Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)

Questions on the film and on the Halloween chapter in Horror Films, by James Marriot (Virgin, 2005) How does the start exemplify a common technical code convention of the horror genre? The story is set up by introducing the killer and explaining Myers psychosis. This is done by using point of view shots, which make it appear scarier, restricted narration, creepy music using sound motifs and low key lighting. How does the setting fit with the horror genre? The film is set in a small town in the suburbs. Most of the action takes place at night when the lighting is dark, most horror films are generally set at night as it makes it much scarier. Also Halloween is associated with horror and scariness. What iconography of “innocence” do we hear or see early on? Right at the beginning of the film we see the clown mask on the floor and masks are generally associated with children, especially on Halloween, and children are seen to be innocent. We also see Laurie’s friends mocking her for being virginal and smart, possibly too square which makes her innocent.

What was the main industry impact of Halloween? Halloween was very cheap to make, due to the way they filmed it. The consequence of this meant it made lots of money and lots of copycat films, meaning many slasher movies followed. Name some “slasher” films which followed on from Halloween. Friday the 13th (1979), My bloody Valentine (1980), Friday the 13th 2 (1981), The Prowler (1981). What are the four plot rules of the “slasher” film sub-genre which Halloween began? A traumatic event creates a killer. The killer returns to the site of the event usually on the specific date. The killer stalks and graphically kills the obnoxious teens, often with a phallic knife. There is always a ‘final girl’ that survives and she is usually boyish or virginal to kill the killer who is never truly vanquished.

Give three ways in which Laurie is androgynous. Laurie is an independent teen that doesn’t have a partner, or even the time to have a partner with all her studying. She has a really deep voice compared to Linda and her other friends. The way in which she dresses is androgynous, for example she is either wearing a long skirt with very thick, high denier tights or trousers with small heels, the complete opposite to her friends in their miniskirts. She covers herself up and doesn’t show much skin. She has a masculine face, masculine name and fights back at the killer which goes against the typical ideology of a woman. What does the extract mean by “a reactionary sexual agenda”? Society was full of promiscuous teens meaning promiscuous characters get killed and the innocent virgins survive. How does the director, John Carpenter, counter the suggestion that Halloween had a reactionary sexual agenda? John Carpenter said that teens aren’t punished for having sex; they die because they are distracted. Laurie was supposed to be the original victim from the very beginning. Why does Mike Myers kill his sister? Mike Myers kills his sister because he is evil and inheriting evil. Most people believe it was because she was having sex and he couldn’t interpret what was happening consequently killed her with a phallic knife to portray the motion of sexual intercourse, using the plunging/stabbing action. It is a typical slasher film with a supernatural element because he is inhumanly patient and won’t die after being stabbed in the neck with a knitting needle, stabbed in the eye with a coat hanger and shot at least 5 times.