A musical cinema séance of mystique and mystery will haunt the halls of the Park Theatre on Feb. 16 for any couples, or solo necromancers, brave enough to attend.
Love You to Death is an event organized by photographer Joey Senft and illustrator GMB Chomichuk, who, together, plan to bring different art forms back to life and provide an evening full of romance, decay and themed beverages provided by Sookram’s Brewing Company.
The duo picked three famous old films — Metropolis, Nosferatu and Bride of Frankenstein — for the event.
“We’ve chopped them up, re-edited them, I directed them down to 20-minute sets, basically a short film that could then have its soundtrack played live by a set of musicians,” Chomichuk said.
The musicians performing, from four different Winnipeg bands and communities, will each be embodying one of the characters from the film to bring a live voice to these movies.
And in order to raise the dead, a seance is required.
“People who arrive at the event are going to be asked to choose a [tarot] card, and that card is going to contain some element of fate that is going to guide them through the rest of the event,” Chomichuk explained.
The event also advertises the appearance of an undead special guest that attendees will have the opportunity to get a portrait with, known as The Chalice. Chomichuk highlighted that the event is intended to be interactive.
“The night is set up to be — short film, visit a monster, watch another short film with live music, visit the seance, short film with music, visit the monster,” he said. “People can move around and explore it, it’s not something where you just sit and just passively let happen and then Instagram your friends.”
“This is something where if you’re not there, you missed out, and there’s really no way to explain how it all happened unless you’re there to walk through it.”
Senft, who also does social media work for the Park Theatre, said that one inspiration for Love You to Death came from seeing how the Park Theatre hosted an event where Goblin performed the Suspiria soundtrack.However, despite both events having films and live music, that’s essentially where their similarities end.
Love You to Death will have three sets of musical and visual stories, each separated by a break that will feature other activities to participate in.
There’s, in a way, three intermissions, [in] which we’ve included some fun participation events, the seance and the monster portrait that you can participate in,” Chomichuk said.
“You’re not just sitting around waiting for the movie to start again. You can feel like a part of something bigger.”
This desire to create an event unlike any other is seen in both Senft and Chomichuk’s hopes for Love You to Death’s end result. Senft said that she wants the event to bring out a “totally different audience.”
Chomichuk hopes that Love You to Death provides attendees with a sense of mystery.
“I want them to be surprised by what they discover at our event,” he said.
Love You to Death will take place at the Park Theatre Feb. 16. Tickets are $20 in advance, and doors open at 7 p.m.
