Dundead Halloween: The Phantom of the Opera (100th Anniversary) with live score
Part of Dundead Halloween 2025. Tickets and passes go on sale to Members, Friends and Patrons at 10:00 on Mon 1 September (make sure you're logged in to book) with general sale beginning at 10:00 on Fri 5 September.
Director Rupert Julian’s 1925 film version of The Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney ranks among the greatest horror films of the silent era. To celebrate the milestone 100th anniversary of this iconic film, Dundead has commissioned the composition of a brand-new score by Scottish musicians Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman, to be performed live at five screenings across Scotland, including a special Halloween screening at DCA.
This film from Universal Studios was the first film adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, and one of the first in the iconic series of Universal horror films. Julian’s film is suitably operatic in scope, with Hollywood extravagance, opulent costumes and hundreds of extras. Lon Chaney, ‘the Man of a Thousand faces’, plays Erik, the Phantom, in one of his most celebrated performances. Chaney designed the make-up for this (and many of his other roles), and the Phantom’s appearance, and particularly his unmasking scene, is nothing short of iconic.
The original 1925 release of the film utilised a variety of colour processes, including tinting and a dazzling early use of Technicolour, and there have been numerous reissues of the original film in the intervening years, including a 1929 version with sound. The version that we will be screening is as close to the original, vibrantly coloured silent version as possible.
As is the case for many vintage films, The Phantom of the Opera contains some problematic depictions of disability, so we are particularly pleased that Andrew and Tommy aim to highlight these elements in their score while still celebrating an indelible milestone in cinema culture.
While preparing for writing our score, it’s been fascinating to look closely at how The Phantom of the Opera was constructed. It’s a masterpiece of visual storytelling, and we’re thrilled to compose a new soundtrack that revisits the themes with a contemporary perspective, including drawing attention to some of the more problematic elements of the story such as its portrayal of disability and ableism.Tommy Perman Composer and musician
About Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman
Scottish composers Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman have orbited each other’s worlds for a number of years through audio-visual collaborations spanning record releases, films, and sound installations. Wasylyk and Perman’s first collaborative album, Ash Grey and the Gull Glides On, was released in 2024 on Clay Pipe Music to critical acclaim.
Andrew Wasylyk
Tommy Perman
Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, awarding funding on behalf of Screen Scotland and the BFI National Lottery.
