Silent film classic 'Nosferatu' getting the musical treatment with live performance

Aug. 31—In 1922, "Nosferatu" was released on theater screens.

Over the course of 100 years, the film has become one of the most important horror films of the silent era, as well as one of the first vampire movies.

Austin, Texas-based band The Invincible Czars are celebrating the anniversary with a new soundtrack to the film.

The tour will make a stop in Albuquerque at the Guild Cinema on Tuesday, Sept. 6 and at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe on Wednesday, Sept. 7. The performances will feature The Invincible Czars playing their soundtrack while viewers watch "Nosferatu."

"We're trying to get ready for a tour of this size and it's a lot of work," says Josh Robins, a member of the band. "We haven't been touring that much. This will be our biggest tour in about two years. We were supposed to perform in Albuquerque in 2020, but that went away pretty quickly."

Robins began booking the tour in December 2021, hoping that live performances would still be able to move forward.

"We chose to do our touring in one big fall tour," Robins says. "It's definitely been a journey with this one."

"Nosferatu" tells the story of Hutter and Ellen, a couple from the village of Wisborg. Hutter travels to Transylvania to sell a piece of property in Wisborg to Count Orlok. Hutter stays in Orlok's castle only to learn that the Count is a vampire. Orlok purchases a house next to Hutter's, locks Hutter in the castle and travels to Wisborg. On the way, he manages to possess Hutter's employer and Ellen, and strike the village with an outbreak of the plague. Hutter rushes home to stop him before it's too late.

Since the film is silent, The Invincible Czars use a mix of violin, glockenspiel, organ, flute, bass clarinet, voices and vocals, music box, loops, electric guitar, bass, piano and percussion.

Phil Davidson says the band updated its show for the centennial of the film.

They've also added a player.

"We've never played with a drummer before," Davidson says. "Having five people is a big obvious difference. The music in the score did change too. We put out an EP in 2015 for the score. Very little of that music made the cut for the 2022 score. Over the seven years, we've changed a lot of the music so that the music is written by us in the band."

Robins and Davidson say the band had to pivot during the pandemic, which helped them get better at recording at home.

"Like everyone else, we created over Zoom and pushed to keep us moving forward," Robins says. "The great part about what we get to do with this is bring our love of music and film together. It's always a great night for the audience."

The Invincible Czars: 'Nosferatu'

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6, Guild Cinema, 3405 Central Ave. NE;

7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7, Center for Contemporary Arts, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe

HOW MUCH: $15, plus fees, at eventbrite.com for Guild Cinema show; $20, plus fees, at ccasantafe.org for CCA show