Frances Poon.
In this essay I will be analysing the film Halloween. The reason I have chosen to analyse Halloween is because it is a similar product to my production. They are both forms of horror.
Halloween was released on the 25 th of October 1978 and was directed by John
Carpenter and written by both John Carpenter and Brenda Hill.
The equilibrium model is evident in the film from the very beginning. The state of normality is seen as a typical Halloween night with singing children who are trick-or-treating. The equilibrium is then disrupted when 6 year old Michael Myers brutally murders his 17 year old sister with a large kitchen knife. The state of normality is then restored again after many vicious killings. Michael Myers is eventually shot 6 times by Loomis and the new equilibrium is established.
Characters and what they represent play a very big part in understanding and analysing this film. The masked killer, Michael Myers is a significant character and the secrecy of his identity adds to the genre and mood of the film. Like the classic
Bogeyman, Myers, keeps himself well hidden. This is used in order to build continuous suspense throughout the film up until his identity is revealed during the final murder at the very end of the film.
His incredibly slow approach to killing is certainly part of the classic stalker’s desire to induce as much fear as possible.
Laurie, Michael’s main target throughout the film is represented as the average intelligent and sensible girl. This is typical of the film genre because it is representing females as the weaker sex and males being in control; hence
Michael being the killer. Laurie’s paranoia of being watched also has an effect on the audience which relates back to the genre to the movie. It seems to be that every time Laurie feels in danger, suspenseful music plays in the background which builds suspense and anticipation within the audience as to what will happen to her. It is also very typical of horror films to make the innocent young female be a victim and the strange evil male to be a predator.
The settings of the film where most of the murders happen all seem to be in quiet places which do not have many witnesses around. This point also relates back to the things which add to the genre. Murders taking place in suburban homes where people thought they would be safe and that the killings happen at night in these places are both typical characteristics of horror films. A particular of example of this is when Michael goes into Laurie’s room to murder her in the opening sequence. The use of low key high contrast is also very common of this genre. Carpenter’s choice of shots when following Laurie and her friend’s around the suburbs, are distinctly similar to the viewpoints of a stalker. In our first view of
Laurie, we witness a shot of her walking away that cuts back to a shot of her
Father, but both angles appear to be from the same stationary camera position,

as if the camera is an invisible character looking back and forth. Some shots appear to be from the windows of slowly moving cars, like an observing driver.
Other shots begin from a distance and gradually move toward the girls or wait for the girls to approach us. The girls’ dialogue is mostly irrelevant teenage nonsense, hence their voices fade in and out depending how far away they are. In some shots we see Myers on screen, yet we can hear his breathing as if we are wearing his mask. The concept of the camera lens as the invisible stalker is emphasized right before the title. We cut back and forth between various interior and exterior night time locations, while Myers breathing grows in volume. The music which is used is also effective in helping to build suspense. Where ever the camera goes in this film he is there watching from behind the camera. Also, quite regularly, dim lighting is used in interior night time locations where a murder would take place.
For example, the first murder of Michaels sister. The whole bedroom was lit by one single desk lamp. This type of dull lighting also emphasizes the genre and ads to the fear factor of the film.
The 2-3 minute extract which I have chosen 2 analyse in detail is the opening sequence as I feel that it is significant to the movie. For the whole of the opening sequence, the use of hand-held camera is made purposely evident. Carpenter has chosen to film this sequence using a documentary style of filming to make it seem more realistic and to emphasise that we are looking through the eyes of another person and from their point of view.
In the opening shot we are presented with nearly ten minutes of footage from the killer’s point of view. In this scene we are the hunter, not the hunted, but yet the scene is still disturbing. I believe that a key element here is our fear of solitude, violent force and emotional vacancy
.
We, as the audience are expecting to be disclosed with an adult murderer but we go on to view a young boy. This odd happening leaves us a bit baffled as to why such a young boy would portray such evil characteristics and also leaves us wondering what would happen next. For the entire opening sequence dark surroundings and low key high contrast is used to add to the fear and gradual suspense within the audience. For example, in the very beginning when Myers is walking around the house to the back door, the only form of light is coming from a jack-o-lantern. This makes it obvious that it is the night of Halloween and relates back to the film title. This is also typical of the film genre because Halloween is known for scary and mysterious happenings. There is not any continuity editing involved in the opening sequence because it is one straight track from Michael
Myers’ point of view. Carpenter has also purposely chosen for this to be filmed in such a way to add to the realism and emphasis of Myers’ actions. This is a very common way of representing stalkers/predators in horror films. I say this because in other films such as, The Creeper and Hollow Man, the camera is also viewing the murder from the predators’ point of view in order to conceal their identity.
The structure of the house and props used are also quite typical of the films genre for such reason; for example, a typical dark living room with the television on in front of the sofa where the young couple are fooling about. This is often the case when a young couple are involved and it is nearly always that the female is the

first victim. Judith Myers is represented as the weaker, naive typical female even though she is a lot older than Michael Myers; he is still portrayed as the stronger sibling. It is also very common for this genre of film that the female is represented as the less able, innocent and weaker sex. The female is usually the easier target and most common victim.
In addition to the typical characters and forms of lighting, sound plays a big role in constructing a certain mood of suspense and fear and also adds to the typicality’s of the genre. For example, throughout the scene of Myers walking through the house it is mostly silence. This builds suspense within the audience as it leave them wondering what will happen next. The heavy breathing which begins as he puts on the mask when entering Laurie’s room is a precursor for the heavy breathing which occurs later in the film. Also, very low level suspenseful music plays in the background as Myers walks through the house but because the audience are trying so hard to see what is going on in the darkness it’s almost as if the very low music is building suspense subliminally without the audience realising it is happening. Suspenseful music and sharp outbursts of high pitched sound are also very typical of the genre. Suspenseful or loud eerie music is always played in horror films in order to scare or brace the audience for what is about to happen.
Frances Poon.