Halloween (1978)

The film Halloween which was directed by John Carpenter in 1978, was considered one of the most influential films in the horror canon. Halloween was an independent film with a budget of just $325,000. I found this very interesting as the film was done very creatively and looked professional. The film was grossed $47m at the US box office which made it one of the most successful independent films ever. It overtook The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as the top grossing independent film ever.

Like Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Carrie, there was a deliberate attempt to create suspense with minimal reliance on explicit violence and gore. Debra Hill who co-wrote the film commented that she and Carpenter wanted the film to be like a ‘jack-in-the-box’.

The film is very influential as it is largely credited with spawning some of the most recognisable conventions of the ‘Slasher’ genre. Although the killer, Michael Myers is somewhat sensational and mythical, his killings are embedded in reality. They take place in American suburbia – attacking the average American way of life.

Critics were impressed by Carpenter’s choice of camera angles, simple music, and surprised by the lack of explicit gore and blood. Similar to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Carrie, the film explores the theme – kids in jeopardy. The overriding theme is the ‘evil cannot be killed’. This also became a convention of the slasher/horror genre.

Film Review

I personally believe that the film was successful and achieved the recognition that it deserved. It did make me jump at various occasions and I personally think that it is one of the best horror movies that I’ve watched so far. I believe that having a masked villain made it even more scary as they have a hidden identity and you do not know what their intentions are because you cannot see their facial expressions.

I enjoyed the way the film didn’t postponed anything and got stuck straight into the movie and followed its storyline. I think that this is what makes horrors even scarier. I don’t necessarily believe that you need to make a big build up before anything happens. In the first five minutes you could already tell that Michael Myers was the villain as he stabs his sister to death with a kitchen knife, him being aged only 6. This creates a sense of suspicion as you already are scared of his character and want to follow his journey throughout the movie.

You follow him throughout the movie as you watch him get older and turn into more of a serial killer. He uses his hidden identity to murder many different characters in the film. He doesn’t die and is a standing villain at the end of the movie.

Favourite Clip From The Movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN5ue_1vTXI

The scene when Laurie hides from Michael in the closet is the scene that made me jump the most. There was a lot of tension built up for the scene and the range of camera angles such as a low angle shot whilst filming Michael which gave him great authority and power over Laurie.

The fact that the scene is shot in the dark also makes this scene even more scary and makes you feel on edge as you do not know what is going to happen next. The creepy music being played just adds to the effect of something bad about to happen.