Violist to bring spooky Halloween films to life

Hugo Max said playing at historic venues would create an "incredibly special" atmosphere

A violist is set to bring spooky Halloween films to life by playing live scores during movie nights.

Hugo Max said his performance would draw on the dramatic and heightened world of silent films from the early 1900s.

Performances were planned to take place at the Electric Palace in Harwich, Essex, and Aldeburgh Cinema, in Suffolk, next month.

Nosferatu (1922), the unauthorised adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, was his film of choice for the venues on 10 and 20 October respectively.

"The films were made for these historic buildings and I think that's incredibly special," Mr Max said.

"With cinema post-pandemic and in times of online streaming, it'll be a wonderful way of getting people back into the cinema," he added.

"Halloween, as a time of year, necessitates the idea of watching scary films together in a space.

"It will be really special because silent films bring together generations and, in this case, four generations."

'Magical'

The Electric Palace was built in north-east Essex in 1911 by travelling showman Charles Thurston, who also constructed the Empire Cinema in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, and the Palace Cinema in Norwich.

Aldeburgh Cinema was founded by Walter Hill in 1919.

When the Electric Palace was built in 1911, cinemas were seen as a social hub, where people could get news and entertainment

"I think it's like stepping back in time and really being in the space of time with the films," Mr Max added.

"Local communities have gone to great lengths to keep these places alive and restore them.

"Being in a full cinema, watching a film and sharing a singular experience... In the world we're living in, that's a really magical, important thing for people."