Deafula

The first and last film to be shot entirely in sign language, DEAFULA is probably one of the most earth-shattering works of all time. Other IMDB users waste their breath on insults, but I dare you to find a better example of: *a toddler tearing the throat out of a puppy. *a policeman flapping his arms like a bird *hippies stabbing priests *hunchbacks with tin cans for hands *a tiny troll-like policeman that rightfully makes a mockery of all the people of England. ...If you can't enjoy this movie, you are not a human being.

I loved Deafula! This movie was made for Deafies, not the hearing. They do not and cannot understand us! I would rather watch this film (our deaf community film) than any captioned hearing movie. It's old, but for us ... it's a classic. If the hearing don't understand us, they shouldn't discriminate against us with their mocking. The Deaf look at the world in a different way and they should not be ashamed of it. Watching Deafula always makes me feel good, like I belong. When I watch hearing movies, I always feel like I am an outsider watching the hearing world from a distance. I know my Deaf friends feel the same way. True Deaf Classic ... for Deafies Only!!

I had low expectations of this movie. I knew it'd be a B movie. I thought it would be cheesy and fun to watch, yet still make me cringe at times. There are no cringing moments; this is spectacular cinema! As mentioned in the movie's description, this is done with all sign language. There are no speaking actors, yet the hearing viewer isn't lost because there are voice overs. I was shocked at the attention to detail. There are great camera angles, a good plot, interesting characters, and just a lot of plain old good times! This is a twist on the classic Dracula films that works so well. It has all the shock value and drama needed to make it the classic B, as well as the cheese factor that makes you fall in love with it. I adore this movie, and am so grateful to a friend for giving it me. I've never seen anything like it, and apparently never will again, being as it currently is the first and only deaf based movie. The whole movie is an experience that defies description; it's a must see on anyone B movie lovers list!

The story of "Deafula" focuses on Steve Adams,a young theology student who just happens to turn into a vampire from time to time,but has no memory of doing so after the fact.After a chat with a friend who is investigating the bloodless corpses turning up around town,Adams begins to have flashbacks to his childhood-including one scene in which his bloodlust causes him to rip out the throat of his puppy.Having previously believed he had just been an unusually anemic youngster and the son of a simple minister these memories prompt Adams to investigate his past;he finds that he is actually the son of Count Dracula himself."Deafula" is a perfect cure for insomnia.It's silly and pretentious flick with plenty of psychotronic weirdness.The special effects are bad and the action moves at snail's pace.4 deafulas out of 10.

Disorienting take on Dracula, its entire story told through sign language, giving the film a uniquely weird touch, making its lead seem even more alien, and bizarre, even with his sillier than normal appearance (why the silly looking moustache, and painted on eyebrows?)

This film also benefits from putting the Count in the foreign surrounding of a major, metropolitan area, rather than his Transylvanian abode, and in the (then) present day.

The problem, however, lies in putting Drac into a setting which has aged so poorly, (the mid 1970s) and such a weird twist as having Dracula signing his way through the story of the search for a killer.

Still worth watching, if you know what you are getting into, but I wonder if sticking to a more traditional Dracula plot, in American Sign Language might have worked more successfully?