A blast from Syracuse University journalism major Jett Wells arrived this morning about a special presentation last weekend of Sam Raimi‘s The Evil Dead and Evil Dead II with live goth-rock accompaniment. Has anyone heard of other midnight cult films being shown in concert with live band sounds? Just wondering how prevalent this kind of thing may be. Anyway, here’s the piece:

“Sam Raimi‘s Evil Dead, commonly savored on the midnight-movie circuit for a couple of decades, took on a goth-rock guise last Saturday night at Syracuse’s Redhouse, a combination cinema, theatre and arts center. Zadoc and the Nightmare, a heavily mascara’ed local band, tore through their material during a screening of the 1981 zombie classic (along with the 1987 sequel) as an experiment designed by B-movie enthusiast Ron Bonk.
“The event was produced by the 38-year-old Bonk’s event-planning organization Alternative Movies & Events, which has been organizing small B-movie events like this since 1999. Bonk considers AM&E an umbrella organization to his full-time company, the B-Movie Festival held in October at the Palace Theatre.
“Lead vocalist-guitarist Nathan Zadoc praised Bonk’s mission to fight for small cult flicks like The Evil Dead. “I respect him and think he’s putting a lot of headway for independent artists,” said Zadoc. “I like stuff more true to the heart, and not just the box-office.”

“Zadoc bassist Azriel Mordecai, a 27-year-old B-movie fanatic, said he didn’t know what to expect. “It surprised us all how well it meshed,” he said. “It changed our perspectives on movies and music, and really gave us a new aspect to our own songs.”
“Mordecai and the band took the time after the show to meet the small audience and get their perspective on a show never tried before, and they were surprised by the outcome as much as the band. “We got a very impressive response from the crowd,” said Mordecai. “However, we were concerned at first we were overplaying the material.”
Zadoc and the Nightmare also performed Saturday night to promote their upcoming album “Tragically Ever After.”
Redhouse production manager Thomas Tarbox knew nothing about The Evil Dead before this event and wasn’t thrilled with the low turnout (i.e, the house was only about 25% filled), but has a high tolerance for risky events. “The audience loved it, and the band was a totally new aspect to the movie,” said Tarbox. “We have to take chances.”