No silent treatment for this classic horror film

The Golem: How He Came Into the World
Live music by Walter Horn and Jonathan Fixler
The Regent Theatre
7 Medford St., Arlington
Saturday, 8 p.m.
$13.50 and $16.50
781-646-4849
regenttheatre.com

Movie soundtracks have existed nearly as long as movies themselves. Even silent films of the 1920s were both seen and heard by audiences.

"They were never really silent movies," said Arlington resident Walter Horn, keyboardist and composer. "There was always a live pianist or organist playing along with the scenes, causing the furor, stirring all the feeling of it."

In the early years, live musical performances were as essential to movie theaters as they were to any Broadway stage. Without the musical supplement, the emotional cues would have run dry and so, in turn, would box office sales.

That's why this weekend's screening of the 1920 German silent "The Golem: How He Came Into the World" will not suffer in silence. Before the Regent Theatre's cinematic backdrop, Horn and fellow musician Jonathan Fixler will perform an original music soundtrack written for the film.

The score was a collaborative effort by Horn and former Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas, who was unavailable for this screening. The two previously performed their soundtrack at New York's Knitting Factory, Minnesota's Walker Art Museum, and in Munich, at John Zorn's Art Projekt Festival.

"Gary and I were childhood chums. We were neighbors growing up in Syracuse, New York, and big horror-movie buffs," said Horn. "Writing the score for a silent film was just another way for us to express ourselves as musicians, and this was the perfect movie for us to score."

"The Golem," which is considered a Frankenstein predecessor, is the story of a rabbi who molds a giant creature from clay and brings him to life in order to protect the Jews in Prague from persecution. The creature becomes increasingly uncontrollable and eventually turns on its creator.

While the movie takes place in 16th-century Prague, this soundtrack lends itself to a more contemporary approach. With its dizzying mixture of musical styles, the score draws on everything from King Crimson to classic musical composition, from avant garde improvisation to bluesy American guitar.

"We didn't go the route of ethnic music. Instead we tried to avoid being tied to any particular style or time," said Horn.

"In the end it's a horror movie, and we want to enhance that aspect."

Horn creates a wide variety of sound effects using a synthesizer and effects processor, while Fixler, a professional musician for more than 20 years, will alternate between two electric guitars.

Beyond an ordinary horror movie, Horn pointed out, the film is layered with cultural and social complexities.

While Jews are the main characters, they are portrayed as "mystical, otherworldly people. It's a bit creepy," Horn said.

"The clash of cultures is certainly very relevant today and how groups with different practices relate to each other."

Accompanying the film, to augment its cultural and social significance, will be an introduction by Sabine von Mering, executive director of the Center for German and European Studies at Brandeis University. She will also answer questions after the screening.

This will not be the first time the Regent screens a silent film with live musical accompaniment. Its most recent revival was "Faust," another silent from the German expressionist era.

"We're the ideal setting for something like this because we have a big stage and a big screen -- that, combined with good acoustics and good sound system," said Leland Stein, the Regent's marketing and booking manager.

"What we're competing against is not so much the other venues but people in their homes who have access to their computers, movie rentals, and video games," Stein said. "They don't have to go out for entertainment. They don't remember what it's like to see a live show. Screening silent films with live music has allowed us to look at old-fashioned entertainment in a bigger and better way."