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Hello! Welcome to The Van Helsing Society blog! Here you will find updates on the status of the project, news, new content, and general musings about the film and about animation in general.

What is The Van Helsing Society?

The Van Helsing Society or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Farm, is an indie animated horror film, written and directed by me, Paul Scarlata! In a couple month's time, I will be launching a Kickstarter to fund production of the film.

A Brief Manifesto

There are very few adult animated horror films, and none currently being made in the United States. Why is that? Well, the people in charge of greenlighting and funding animated films look at the current animation marketplace and see only family-oriented and children’s animated films being made and making profits. They tell me that no one is willing to take the risk to make something that no one has done before. They feel that because there is no existing market for it, there isn’t a market for these types of films. I respectfully disagree! Animation is a MEDIUM, a medium for storytelling, and so long as that story is good, it doesn’t matter if it’s animated or live action. Anime is very popular and tells all kinds of stories. Films like Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Sausage Party pushed the boundaries of animated feature storytelling. TV shows like Love, Death & Robots, Rick and Morty, Vox Machina, Avatar, and Castlevania are expanding animation horizons. I want to push further, and make adult genre films such as sci fi, thrillers, action and horror that challenge the conventional wisdom of what a successful animated film can be.

If you’re an animation fan, you likely know that the industry is in a state of upheaval. Streaming services that were once champions of animation and animation creators have done a 180 and have been cancelling series left and right, making the calculation that it is better for them to cancel and eliminate shows from existence for the tax write-off benefits rather than nurturing and supporting them. This disrespects not only the talent and hard work of the people making these shows, but also the fans who love them. It is a baffling and frustrating time to be an animation creator as well as an animation fan.

For these two reasons, the fact that the current environment feels hostile to animation creators and fans, as well as the fact I want to make content that no one in charge of greenlighting projects seems to want to get behind, has led me to the conclusion that I will just have to find a way to work outside those systems and do it myself. Will you help me to do that?

About Me

I am a director that has worked in animation for over 27 years, mostly making my career in primetime TV comedy. When I got out of school in 1995, I wanted to work on the next Akira, the next Ninja Scroll. Something fun, adult, and exciting being made here in the US! But those types of film projects didn’t exist here then, and they don’t exist here now. Primetime comedy TV has been great, and I’ve had the good fortune to have worked on some amazing projects with incredibly talented writers and artists throughout my career. I’ve worked on King of the Hill, Family Guy, American Dad, Regular Show, The Prince, The Great North, and Big Mouth, having directed episodes on the latter three. As great as all that’s been, it’s far past time for me to fully pursue my passions! I have always loved science fiction, thrillers, and horror, and want to make films in those genres.

Right now I am in the garage band phase with this studio/project.  Just a guy working on stuff in his spare time apart from his day job working in TV, inviting his talented friends to come in and jam in their spare time, hoping to make it full time.  Will you help us make cool stuff for you from my garage?