DreadClub: Vampire’s Verdict

“Betty Gray, a college student obsessed with gothic romances, finds herself living one when she falls for Duchamps De Ve–a man on trial for being a vampire.”

The opening credits of Hooroo Jackson’s “DreadClub: Vampire’s Verdict” pay homage to several major pioneers in the history of animation: Walt Disney (“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, the first animated feature film), Ladislas Starevich (“The Tale of the Fox”, the first stop-motion animated film), Mitsuyo Seo (“Momotaro: Sacred Sailors”, the first feature length anime), Hayao Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli) and John Lasseter (“Toy Story”, the first CG animated film)

That is because DreadClub: Vampire’s Verdict represents a milestone in filmmaking, being the first fully AI animated feature film ever made, the first full length AI anime film, and the first feature film with 100% AI sound, music, visuals, and performances, meaning everything on screen is AI generated.

Sophomore Betty Gray’s romance with Duchamps De Ve, the leader of the banned occult group Dread Club, spirals out of control when a rival from his past accuses him of being a vampire. As Duchamps fights to clear his name in court, Betty must race to prove his innocence, while facing an onslaught of hate from those who brand him as a monster.

From February 2024 to July 2024, with a modest budget of $405, DreadClub: Vampire’s Verdict emerged as a groundbreaking project in AI-filmmaking. Leveraging state-of-the-art generative adversarial networks (GANs) and diffusion models, the film was meticulously crafted from a dataset of over 17,000 high-resolution images. “DreadClub: Vampire’s Verdict” is a cutting edge technological miracle. It is not merely a film, but a turning point in how they are made. “We’re witnessing the birth of a world where filmmaking is no longer constrained by nepotism, wealth disparity, or the arbitrary circumstances of one’s birth. Instead, we’re entering an era where the power of creation is accessible to all,” Jackson notes

Premiering July 3rd and then again on July 4th when Hooroo realized there was a non-AI cricket sound in the movie, the film was officially released on July 26th on digital, becoming the first A.I. feature film to land a major streaming license, and then on Blu-ray one month later alongside the soundtrack, a 17-track collection of gothic, reggae, and techno AI-generated songs across the film.

DreadClub was Jackson’s third feature and his first animated film, garnering the best reviews of his career (75 % on RottenTomatoes), it fulfilled a long-standing dream to make animated films. “The film carries a vintage 1980s anime aesthetic, framing the story around the Gothic romance between lovers Emril and Elysee, a couple doomed to a vampire’s curse. Utilizing both the Jojo animation style and the Ghibli animation style, the film visually depicts the rift in the De Ve family line; Jojo represents sin, Ghibli represents innocence.”

A group of college kids: Betty, Clara, Liam, and Felix, are stuck on campus over summer break, meeting a mysterious woman on the lookout for a lost necklace named Sophie. Myths and the college life merge as a murder rocks the campus, bringing them in the middle of a vampire mystery.

Upon its release however, the film faced severe backlash from anti-AI camps. “Once again we faced blocks, bans and censorship everywhere, the pushback was ten times worse than on Window Seat. This time there was a cancellation attempt leading to harassment around-the-clock for weeks on end. I could not believe all of this abuse was over a cartoon.” Anticipating this, all production drama was meticulously documented in the book, Artificial Imagination: The Making of DreadClub; Hooroo documented every single moment of the making of the film, including the chaotic aftermath, to ensure future generations could understand the challenges, adversity, and cruelty faced by AI filmmakers.

DreadClub: Vampire’s Verdict is Hooroo Jackson’s breakthrough, the historic first A.I. anime was released on Blu-ray on Aug 31, 2024, including two cuts of the film: the historic 100 % Machine Cut, and the Director’s Cut with non-machine elements.

Reviews:

“Dread Club: Vampire’s Verdict is an animated A I feature film taking movie making to another level. Writer-director Hooroo Jackson has fashioned something unique with this Gothic horror romance, that not only feels cinematic, but is truly engaging.” Martin Carr, Entertainment Journalist

“DreadClub: Vampire’s Verdict is an intriguing first step into the potential of artificial intelligence in filmmaking. More importantly, it highlights Jackson as a talented filmmaker with style.” Bobby LePire, Film Threat

“On the whole, the viewer is assured of an engaging pageant of myth, mystery and melodrama.” ReviewRon