A silent German expressionist film about vampires accompanied by Radiohead’s music — what could possibly be more Oberlin? On Oct. 22, the Apollo Theatre hosted a one-night-only screening of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 film Nosferatu soundtracked by Radiohead’s albums Amnesiac and Kid A. This was part of a silent film project titled Silent Synced, where an Austin, TX arthouse theater owner syncs classical films to alternative rock albums. Nosferatu x Radiohead, or “Nosferadioheadtu,” as the Apollo’s marquee put it, is the first of this series and is being shown in arthouse movie theaters across the country.
The Apollo primarily shows blockbuster films, which is something that may seem surprising from a movie theater owned by a subsidiary of Oberlin College, otherwise known for embracing experimental and unconventional art.
“Our bread and butter here in Oberlin is kids’ movies, and we do really well with kids’ movies,” Michael Deane, general manager of the Apollo, said. “We have to be sustainable.”
The one-night-only event brought in a rather large crowd. With a line out the door up until the film’s start time, and the Apollo’s largest theater being over half-full, it is clear that this was high in demand from both students and community members alike.
“I’ve never seen such a turnout at the Apollo before,” College third-year Ruby Spencer said.
“People really showed up, … which was really exciting to see.”
“Business here is either [slow], there’s no one, or 10 minutes before the movie starts, all of a sudden, there’s 130 people in line,” Deane said. “I’ve only been a general manager since May, so I’m still getting kind of the feel for the amount of business we have, but I know we have The Rocky Horror Picture Show … coming up [on] the 15th, and supposedly that one is pretty huge.”
“It felt like a full event rather than just a movie, which was really cool,” Spencer said.
This could in part be due to the large turnout, but it was also aided by the efforts of Deane, who gave everyone a raffle tickewith each movie ticket to the movie and held a raffle before the film started with Nosferatu posters and Funko Pops as prizes.
This is part of an ongoing effort by the Apollo to show more films that are significant to the people who work there. The decision to screen Nosferatu was inspired by Deane’s love for Radiohead.
“I was in grad school when Kid A came out in 2000 and waited in line … and bought it at midnight when it came out,” he said.
Another example is how they promoted their screening of Halloween (1978).
“[We] had a couple friends portray Michael Myers and walk around town with popcorn and play the soundtrack,” Deane said.
However, Nosferatu was not something that necessarily landed with everyone in attendance.
“I personally had trouble being hooked on the movie,” College second-year Cass Campi said. “I think that they lost some of the plot … there’s certain parts that are kind of throw-away.”
Ultimately, though, Campi did think that the screening was a hit.
“I think [the Apollo] makes it more special,” they said. “You could watch Nosferatu at any point in time, but this was a culminating experience that you could only have on that night. It’s this one-time thing [where] you feel like it’s an experience innate to this very specific time that feels really exciting — like you’re doing something that you wouldn’t normally get to do.”
Another sentiment shared by both Campi and Spencer shared was how the Nosferatu screening felt like it aligned with the ethos of Oberlin College.
“They know their audience,” Campi said. “They know [that]… we really like our super … indie underground [films]. It’s not really even that underground, but it is considered off-beat. I think it’s very much a smart marketing move in terms of the Apollo knowing that they mostly have Oberlin students to cater to.”
“I really hope they continue to do [one-night-only screenings],” Spencer said. “I think a lot of what they do caters to the town, because the students aren’t here year-round. They can’t really make money off of all of our niche interests, which is understandable. I [do] think that the turnout of this event will show Oberlin students’ enthusiasm, and also the town’s … enthusiasm for more quirky things.”
Deane is informed by his own experience going to the local movie theater while he was in college.
“I will never forget going to the [local theater] and seeing Stanley Kubrick movies,” Deane said. “That really enriched my undergrad experience. If I could be a part of that [for Oberlin students], that would make me pretty happy.”
Events like Nosferatu are what Oberlin students say resonate with them.
“I hope that [the Apollo] continues to show offbeat, weirdo movies that don’t get shown in other places, and keeps giving opportunities to small filmmakers,” Campi said, “It’s very in tandem with Oberlin.”