Radu Jude Reinvents Dracula With AI And An iPhone
A Radical Reimagining of a Cinematic Legend
Dracula is returning to the big screen, but not as you know him. Visionary Romanian director Radu Jude, known for his provocative films like Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, is set to unleash his unique take on the legendary vampire. His new film, simply titled Dracula, will make its world premiere at the 78th Locarno Film Festival. True to Jude's iconoclastic style, the film promises an absurd, wild, and insane cinematic journey that not only dissects the myth of Dracula but also the very nature of cinema itself.
Shot on Dracula's home turf in Transylvania, the film centers on a young filmmaker who uses an artificial intelligence system to generate various cinematic interpretations of the vampire. The result is a dizzying collage of stories: a classic vampire hunt, a sci-fi tale of Vlad the Impaler's return, a tragic romance, a vulgar folktale, and bizarre AI-generated kitsch, all woven together in a singular experience.
Deconstructing Dracula: A Film About Cinema Itself
Jude's vision goes far beyond a simple horror movie. He aims to explore the myth through a multitude of lenses, creating a film that is as much about the act of storytelling as it is about the story's subject. "Our film deconstructs the myth of Dracula through dozens of stories — absurd, pulpy, literary, playful, political, excessive, naughty, fantastic or realistic," Jude explains in his director's note. He sees it as "a film about cinema itself," paying homage to underrated American auteurs like Ed Wood and Andy Warhol.
When asked who Dracula is in his film, Jude's answer is revealing. "I say the film itself is Dracula," he states, explaining that the movie absorbs and transforms various tropes from popular culture and genre films. "I want to basically offer everybody something. It was my desire for this film to be as inclusive as possible. The intention is a celebration of a few things and a celebration of storytelling as a form."
From High Culture to Pop Culture Trash
The film is a whirlwind of references, crashing high and low culture together. It name-drops cinematic giants like Charlie Chaplin, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Ford Coppola alongside Frankenstein, Popeye, Britney Spears, and Metallica. The narrative also finds room for political figures like Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, as well as modern phenomena like TikTok and OnlyFans.
Jude delights in this blend, explaining that he is interested in both pulp and high culture. "I want to bring them together so that in this film, you can have a lot of pop and pulp stories, but there is also a quote from Wittgenstein at some point," he says. This includes a heavy dose of what some might consider vulgarity and overt sexuality, which Jude sees as essential to the Dracula mythos and a way to challenge societal prudishness. To critics of the film's vulgarity, he points out that one story is an adaptation from a 19th-century Romanian literary giant, Ion Creangă. "I will say: ‘I’m just staging classical literature for all the world to see.’"
Provocation, Politics, and Personal Stories
Jude's filmmaking is deeply connected to the present moment. He follows the lesson of the French New Wave, allowing his films to act like a sponge, absorbing current events. For instance, after an assassination attempt against Donald Trump occurred during filming, it was immediately written into the dialogue. "Politics is so much in our daily life, and in a way it becomes such a show," Jude remarks, noting that a figure like Trump has a dangerous showman dimension.
The film also incorporates the real lives of its actors. He learned that actress Oana Maria Zaharia, who plays Vampira, was involved with OnlyFans. "I said, ‘Let’s include that from your personal life. We can put that in the film and make your character a mix of what you do in your life with what the character is doing.’ I think that made the character richer than I thought initially."
Embracing AI as the Modern Vampire
Artificial intelligence is not just a plot device in Dracula; it was a crucial production tool. Jude's interest in AI stems from his admiration for Sergei Eisenstein's philosophy of using all available tools for montage. While the initial concept involved playing with AI-generated stories, the decision to use AI-generated images came from a practical need to overcome budget limitations.
"I found out that a composer was playing with AI machines... I will transform the expensive scenes by using the worst AI images possible," Jude reveals. He addresses the ethical concerns head-on, arguing that for specific scenes, using AI had a smaller carbon footprint than a traditional shoot would have. Ultimately, the tool fit the film's theme perfectly. "The film is called Dracula, because Dracula sucks everything. So, the AI and Dracula are the same thing in a certain way," he concludes. "For this film, it was a perfect tool."
The Creative Economics of Indie Filmmaking
Don't expect a polished Hollywood production. Echoing the praise from Locarno's artistic director, Jude "resists, stoically, the temptation to make beautiful films." He shot Dracula on an iPhone with the lowest budget possible, embracing a fast and resourceful approach.
This creativity extended to shooting two films back-to-back. Dracula was filmed in just 28 days, immediately following a 10-day shoot for his other recent film, Kontinental ’25. The cast and crew were identical for both projects. "I think in an economical way, and I’m very much interested in solving my production problems as creatively as possible," Jude shares. This resourcefulness is just another layer in a film that is, above all, a testament to the endless, inventive, and sometimes vampiric nature of cinema itself.
