The Halloween season is starting early in downtown Vicksburg with a silent classic horror film accompanied by live music at The Strand Theatre. 

Strand program presenter and Westside Theatre Foundation member Daniel Boone said the Italian silent classic “L’Inferno” will be presented Tuesday with live original music by Montopolis, of Austin, Texas. 

“L’Inferno” (1911) is the first feature length horror film ever released. An adaptation of Dantes Alighieri’s 14th-century narrative poem “The Divine Comedy” part one, “Inferno,” describing a  journey through Hell, this silent film employs elaborate costumes, special effects, and set 

design to create an awe-inspiring and ethereal world, Boone said. The original Montopolis score brings new life to this horror classic with a mix of psych rock, dark wave and terrifying sound effects performed live. Montopolis  is following up their critically acclaimed tour of “Man with a Movie Camera,” which they brought to the  Strand in 2022. 

“Silent films were never silent,” Boone said. “From the early days, live music was performed to accompany the images. Sometimes written, but often improvised, the music was a complement, a completion of the film. When sound pictures became the norm, the element of live performance at the movies was largely abandoned. There was no need.” 

Boone said sound and movies actually have a tempestuous history. 

“Not everyone believed sound was the best idea for the movies,” he said. “The great Alfred Hitchcock thought the art of storytelling inherent in film was hampered by the necessity of recording the actors’ voices and  background sounds. He referred to the new sound films as ‘photographs of people talking.’ Even though most of the ‘limitations’ of sound have long been eliminated, the potential power of the image in ‘silent’ film remains.”

But the past has a way of coming back around, Boone said. 

“Recent years have seen a resurgence in silent films accompanied by live musicians. High profile projects  like Carmine Coppola’s orchestral accompaniment to Abel Gance’s “Napoleon” and Richard Einhorn’s shimmering “Voices of Light” paired with Dryer’s “Passion of Joan of Arc” are only two of many examples. At  festivals, groups like The Alloy Orchestra have performed many scores to films such as Tod Browning’s “Dracula,” and Paul Fejo’s “Lonesome.” And in 2012, a silent film won the Oscar for Best Picture. We’ve a few  silents with live music before, and it is an experience that everyone should have.” 

Montopolis is an indie chamber music group from Austin that performs the works of composer  Justin Sherburn. Their genre-busting music uses inventive instrumentation to create “stunning and transcendent” concerts, according to the The Austin Chronicle. Their programs are audience-engaging, multi-media events that combine live music with film and interactive storytelling, Boone said. The Montopolis musicians include members of the Austin Symphony, Okkervil River, Tosca String Quartet, and the Polyphonic Spree.  

The performance will take place at The Strand Theatre at 717 Clay St. It will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is $15 per person. Tickets are available in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse.