Take an atmospheric and beautifully shot 1960s horror film, cut out the original soundtrack and dialogue, replace with an eight-piece band, four actors, cue spooky special effects (including creaky doors and menacing footsteps) and you have Carnival of Souls, Auckland-based arts outfit Live Live Cinema's overhaul of Herk Harvey's 1962 black-and-white cult classic.
And, like the film's many nail-biting scenes, the process of blending screen and stage has offered more than a few moments of potential pain.
"The movie had to have a brilliant opening because people aren't really sure what we are doing to start off with. We are presenting so many things at once that it couldn't possibly have a slow beginning."
Co-commissioned by the Auckland Arts Festival and the Christchurch Arts Festival in association with Evans' company, Jumpboard Productions, and with support from Creative New Zealand, Carnival of Souls has attracted plenty of attention since its premiere in Auckland early last year. Next month, audiences in the South will get the chance to shriek and/or smile when the show is performed as part of the Otago Festival of the Arts.
"It has been exciting," Evans says. "We went on to do the Taranaki Arts Festival last year and this year we went to Sydney, Perth and the Great Southern Festival in Australia. Straight after the Otago Festival of the Arts, we are off to Germany to be part of the New Zealand contingent at the Frankfurt Book Fair, at which New Zealand is the country of honour."
But why take an old B-grade film, turn down the sound and add your own music, effects and voices? Why not just watch the movie? Well, because the original sounds terrible, Evans contends.
Carnival of Souls, the first and last feature by Kansas-based film-makers Herk Harvey and John Clifford, was filmed in three weeks on a budget of $US33,000. That meant less time (and money) could be spent on post-production.
"It was beautifully shot - the cinematography is quite legendary - but it was done on a tight budget and is flawed in the ways B movies often are. The music does let it down; it labours the film quite a lot," Evans says.
Inspired by the 1890 short story An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, by American writer Ambrose Bierce, Carnival of Souls portrays a young woman's descent into a strange world following a car wreck. It blurs reality with existentialism, a place in which the everyday becomes threatening. Oh, and there are zombies, too.
Evans says the revamp was the brainchild of Auckland-based composer Leon Radojkovic, who pitched the idea to Auckland Arts Festival organisers. Asked to help develop the project, Evans then approached New Zealand director Oliver Driver, who "loved it".
It took a year before the show was ready to air: Radojkovic had to write an entirely new score, recruit suitable musicians and, in conjunction with Driver, flesh out the concept of four actors delivering the original dialogue.
"We see the actors as if they are doing a radio play in the 1950s or '60s," Evans explains.
"They aren't dynamic in the way they would be in a theatrical play - they aren't walking around the stage gesticulating to the audience - but they are animated in the same way actors are when they do voiceovers."
Then there are the myriad sound effects.
Enter Gareth Van Niekerk, a Foley artist whose role it is to embellish the soundtrack and dialogue with ear candy that ranges from perfectly timed footsteps to squeaky door hinges to the sound of car tyres on gravel.
Van Niekerk, who admits he hadn't seen the film when he was asked to do the Foley for Carnival of Souls, says the faults of the original soundtrack have, in fact, been to his advantage.
"I think I only watched the film once with the original soundtrack, so I can't actually remember how it sounds, but from memory it was quite simple with one organ playing the entire score ... it was nice to start with a blank canvas with the sound design."
Yet Van Niekerk's role is not limited to aural excitement.
Standing (but hardly still) in a glass booth, he holds a prominent position on stage.
"It's a visual treat for the audience as they get to see how the soundtrack is being created right in front of them. I think having the film adapted into this live cinema environment is a great experience and the audience gets a genuine scare from the film because the soundtrack is so affecting.
"The live Foley was quite a challenge initially but now that I've done it many times, it's quite enjoyable. It's like learning a piece of music, I guess, but it lasts for 80 minutes.
"It's quite a challenge for everyone involved with the production. The musicians play a variety of different styles and instruments, all in sync with the picture, while the actors all have multiple characters.
"The concept for Live Live Cinema is like those old radio plays where they would have music, sound effects and dialogue performed live. The difference is we are doing it live in sync with a film."
In movies, Foley work typically deals with many of the subtle sounds that might get lost during filming, either on set or on location. Everything from the swish of an actor's clothing to heavy breathing and the clack of a prop might require rerecording. In films, the Foley artist's efforts are usually mixed quite low in order to sound more realistic.
However, the Foley effects for Carnival of Souls are more exaggerated. A feature of the production, they can be heard over the music, although there are points in the film where Radojkovic's compositions take over.
Aside from the Foley effects, Van Niekerk also created the atmospheric tracks and other sound design elements that play during the show.
"There is a big water theme throughout the movie so I used that idea and added some subtle underwater sound design whenever we see the 'bad guy'.
"From memory, I think I have at least 200 cues, maybe 250. These range from turning on a light switch to walking down some stairs," Van Niekerk says.
Some of his more interesting solutions for sound effects include: turning a bucket filled with small rocks to emulate the sound of car tyres on gravel; a soft-drink bottle filled with hair gel to imitate walking on mud; a hinge attached to a piece of wood to replicate a door creaking.
"I also had an office chair that had a great squeaky seat so I took the chair apart and kept just the seat. When anyone sits on a bed or moves in a chair during the film, I'll stand on the seat with my foot. It lets me do some squeaky moves while I perform other things with my hands.
"The main challenges I face are: a, trying to get everything in sync; b, knowing what is coming up in the next scene; and, c, multi-tasking - for example, walking to make footstep noises while opening a door and putting a suitcase down, then turning on a light switch.
"It's kind of like rubbing your stomach while you're patting your head."
See it, hear it
As part of the Otago Festival of the Arts, the Otago Daily Times presents Live Live Cinema: Carnival of Souls at the Regent Theatre, Dunedin, on Saturday, October 6.
Want more?
For more information, including a sneak preview of Carnival of Souls, visit: http://livelivecinema.co.nz/
Ticket offer
As a sponsor of the show, the Otago Daily Times has secured an exclusive ticket offer for its subscribers. For the Live Live Cinema: Carnival of Souls show on Saturday, October 6, subscribers will receive a 25% discount off the price of any seat if they book before Saturday, September 15. Book at any Ticket Direct office or call the Regent Ticket Direct on (03) 477-8597 and quote your customer number (which is found on your subscriber statement).
