The Imperial Theatre is offering a Halloween treat Monday with a double feature of cult classics, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, (1920) with a performance of live original music by Symphony New Brunswick and Resonance New Music, alongside Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel Carrie.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer, follows an insane hypnotist, (Werner Krauss) who manipulates a sleepwalker, (Conrad Veidt) to commit murders – but all is not as it seems.
“Symphony New Brunswick had been very keen to play the accompanying orchestra music for the film,” said Imperial Theatre Assistant Executive Director, Bethany Stout.
“Once they made the request, we got in touch with our contacts at Criterion Films and secured the rights for the screening,” shared Stout.
The black-and-white silent film is often touted as first true horror film of the cinematic medium and described as the quintessential work of German expressionist cinema, with its dark, twisted and unusual visual style, from its sharp-pointed forms, curving lines, and shadows and streaks of light painted directly onto the sets. Caligari had a major influence on American films, especially the genres of horror and film noir.
In Carrie, the titular shy sixteen-year-old protagonist played by Sissy Spacek is ruthlessly bullied by her religiously fanatical mother, (Piper Laurie) and school peers until a humiliating incident unleashes her telekinetic fury. The film has been declared by multiple film publications as one of the greatest horror films of all time and became an indelible part of pop culture, especially with its infamous pig’s blood scene.
“Carrie is a super scary movie that we thought would round out a good night of fright with the classic Dr. Caligari,” added Stout.
The film was the first of more than one hundred productions adapted or based on King’s published works. It was a critical and commercial success making $33.8 million ($153 million USD in 2019) against a $1.8 million budget ($8.1 million USD in 2019), and Spacek and Laurie were nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress at the 49th Academy Awards. A remake was released in 2013 starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore, to middling reviews.
If you go: The double feature will be screened at the Imperial Theatre on Monday, October 28, 2019. Tickets cost $15 and the screening will begin at 7:00 pm.