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Film Case Study Halloween...

Jerome Bonus

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Iconography…The genre of Halloween is pretty obvious to the audience due to the fact that a knife is shown at the beginning of the film.

The knife is one important prop of the film as it used by the killer and it foreshadows the action which may occur later in the film. The props such as costumes and pumpkins makes it clear to the audience that the film is based on Halloween.

The mask is also another important prop in the film as the killer wears it to hide his identity. This is typical to most slasher/ horror films as the killer usually wears a mask to cover their face in order to shelter his existence. The creates a sense of foreboding to

the audience as they are keen to find out who the killer is.

The killer, Michael Myers is wearing dark clothing which which makes it hard for the audience to notice his movements.However his mask is white which stands out, however it has a contrast to his character as he is the bad guy but the colour white

displays the good side.

The female character’s in this film were stereotypically shown as a typical American cheerleader and seen as sexually promiscuous. The main character also known as the “final girl” is always seen wearing smart/ casual clothing, this shows that she is an average student. She sometimes wears a skirt which conveys her feminine side. Furthermore she carries her books around

with her, this demonstrates her intelligence and the fact that she is mindful of her surroundings.

The film is set in a small neighbourhood, in domestic settings where most of the action took place. All of the victim’s houses were shown with lack of lighting in a way to foreshadow what could happen in the dark. The darkness inside the house creates tension

and paranoia for the audience as something may pop up at any time. The moon which is a natural source of ambient lighting creates a dark shadow/ silhouette effect of anyone inside the house. The houses where the victims were killed, had a light shining

at the front of the door to signify that the house is next to be targeted. All the houses in this neighbourhood is detached, this means that there is enough space around the house which makes it easier for the killer to enter.

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Narrative…Plot Summary:

6 year old Michael Myers brutally killed his older sister. The young boy was sent to a mental hospital in care of a Psychiatrist. 20 years after the neighbourhood had forgotten the incident, until the Psychiatrist returned back to the

town to warn the police about Michael Myers’ escape. Michael Myers returns back to the neighbourhood and targets a group of college students.

The film highlights a linear narrative due to the fact the every event happens in sequential order. In this way, it makes it easier for the audience to follow and understand the plot.

However the film starts with a flash back which happened 20 years ago in the past and is forwarded to the present.

Narrative structure:Act 1: Where the action takes place; introduction to the characters; suggests what might happen later on in the

film.

Act 2: Key scenes involving the main character facing a series of obstacles that they must overcome.

Act 3: All plots are resolved.

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Characterisation…In the genre of stalker/ horror films there are always typical characters that the audience would expect, these people are

known as the stock types.

One of the main stock types of a stalker/ horror film is the “final girl”, this character is also the main character and possibly the only survivor who is last to face the killer. Particularly in this film, the main character was left till the end to face the

killer when all her friends were already dead.

The victims are also part of the stock types of a stalker/ horror. They are either the protagonist’s college friends or hers or his family members. For instance her college friends are seen as sexually promiscuous in a way to appeal to the killer as

they are young and easier targets. In this film, the main character’s college friends were also involved in the killers activities. This displays the pattern of how the killer gets closer and closer to his main victim, the “final girl”.

The antagonist, also known as the stalker/ killer “Michael Myers”, Appears out of nowhere which conveys his ambiguous identity. In the film something bad happens in his hometown and after a few years he returns back to seek revenge on his

neighbourhood. The killer attacks when his victims are alone, this indicates that he is hidden and only penetrates when nobody is around so that his victims cannot call for help. The killer is also usually big and unstoppable, this is shown in this

film as we think he dies many times however he soon recovers.

The police are also involved with the type of characters in a stalker/ horror genre. They are in charge of investigating the situation and usually tries to put a stop to it but ends up dying first or is late to catch the killer before he kills everyone.

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Sound…Diegetic sounds:

There is a important dialogue between the Michael Myers’ Physiatrist and the Police officer. In this dialogue the

Physiatrist says “Prepare for him, start planning your own funeral”. This sends out a reminder to the neighbourhood

about a killer on the loose. This also foreshadows the further events that will occur when the killer arrives. In this

conversation we are able to understand what the killer is capable of and what to expect which creates suspense to the

audience making them over think the killer’s appearance.The natural ambient sounds in the background contribute to

the tension built within the film. You can hear a quiet environment, cars driving past, kids talking loud, screaming,

heavy breathing, dogs barking etc.The heavy breathing was created in the killers perspective as it

connotes that the killer is ready to strike and can also show how sexually frustrated he is. When the silence is combined with heavy breathing we already know that something bad is

going to happen as it almost sounds like a predator seeking its prey.

The screams were coming from the girls that were being attacked by the killer. This displays the weakness females

have over males and it also creates tension to the audience as they feel sympathy for that specific character.

Silence is key to all stalker/ horror films as it presents a mysterious atmosphere as a build up of tension towards the audience as they don’t know what’s happening. Silence was

used in this film when a character was alone in the house, this effect makes it seem as no one is with them however we have

this feeling that someone is coming.

Non- Diegetic sounds:

In the beginning of the film, there was a sort of repetitive sound which played consistently through a collection of transition cuts. This is could the main theme song of the film as it is

constantly played at certain stages of the film.There weren’t much sound dubbed into the film. However whenever the killer appeared, you will always hear a sound

motif which associates with the killer. The effect of Crescendo was used to build a climax in order to show the actions and

personality of the killer. A major reason for the success of Halloween is the moody

musical score, particularly the main theme. Lacking a symphonic soundtrack, the film's score consists of a piano

melody performed by director John Carpenter. The music was relatively simple and unsophisticated, which was one of it’s

strongest assets.

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Cinematography…Like most horror films, the beginning starts with an establishing shot displaying the domestic setting of the house which could be key to the main plot of the story. In the opening scene of Halloween, there is a Point of view shot of the killer showing his movements but not revealing his face. The fact that we don’t see him, it gives the audience something to

question about it which makes us want to watch the rest of the movie.

The POV shot combines with a fast handheld shot in order to establish a shaky real life effect. This develops a build up of tension as the audience sees what the killer sees. When the film actually begins, there is a tracking shot of a woman

walking across the street, this shot is important as it could suggest that she is the main character which most slasher/horror films may have, known as the “final girl”. There is also a tracking shot of the killer, however his face is

cropped out from the frame in a way to hide his identity which is common in slasher/ horror films. An over the shoulder shot was used of the killer looking over the woman which makes it seem as she is his first victim. We do not know why he is following her at the moment , however throughout the film we notice that he stalks her more often getting closer and closer to her and her close ones. To build suspense the film relies on constantly changing POV shots. The characters point of view shot intercuts with a objective shot, allowing multiple views in different scenes. The

most scariest scenes in Halloween follow this pattern.

There was also many long shots of the killer at a distance which gives the audience a view of where he is located and what he intends to do next. As the films goes on we are able to clearly see the killer from a close up view. This creeps

the audience as we do not see his face through the duration of the film until now. Despite the fact that we cannot see his facial expressions as he is wearing a mask which is quite strange.

Tilts and low angle shots were used to represent the status of the killer. This shot makes the killer appear bigger on the screen which suggests that he is a dominant character. On the other hand the high angle shots were used in

perspective of the killer to show what he sees which makes everything look smaller and weaker than him.

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Editing…Throughout the whole film there were a lot of quick cuts between different scenes to show the tragic events

that were happening. There were also many fade in and outs between different scenes in order to createsuspense for the audience.

In the beginning of the film, there is a silhouette effect of eyes in perspective of the young boy who is thekiller. This shows his movements around the house and it always creates a real life dramatic effect. Many black screens came up with writing on it to break up scenes. This was done to insert text on the screen to

let the audience know about the credits and especially the title of the film.

In the scene where Michael Myers picks up his mask, it flashes into the scene where he wears the mask.The editing technique tries to show different angles of the scene in order to build up tension for the

audience who are watching.

In addition, the beginning only shows quick glimpses of the action to make sure that it doesn’t give awaymuch of the plot as it will be introduced later on in the film.