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The Curse of Dracular

When my dad was just nine years old, he conceived the narrative of his very own horror film. Little did he know that decades later his terrifying vision would finally be brought to life...

  • Jack Paterson
    Director
  • Jack Paterson
    Writer
  • Michael Paterson
    Writer
  • Jack Paterson
    Producer
  • Rocco Quincey
    Key Cast
    "Narrator/Little Boy"
  • Peter Martin
    Key Cast
    "Mr. Philips"
  • Emily Conlin
    Key Cast
    "Jane"
  • Michael Paterson
    Key Cast
    "Mr. Butler"
  • Jack Paterson
    Key Cast
    "David Lewis"
  • Jack Paterson
    Animation
  • Jack Paterson
    Puppet Making, Props & Set Design
  • Jack Paterson
    Editing, Post-Production and Sound Design
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Comedy, Horror, Animation
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 16 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 7, 2023
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Norwich University of the Arts
Director Biography - Jack Paterson

Graduate of Norwich University of the Arts in 2023, with a First Degree Honours in Animation. Claymation animator and aspiring filmmaker looking for work in the industry.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The Curse of Dracular is a claymation film I produced for my final year of University, based on a story my Dad wrote when he was a child (around nine years old). He discovered it a few years ago after finding that his mum had kept a collection of his old schoolwork. Upon reading it, it becomes clear that the story was heavily inspired by the classic Hammer Horror films he would catch late at night as a child. We both found his story hilarious, and I thought it would be the perfect basis for a short film.

I should note that one detail I found particularly funny was the fact he had misspelled the name Dracula as "Dracular", hence the title.

Although the film is comical, it comes from a very personal place as my Dad has been a continuous inspiration to me for as long as I can remember, and I credit a lot of my love of film and animation to him. Thus, this film is in large part a tribute to him. Claymation is also our favourite form of animation, and some of my oldest memories were us sculpting various characters and creatures out of Play-Doh and Plasticine.

This claymation film is the culmination of months of work, and was filmed primarily in my dining room. Being a one-man crew, the production of this film has been quite the journey, so I'm very excited to finally share it with the world.

So sit back, and enter the deadly domain of the dastardly Count Dracular!