In the first scene of “Abraham’s Sons,” the woman was seen asking for a lift into town. But she couldn’t find one. Frustrated, she snorted some cocaine she was carrying in her purse. A woman all by herself, possibly an addict, was deemed demonic by Abraham. While at first we were under the assumption that she was possibly attacked by a vampire, we eventually discovered that it was Abraham who’d kidnapped her and locked her in the basement.
The woman begged the boys to help her, but they assumed she was one of the creatures that their father always spoke about. While Rudy was of the opinion that they should close the door, Max wanted to speak to the woman and find out how she ended up there. But before they could learn more about her, their father arrived. The moment he saw his sons in his study, he knew his secret was out. He immediately stabbed the girl, and he insisted his boys watch him perform the procedure of exorcising the evil. Abraham asked Max to use a hammer to drive the stake into the undead’s heart, and he was impressed with Max’s readiness. He later asked Rudy to chop off the undead’s head, but the little boy screamed and begged his father to let him go. Max tried to stop Abraham, and his father slapped him hard for daring to go against him. He later gaslighted Max, telling his son that he was the reason why he’d turned violent. Abraham later cut off the undead’s head and stuffed her mouth with garlic before burying her decapitated body.
How did Mina die?
Mina’s condition only got worse with time, and one day when Abraham walked into her room, he realized that she was no more. Coping with their mother’s loss as well as the truth about their father became burdensome for the boys. Abraham was an authoritarian figure who resorted to violence and mental abuse whenever things didn’t go his way. Max realized that it was impossible for him to spend the rest of his life in the house. He didn’t believe in his father’s theory; after all, Abraham had no proof suggesting that the ones he called the undead were actually bitten by vampires. He couldn’t even show his sons the fang marks, stating that apparently they disappeared as soon as they got rid of the ‘evil.’ Max never really felt scared of the outside world as much as he feared his father, and that was enough reason to make him believe that he would rather seek the unknown than surrender himself to the known demon.
Why did Abraham lock Max in the basement?
Max was all the more convinced that his father was evil when he overheard his conversation with Arthur Holmwood. After Mina’s death, Arthur arrived at Abraham’s property to pay his respects. Arthur had worked closely with Abraham during the hunt for Count Dracula. He was also the one who’d killed the love of his life, Lucy, after she converted into a vampire under the instructions of the doctor. Arthur tried to move on with his life, but his past actions kept him awake every night. He was filled with regrets, and at times he wondered if what they did was right. Abraham reestablished that they didn’t have a choice at the time. They had to get rid of the undead, and they couldn’t let the ‘evil’ spread anymore. Making the choice should have been a moral dilemma, but for Abraham it was all very black-and-white. He didn’t regret his actions because he believed that they were necessary.
But over the years Arthur had started to wonder if they were simply brainwashed into following Abraham’s instructions. They were so in awe of his knowledge and his conviction that they were ready to do whatever he told them. But after he moved to California with his family, Abraham’s influence faded, and Arthur believed he saw the dark side of the choices they made. Since the Dracula chapter had ended, Arthur hoped Abraham had discontinued his practice. But deep down he knew that the doctor had moved to a remote corner in California because he didn’t wish to be under surveillance so that he could carry on with his mission. The only problem—there were no vampires out there. The world had moved on, but Abraham couldn’t let go of it. He suffered from a savior complex, and he had developed a fondness for violence and blood. Self-importance had driven him to a point where morality had no place. He convinced himself, thinking that he was doing it to protect his family. Abraham’s decision to isolate his family had resulted in Mina’s declining mental health that he interpreted as an indication of the arrival of the ‘evil.’ Max believed that his father had poisoned Mina, possibly to have more control over his sons or to make them realize that they too would perish if they didn’t put their complete faith in him. After Arthur left, Max decided to finally confront his father. Abraham showed him an album consisting of photographs of his victims. He explained that none of the people he killed had human spirits; they were completely taken over by the evil. Abraham had decided to hunt down the workers so that they could create a perimeter, a sterile environment within which they would forever remain safe.
Max expressed that he wished to move out of the house because he no longer believed Abraham. He blamed Abraham for his mother’s death, and he wasn’t afraid to call him insane. He was surprised when his father didn’t protest and offered him a drink instead. But soon it became clear to Max that he’d never had free will. Abraham stabbed him in the hand and pushed him into the secret basement in his study. He was determined to get rid of the railroad workers camping close to his property. He was convinced they had evil in them, and therefore he had to kill them to protect his family. He took Rudy along with him, hoping that his younger son would choose to side with him. Meanwhile, Max managed to break down the basement door, and he carried an axe along with him as he searched for Abraham and Rudy.
What happened to Abraham and his boys?
Dressed in a long black coat and a black hat, Abraham had turned into the villain he’d been chasing forever. He attacked Henry, who was at the campsite with Elsie. When Abraham revealed himself to Elsie, she was terrified. She had recently had a conversation with Max where he expressed his doubts about his father. He’d told her that he often wondered if his father was the reason behind their mother’s sickness. But Elsie didn’t think much of it; she assumed Max was overthinking, and the fear of losing his mother made him second-guess his father. But when she saw Abraham in his true form, she realized Max was right. She wailed, screamed, and begged Abraham to let go of her. Abraham instructed Rudy to use the hammer and the stake to destroy the evil inside Elsie. But instead of driving the stake into Elsie’s heart, Rudy turned around and stabbed his father with it. Abraham was furious, and he was about to attack Rudy when Max arrived to save his little brother.
In Abraham’s Boys’ ending, Max struck Abraham with his axe; before killing his father, he stated out loud that he wouldn’t let his father hurt anyone else. Abraham smiled at his remark; he stated that he was glad his son finally knew how he’d always felt. Max decapitated his father, leaving Elsie and Rudy in complete shock. Abraham’s final statement suggests that he hoped one day Max would realize what it was to be a father or a care provider, and only then would his son understand why he took such an extreme step. He never quite accepted he was in the wrong. Max reassured Rudy and Elsie that they were safe and that he had no choice but to kill the monster (his father).
Max and Rudy ultimately left the house on their horses. Elsie watched the two boys ride away. The ending leaves the audience wondering if Max carried his father’s violent streak. Whether or not he would repeatedly seek out such violent encounters is left up to the audience to decide. Hopefully, after what he’d been through, he would consciously avoid following his father’s footsteps. But even if he avoided it, there is no denying that the years of suppression and isolation will have a devastating mental impact on the boys. Thankfully, they chose to break out of it instead of finding comfort in the known walls of their house. It may take them years to fully grasp what they’ve endured—but even a lifetime might not be enough for them to forgive their father.
