Vampire film haunts Irvine on Halloween night

“Krasinski is an internationally acclaimed improvisational organist who specializes in the art of live silent film accompaniment,” says Kristine Werez, manager for the Perelman Quadrangle, which oversees Irvine Auditorium events.

Empire Magazine listed “Nosferatu” at No. 21 on its “100 Best Films Of World Cinema” list, calling the film “the original vampire movie, before the clichés and the camp sunk their fangs into the genre.” Max Schreck stars as the evil Count Orlov.

For the past two years, Irvine has screened the 1925 silent film “The Phantom of the Opera” on Halloween, complete with Krasinski’s pipe organ accompaniment, reviving a 25-year tradition that was halted in 1997 when Perelman Quad underwent renovations.

Werez says they decided to break with tradition this year in order to capitalize on the popularity of vampire films like the “Twilight” series and television’s “True Blood” and “Vampire Diaries.”

“Vampires are really popular right now and students in particular seem to enjoy vampire movies,” she says.

Move over “Phantom of the Opera.” This Halloween, vampires rule.

In a new twist to Penn’s annual Halloween concert tradition, vampire Count Orlok will assume this year’s frightening duties on Monday, Oct. 31, at 7:15 p.m. in Irvine Auditorium. The 1922 German classic movie “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror,” an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” will be the featured presentation.

Max Schreck as the evil Count Orlok

The silent film, directed by F. W. Murnau, will be accompanied by a musical score performed by famed organist Peter Edwin Krasinski on Irvine’s 10,731-pipe Curtis Organ.

Leatherface Makes The Cut For MTV's Killer Halloween

MTV's Killer Halloween continues! We're on a mission to find out who the best and scariest movie murderer is based on your votes, and we're ranking these ghastly guys on their deadliest attributes. Freddy Krueger and Ghostface, Jason and Leatherface are just a few of the cinematic terrors on our list.

Michael Myers in "Halloween"

Check out our latest killer profile, for "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" crazy man Leatherface, and be sure to visit us every day this week to see the latest matchups!

Name: Leatherface
Occupation: Taxidermist, cannibal, serial killer
Weapons: Chainsaw, meat hooks, butcher's hammer, family baggage
Archenemy: Sanity, vegetarians, syphilis (the reason Leatherface doesn't have a nose)
Profile: What's not to love about a killer who wields a chainsaw and wears a mask made of human skin? Not to mention that bloody butcher's apron — it is a killer getup, pun intended. Leatherface made his terrifying debut in 1974's beloved slasher classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." The backwoods cannibal's gruesome appeal is enhanced by the involvement of his totally twisted, psychotic, inbred family members, who own and operate the Last Chance gas station and use it to find new victims to torture, kill ... and barbecue.

Horror movie expert Brian Collins of Horror Movie a Day attributes Leatherface's appeal to his simplicity and consistency.

"They never really screwed him up like the other guys. Freddy [Krueger] turned into a cartoon, Michael [Myers] was ret-conned into a henchman for some druid cult, but Leatherface was always just a simple cannibal with a chainsaw and a mask made of human skin," Collins told MTV News. "He always had a group of other killers to play off of, making him a little more three-dimensional than the others who worked alone."

Leatherface and his family, along with their creepy cannibalistic ways, were featured in several other films following the original: "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2," "Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III," "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation," the 2003 Michael Bay-produced remake, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and a 2006 prequel, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning."

Their appalling adventures also inspired several comic books: 1991's four-issue series, "Leatherface," 1995's three-issue "Jason vs. Leatherface," and one-off special issues like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Special" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: Cut!"

"Leatherface is up there with Freddy, Jason and Michael as far as the die-hard horror fans are concerned," Collins said of the chainsaw wielder's place among favorite horror movie killers, adding that the hankering for human flesh and hacking through it is an unforgettable combo, even if he isn't as mainstream as the likes of Freddy and Jason. "I don't think he's as iconic to the casual moviegoer as the others, since there haven't been as many movies," he said.