BOYS FROM COUNTY HELL, Writer/Director, Chris Baugh [Episode 82]

Chris Baugh is an Irish writer and director who made his directorial debut with Bad Day for the Cut in 2017. His latest movie is The Boys of County Hell, a vampire film set in Northern Ireland. I really enjoyed this movie! I'm a fan of the vampire genre but prefer edgier and more unique takes on the vampire genre, and this is definitely what Boys of County Hell delivers on. The movie follows a group of road workers who have to survive the night when they accidentally awaken an ancient Irish vampire. It delivers the gore, as well as the laughs, and has some very cool mythology that involves Bram Stoker. I highly recommend it, and Boys of County Hell is now streaming on Shudder. Without further ado, here is Chris Baugh.

• Ground your movie in your own reality. When working within a genre, especially horror, it's easy to get stuck in cliches and create something that feels like it's been done before. Horror is becoming a sea of sameness, which is why it's important to put a deeply personal spin on your work. We've never seen a vampire movie set within Northern Ireland, and as a result, Boys From County Hell felt extremely unique and fresh because it had a sensibility and sense of reality that went beyond verisimilitude and felt deeply personal because it was based on Chris' actual experiences.

• Cast authentic characters for believable horror. This is definitely an extension of the first point but, casting people who look, act, and talk like real people, gives your movie a level of reality that makes the horror element work even better because, again, it grounds it in reality. The ensemble cast of Boys From County Hell was fantastic - not only great actors but their chemistry and camaraderie felt so real, which really made the movie sing. This all comes down to casting, specifically casting for authenticity. So look for actors who feel real and who can bring their real personalities to their characters.

• Always have something, even if you don't. Before Chris did his first movie, he was asked by a film fund in Ireland if he had something they could finance. He did not, but said he did and then ran home and wrote the screenplay for Bad Day for the Cut (which I highly recommend, now streaming on Netflix). He wrote it in about a month, and although he didn't get it funded that year, he got funded the year after. This is a testament to two things; sometimes, you need external pressure to get you to finish that screenplay finally, so if you have the opportunity to commit to delivering someone a screenplay, commit to it. Sometimes the pressure is what you need to bring your work over the finish line finally. The other thing is that if you have an opportunity, at all costs, take it. Even if you're not prepared, say yes and figure it out after the fact. It worked for Chris, and it may just work for you. 

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