Dracula 1924
John Faust's Dracula 1924
John Faust’s Dracula 1924 – A queer horror tale set in 1924 New Orleans, where gay men and a voodoo priest battle a deadly vampire.
In 1924 New Orleans, a group of a gay men band together with a powerful voodoo priest to defeat a vampire decimating their close knit community.
New Orleans 1924, gay men thrive in underground speakeasies, despite prohibition and persecution from the police. Considered outsiders by most people in the city, homosexuals develop a strong community in the neglected French Quarter.
Young men, from all over the south, go to New Orleans to find community and safety, striving to make their fortunes along the way. Two such men, Quincy Morris and Arthur Holmwood, have found love and companionship with each other, but struggle to keep their underground club out of view of the police.
When a mysterious and handsome foreigner offers to aid them in their business venture, little do they know the nightmare they will unleashed on their vulnerable community.
John Faust’s DRACULA 1924 is a twist on the Bram Stoker classic, taking the vampire out of Victorian England and placing him in America during the roaring twenties. To fight Dracula’s evil, Quincy and Arthur join Van Helsing, a New Orleans Voodoo priest, and his nephew, Jack Seward. Will they be able to stop Dracula before it’s too late?
CAST
The infamous vampire of legend leaves his native Transylvania for America, only to be thwarted on the Atlantic coast by Van Helsing – a powerful Voodoo Priest. Now Dracula must flee to New Orleans to find refuge among an unsuspecting gay community, and asserting his revenge upon Van Helsing and his kin.
A New Orleans Voodoo Priest who fiercely protects his friends and nephew, Jack, with powerful talismans and strives to drive away evil with his extensive knowledge of the occult and supernatural.
A proprietor of the Babylon Club, Quincy is driven to make his speakeasy a success. He is protective of his partner, Arthur and friend Jack, as well as the New Orleans gay community he caters to. Quincy is handsome and witty – but cautious and wary of strangers.
Arthur is the proprietor of the Babylon Club, along with his partner, Quincy. Arthur is from an aristocratic family in England, but after theGreat War and the death of his grandfather Lord Godalming, Arthur came to America where he could live a more open life in New Orleans. Arthur has a kind heart and is often the life of the party.
Recently out, Jack is still navigating his way through the gay scene. His friendship with Arthur and Quincy is a welcome reprieve from the pressure from his family to continue their legacy as Voodoo practitioners. He avoids contact with his uncle, Van Helsing, to live an independent life.
Police Sergeant Renfield is a corrupt bully ready to abuse anyone weaker than him. His stern, polished exterior falls apart shortly after crossing paths with Dracula. Fighting madness and Dracula’s influence, Renfield becomes a slave to his desires and Dracula’s whims.
Sister Agatha is the Abbess (or Mother Superior) of the Ursuline Convent. She is a religious zealot who once turned to Officer Renfield for community support and guidance, before he began acting irrationally.
Agatha targets the gay community within her parish, not so much to save their souls, but to abolish them completely – believing they are instruments of the devil. When the real devil comes to her doorstep, she has a crisis of faith.
AUDITIONS
***AUDITIONS ARE CLOSED***We are currently auditioning Actors to shoot a “proof of concept” trailer to help for fundraising.
Actors are volunteer positions and we are asking for you to provide wardrobe for 1920s men (suits) if possible.
Shooting in Houston, Texas
Houston Media Source
410 Roberts St, Houston, TX 77003
Callbacks will be at Housron Media Source on November 4, 2024 5:00PM – 8:00PM
Shooting will be Friday November 8, 2024 from 12:00PM – 6:00PM at Houston Media Source.
This is for a Graduate student project and proof of concept trailer to raise funding for the full-length film.
Actors will get the finished trailer for their reel by the first week of December, 2024.
This project concerns LGBTQ+ themes.
CASTING FOR
- DRACULA – Male presenting, 30yo, Eastern European.
- VAN HELSING – Male, Female, Non-binary, 50yo +, African American
- QUINCY MORRIS – Male presenting, 25 – 30yo (any ethnicity)
- ARTHUS HOLMWOOD – Male presenting, 25 – 30 yo (any ethnicity)
- JACK SEWARD – Male presenting, 20 -25yo, African American
- RENFIELD – Male presenting, 40+ yo, Caucasian
- SISTER AGATHA – Female presenting, 50+ (any ethnicity)
Please fill out & Submit the Audtion Form Below
We will be accepting submissions through Monday, October 28, 2024.
Creator's Statement
I grew up in the 1970s and ‘80s, exposed to, arguably, the golden age of modern horror. Its influence on my growth as a writer and filmmaker was paramount. Not only did these films scare me – which intrigued me – but I often found sympathy with the monster. Often depicted as the outsider, these ‘monsters’ were often reactionary to a society that feared and vilified them. This was especially apparent when I came out as a gay man.
No story had more of an impact on me than Bram Stoker’s novel, “Dracula” and the various film adaptations. These films often included queer-coded characters – especially after the Hays Code was enforced starting in the 1930s.
What if the queer characters didn’t have to hide in the shadows, but lived like the close-knit community that was the reality of 1920s New Orleans? Bram Stoker, who was close friends with Oscar Wilde and Walt Whitman, has been rumored to be gay himself . This version of Dracula honors Stoker’s friendships with these unapologetic gay men and brings the ‘queer coding’ of Victorian monsters out of the coffin.