by James Fletcher
Often perceived as a backhanded blessing, the expression ‘May you live in interesting times’ seems an apt description of the current state of filmmaking. From the predatory practices employed by streamers to the evisceration of production and exhibition at the hands of Covid restrictions to the post-pandemic strikes and constant reports of conflict between studios and creatives, it is indeed, interesting times for the industry.
However, with the dust hopefully beginning to settle on the new Hollywood, public perceptions of certain industry practices – inflated budgets, shelving of produced films, sell-offs, mergers – are dragged into the glaring arena of the internet, are beginning to reconcile from the divisive tête-à-têtes to the status quo. One of the more vocal conversations, driven by the longevity of the SAG-AFTRA strike, has been that surrounding Artificial Intelligence, and its viability for abuse and exploitation, which has already taken hold across certain web communities.
But, like all emerging technology, those who can harness the new medium for creative effect will temper the storm of opinion. One such filmmaker embracing the AI revolution is Hooroo Jackson, who is embracing the new tech to circumnavigate traditional film production restrictions, successfully generating a feature length animated film DreadClub: Vampire’s Verdict.
Running at just under ninety minutes, Jackson, credited as the film’s writer, director and producer, completed the project in six months, generating over 17,000 still images, for a total budget of US$405 with all visuals, animation, performances, sounds and music generated by A.I.
Inspired by films such as The Count of Monte Cristo, Total Recall, Ghostbusters, Studio Ghibli, edgy ‘90s romcoms, Hey Arnold, Speed Racer, and Saturday morning cartoons; Jackson has described his film as ‘Twilight directed by David Cronenberg’.
However, while DreadClub does invite numerous callbacks to past genres and influences, the film succeeds as its own strangely compelling neo-gothic dramedy. The eclectic fluidity of movement, and vocal pacing of the characters expand on the typical 10 second bites you’d find littering TikTok and Instagram, allowing for a true immersive and entertaining experience, further complimented by Jackson’s narrative style. Part gothic romance, courtroom drama and historical mystery, DreadClub embraces a quirky, surrealist vibe celebrating serial anime of the 1980s and ‘90s. But the most surprising aspect of the machine generated film is perhaps the comedy aspects that shine through, not via slapstick or physicality, but thanks to nuanced performances from the film’s supporting cast and its peculiar narrative beats.
With DreadClub: Vampire’s Verdict going live August 16, we spoke with Hooroo Jackson about the challenges and benefits of utilising AI technology creatively and the new path forward for filmmakers who simply want to create movies.
You’re no stranger to traditional filmmaking, and the obvious challenges of working in the studio system. Can you explain what it was about A.I. that caught your interest as a means of longform filmmaking?
“2015’s Aimy in a Cage was my cinema debut when I was in my 20s and it had a cast of Hollywood celebrities in it such as Allisyn Ashley Arm, Crispin Glover, Paz de la Huerta, and Academy Award Nominee Terry Moore.
“But after Aimy, I had one false start after another in Hollywood. After eight years of pitches, I got into AI in 2023. What was driving me was that I didn’t want these years of struggling in Hollywood to be meaningless.
“I took to AI almost immediately. I wanted to show the world that Aimy wasn’t just a fluke. Even the rudimentary 2023 AI technology, to me was like a dream —I suddenly was there making a movie with a hundred-dollar budget.
“It was a film called Window Seat, and it was, at the time, historic, because it was the first feature film ever made with complete AI video and performances.”
I understand Window Seat wasn’t received with much enthusiasm and drew some criticism online. Can you share your personal insights on how you dissected that negative feedback and found a positive pathway forward? Or even a general perspective on dealing with online vitriol as a creative.
“Window Seat is both surreal and futuristic, while at the same time carrying a black and white ‘90s indie aesthetic. But it was so rudimentary using entirely new technology, that after Window Seat, I felt that I had something to prove. Enter DreadClub: Vampire’s Verdict.
“I conceived of DreadClub as a 1980s style anime feature film and the whole idea captured me by storm. DreadClub took a full six months to make. It was a 2D animated film in the anime style, and it was the first full-length animated film with 100% of its sound, music, video, and performances made with AI technology.”
Using AI seems like it would a minefield of random course-corrections and unexpected tangents, both narratively and visually. How was the experience and how difficult is it to maintain a coherent story structure and character arc?
“In the summer of ’23, it was far crazier to work with this technology. It was like working with wild horses. You can get a split second of usable footage before it all breaks away. Characters run in and out of the frame. Faces morph or sometimes heads roll off the body. This happens so many times; at one point in Window Seat, a character’s body cuts in half mid-shot, and I kept it in the film, adding a samurai slice sound to go with it.
“Most of this was solved by the time I worked on DreadClub in the winter and spring of ’24; it is part of why I worked so hard on the film.
“The production on DreadClub was more complex. I could achieve some really complex shots that were impossible even two months ago, like a girl climbing up the ceiling of the library and swinging back and forth on a chandelier.”
The music is entirely AI generated.
“Yes it is one of the highlights of the movie. I always tell people who are uncomfortable about AI, to start playing with it. It is only going to raise the standard in the end, it will give anyone the ability to make good films, and it will give great filmmakers the ability to make even greater ones than they ever thought possible.”
On the technical side, can you explain the AI you used in producing DreadClub, and offer some insights into how you approached and created the film? Does the process allow for story revision or scene changes after it’s generated? Are there any unique challenges that would surprise someone working with traditional storytelling devices?
“One of the advantages to AI is that you can rewrite any area of the production at any point. I could even go in right now and add or change things. I do like the idea in art of having a hard finish though and representing a moment in time.
“But the end result is first full-length animated film with 100% of its sound, music, video, and performances made with AI tools. The best thing I can say though is that people can enjoy it without having any idea that it was AI. You really just get into this whole vampire mystery, and this love story between Betty and Duchamps.”
What was the most surprising aspect of the final film for you personally?
“The most surprising thing to me is the ensemble cast. All the characters felt like real people. Aimy in a Cage was an ensemble with twenty actors, and a crew of thirty. DreadClub is a cast and crew of just me with 40 speaking parts.
“In both cases, when a film is over, it’s over. Saying goodbye to real people who will stay with you forever, vs saying bye to 100 % imaginary machine people, carries similar emotions.
“Mind you, it is really not that surprising when you consider the solo process of writing novels. It’s just jarring for films because it is so new.”
The film really pays homage to numerous ‘80s and ‘90s anime styles in the best way possible. What were your influences regarding the visuals and storyline for DreadClub and can you describe specific character creation?
“Making a vintage anime style film was always one of my dreams. Like a lot of people, I prefer the ‘80s or ‘90s anime hand drawn aesthetic to the modern 3D style.
“The visual design of the characters was constantly surprising. The protagonist of Betty Gray, I was most excited about, with her leather jacket and wavy hair style. There is a contrast to who she is and how she looks that is always interesting.”
For those looking into using AI as a film medium, are there any legal, copyright issues you think new players in the genre should know about? Do you actually own the film? Or is there some grey unspecified ambiguity surrounding its creation?
“First, understand that AI isn’t a gimmick, it’s akin to the invention of the camera. Treat it with the same respect directors gave to tradfilm. Second, AI will repeat whatever worldview you feed it, so make sure your story, tone, and ethics are rock‑solid up front. Otherwise you’ll drown in infinite variation and you’ll never finish. Finally, stay ruthlessly human where it counts. AI handles the heavy lifting, you provide the soul.”
