With his third feature film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, Alfred Hitchcock took a major step toward greatness and made what he would come to consider his true directorial debut. This haunting silent thriller tells the tale of a mysterious young man (matinee idol Ivor Novello) who takes up residence at a London boardinghouse just as a killer known as the Avenger descends upon the city, preying on blonde women.
Screening as part of I/O Fest weekend, The Lodger is animated by the palpable energy of Matthew Gold and Paul de Jong, decisively establishing the director’s formal and thematic obsessions with their live musical accompaniment.