2. From the opening I firstly
noticed the credits the
colours changed from
orange to red- I found
connotations of Halloween
from the orange titles and
the pumpkin. Whereas the
red co notated blood and
death to me.
3. The opening of Halloween is firstly introduced
by the location and then the year which gives
the viewer the feeling that the character is
being watched.
The there is a cut to the house; at this point
all the camera work is presented through
handheld shots, so the audience is now in the
place of the killer.
Also I noticed the Halloween pumpkin
as the killer was walking around the
house which related back to the poster
and credits.
4. Like Psycho (1960) The camera follows the couple
around the house observing their personal
relationship. The sound was ambient , all that was
heard was crickets and the characters voices.
The high angle shot tells the audience where the couple have gone. As soon as the
light turns off high pitched music is played but, then dissolves and softens back into a
softer fast paced soundtrack, as the camera moves away from the bedroom window.
5. As the scene continues the soundtrack is still playing
but there is ambient sound played over.
We also see the killer grabbing a knife making it
clear that the horror sub genre is a slasher.
Also like Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) I started to
see a similar theme of ‘Kids in Danger’ as soon as the
boyfriend leaves we can tell that the girl
(protagonist) is in danger of the killer.
As the killer enters the room he puts on a
mask which has another covention of
earlier horror movies of having a masked
villian (i.e.) Leatherface.
6. The theory of the male gaze is used in this
scene, as the killer enters the room he sees a
naked woman brushing her hair which agrees
on the statement by Van Zoonen (1994) ‘Men
look at women, women watch themselves
being looked at’.
When the female was being stabbed it had the
same shots and sound effects of Marion being
killed in Psycho (1960).
Also the idea of the ‘morally bad’ characters are
killed of firstly.
7. When the killer opens the front door a car pulls
up. Usually the audience would expect the killer
to run but instead the people in the car walk up
to him.
Instead of the audience finding out the killer at
the end or halfway of the movie the man
instantly reveals who the killer is by pulling of
his mask. This is where the camera shot
changes from a point of view, handheld to a
mid close up.
8. The concept of the killer
(Michael) being a child is what
horrified me the most. Also in
the time period that it was set
(1963) it would have been
unexpected that a child could be
a murderer; and this is why I
think that Halloween was
partially a Box Office hit.
Another point is the idea that Michael was dressed like a Clown (which some
people fear) has some irony added.
9. On the 30th of October 1978 Michael escapes
from a sanatorium.
The next day he returns to Illinois and begins to stalk a
teenage girl called Laurie, when the audience is first
introduced to Laurie she is answering a question in class
-giving the impression that she is clever and witty;
essentially something that a final girl has to be. Laurie
feels like someone is following her and tells her friend,
Annie.
Meanwhile, the doctor that has been looking after
Michael anticipates that Michael has returned home,
going to the graveyard he finds out that he has stolen
his sister’s gravestone. He then informs the town sheriff.
Halloween night Laurie and Annie babysit; and the massacre begins.
10.
11. The final girl is left till last so she can outsmart the killer.
•The traits of the final girl:
•Always female
•Likely to be a virgin (subvert: Sue-Carrie (2013)
•Fully clothed
•Doesn’t drink or smoke
•Tends to be more intelligent
•Damsel in distress? Arguably Laurie was saved by the doctor
who helped her escape from Michael Myers.
