Deafula is the first movie filmed in “Signscope” for deaf audiences. Not content to be just a Dracula flick with the novelty of actors using sign language (don’t worry, there are narrators who translate for non-deaf audience members), the filmmakers have concocted a weird and arty flick that would be unique even if it didn’t feature characters signing. (Well, except for the hunchback who doesn’t have hands.) If you were thinking this was going to be a straight-up adaptation of Dracula, but with sign language, think again. It’s an odd and unforgettable experience altogether.
Steve (writer and co-director Peter Wechsberg, who kind of looks like a blonde Bob Seger) is a deeply religious son of a preacher man who had a deadly blood disease as a child which turned him into a vampire. Years later, whenever Steve thirsts for blood, he transforms into a bloodsucker with a big fake nose and a Dracula cape. The police are baffled, so they call on an expert from England who is convinced a vampire was responsible.
It all sounds like a typical vampire movie, but Deafula is anything but. Even without the signing, it would still make for an arty good time. The black and white photography is dreamlike and there are several memorable touches. Even the vampire attack scenes have an offbeat energy about them, and there’s at least one disturbing flashback sequence. The fact that the filmmakers throw out much of the commonly accepted vampire lore (I mean Deafula is a priest!) adds to the anything-goes atmosphere.
The only real debit is the anticlimactic ending. If the film ended with Deafula’s battle with the real Count Dracula, it probably would’ve been a Four Star flick. Unfortunately, it continues on about fifteen minutes too long and the heavily religious closing scene kind of takes the wind out of the movie’s sails.
That said, this is a one-of-a-kind flick. Vampire aficionados who think they’ve seen it all should check it out. Fans of Obscure-O-Rama cinema will want to give it a look-see too.
AKA: Young Deafula.
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