Is it theatre? Is it film? Is it a musical event? Yes to all these. The concept is interesting: a film is screened without its soundtrack, while all dialogue, music and sound effects are performed live. This sounds like just a gimmick; does the film gain anything from such a treatment? Well, that probably depends largely on the source material. In this case, Dementia 13 is a disturbing and intriguing horror, but it has not aged well and now feels rather unsophisticated. Providing new character voices and a fresh, original score invigorates an otherwise stale film by emphasising the melodrama in the piece. This is a fun way to give new life to an otherwise dated artwork.
This unusual format provides unique challenges for the performers. I was rather impressed at how accurately the live actors matched the lip movements of the film actors. Similarly, it was impressive and fascinating to watch the Foley artist provides such a vast array of sound effects.
With so many things competing for audience attention, the experience was initially overwhelming. I wanted to watch everything at once. As the story progressed, however, I found I watched the film footage nearly exclusively.
The film footage, then, must be good for this concept to be successful. In this case, the film was adequate and I enjoyed the experience due more to the interesting presentation. I struggle with horror films, though - it is not a genre that appeals to me. Certainly, a horror fan would have got a lot more out of it.
Overall, the strongest feature was the tremendous original music performed by a seven piece band. The music was contemporary and catchy and appropriate to the mood. It was really quite exceptional. Unfortunately it was also at times too loud to enjoy.
See this production for a unique experience, particularly if you enjoy horror films. I see great potential in this art-form and hope to see more of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment