The Theatre at Ace Hotel, Downtown Los Angeles, October 30, 2019

Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1960 horror movie gets projected with live orchestra in Los Angeles’ theatre district as a Halloween treat.

Lucky Los Angelinos (and visitors) had a Halloween treat when LA Opera’s orchestra performed a note-perfect concert of Bernard Herrmann’s score from within the vintage Spanish Gothic style Theatre at the Ace on Broadway. It’s fascinating to think that this spectacular 1927 building was only 33 years old when Psycho was released, and there’s extra resonance when considering that the movie was shot only 9 miles at Universal Studios.

Under the baton of conductor Louis Lohraseb, the strings-only orchestra immediately dived in to the main title, the 1,600-strong audience recognising this with applause. As always, the greatest compliment you can give these performances is that you forget you’re not watching the original, and that’s very much the case here.

The movie itself is of course perfect, Joseph Stefano’s script feeling witter than ever, as evidenced by the frequent laughter from the crowd. The amount of music in addition to the main title and shower scene was also a revelation to me. And the shower scene itself – a master class in direction, with the screeches of the strings synced with the slashed of the killer’s blade.

Verdict: At one point an audience member let out a bloodcurdling scream, just proving that this 59-year-old film still has a punch. Add to that a performance from an orchestra that hit every beat to perfection and it’s an awesome Halloween night out. 10/10

Nick Joy