Halloween is an iconic “slasher” film with many sequels and a lot of copycats. In my opinion, I believe that Noël Carroll would call this film horror and would have no problem giving Michael Meyers the distinction of a monster. The plot is that of a complex discovery with a very indefinite confrontation scene so as to leave open the possibility of a sequel.
I found the camera work, or mise-en-shot to be particularly effective in creating art horror. Many scenes appear to be shot from Michael’s point of view as he spies on his future victims. The audience is getting to see things only a peeping tom would chance to see, but the reality in the film is that Michael is planning his attack which makes the scenes horrifying. The mise-en-scéne is also successful in fabricating fearful situations. Sometimes we see deep focus photography that is especially chilling, for example, when Laurie is groping around in the darkness and we can see Michael’s mask in the background. Michael also only seems to kill at night with shadows enveloping him. The darkness also always provides a cover for Michael so we never know where he may be coming from.
The film begins as a six year Michael kills his sister after she has sex with her boyfriend on Halloween night. Fifteen years later, he escapes the mental institution he has been in and he returns to his hometown, again, on Halloween night. The psychiatrist who had been treating Michael while he was in the institution follows Michael back to his hometown and attempts to stop him before he starts killing again. Michael focuses in on Laurie and her two girlfriends to stalk and kill Halloween night. After all is said is done, Michael has been shot over six times, falls out of a second story window, and escapes with his life after killing four people by stabbing or strangulation.
Halloween has a complex discovery plot that follows a sequence of onset, discovery, confirmation, and confrontation of the monster, Michael Meyers in this case. The sequence may not be followed exactly in this form in Halloween because in the beginning we know that Michael is a monster of sorts. However, all we see is a young man who kills his sexually active older sister. In our society today we hear of young children killing family members, but are they monsters? Psychopaths, yes. But monsters? Were they abused so therefore mildly justified in their murders? So, we could say in the beginning it is affirmative that Michael has mental problems, we are terrified by his behavior, and the looks of an innocent appearing young man wielding a bloody knife could be viewed as disgusting because it is not normal; it violates social norms. Following this train of thought, the onset phase truly does begin with the murder of Michael’s sister. We are not sure if he is a monster or not. When he breaks out of the mental institution, we are still not convinced he is a monster. Who would want to be stuck in a mental institution and wouldn’t jump at the chance to escape? The onset phase then goes on to discovery. The psychiatrist is convinced that Michael is a monster and he must be stopped or he will wreak havoc on society. He tries convincing law enforcement of this fact, but without physical evidence (even though the body of Michael’s sister has gone missing); the police merely go through the motions of helping the doctor. Then, we see Laurie discovering the monster. He appears then disappears with astounding speed and fear. He is huge and has a white face; that is all she sees, and her friends make fun of her constantly, so she tries denying her own discovery. The young man she baby-sits discovers Michael too, but she wants to be “normal” like her friends so she tries to calm him and make him believe there is no such thing as the “boogeyman.” While Laurie is being pursued by Michael and she discovers his previous murders, I believe we are still discovering Michael as monster. However, when he is stabbed in the neck and continues his pursuit at full strength, we can move on to the confirmation stage. There is something inhuman about Michael. Laurie and the psychiatrist then go on to confront him to stop the terror. This procession is quick because we know that Michael is a serial killer, but he is not a monster in Carroll’s terms until he survives stabbings, falls, and gunshot wounds. Michael is confronted, but he then escapes, so we must assume he shall be conquered in the next film. Or the one after that? And so on.
I found the camera work, or mise-en-shot to be particularly effective in creating art horror. Many scenes appear to be shot from Michael’s point of view as he spies on his future victims. The audience is getting to see things only a peeping tom would chance to see, but the reality in the film is that Michael is planning his attack which makes the scenes horrifying. The mise-en-scéne is also successful in fabricating fearful situations. Sometimes we see deep focus photography that is especially chilling, for example, when Laurie is groping around in the darkness and we can see Michael’s mask in the background. Michael also only seems to kill at night with shadows enveloping him. The darkness also always provides a cover for Michael so we never know where he may be coming from.
The film begins as a six year Michael kills his sister after she has sex with her boyfriend on Halloween night. Fifteen years later, he escapes the mental institution he has been in and he returns to his hometown, again, on Halloween night. The psychiatrist who had been treating Michael while he was in the institution follows Michael back to his hometown and attempts to stop him before he starts killing again. Michael focuses in on Laurie and her two girlfriends to stalk and kill Halloween night. After all is said is done, Michael has been shot over six times, falls out of a second story window, and escapes with his life after killing four people by stabbing or strangulation.
Halloween has a complex discovery plot that follows a sequence of onset, discovery, confirmation, and confrontation of the monster, Michael Meyers in this case. The sequence may not be followed exactly in this form in Halloween because in the beginning we know that Michael is a monster of sorts. However, all we see is a young man who kills his sexually active older sister. In our society today we hear of young children killing family members, but are they monsters? Psychopaths, yes. But monsters? Were they abused so therefore mildly justified in their murders? So, we could say in the beginning it is affirmative that Michael has mental problems, we are terrified by his behavior, and the looks of an innocent appearing young man wielding a bloody knife could be viewed as disgusting because it is not normal; it violates social norms. Following this train of thought, the onset phase truly does begin with the murder of Michael’s sister. We are not sure if he is a monster or not. When he breaks out of the mental institution, we are still not convinced he is a monster. Who would want to be stuck in a mental institution and wouldn’t jump at the chance to escape? The onset phase then goes on to discovery. The psychiatrist is convinced that Michael is a monster and he must be stopped or he will wreak havoc on society. He tries convincing law enforcement of this fact, but without physical evidence (even though the body of Michael’s sister has gone missing); the police merely go through the motions of helping the doctor. Then, we see Laurie discovering the monster. He appears then disappears with astounding speed and fear. He is huge and has a white face; that is all she sees, and her friends make fun of her constantly, so she tries denying her own discovery. The young man she baby-sits discovers Michael too, but she wants to be “normal” like her friends so she tries to calm him and make him believe there is no such thing as the “boogeyman.” While Laurie is being pursued by Michael and she discovers his previous murders, I believe we are still discovering Michael as monster. However, when he is stabbed in the neck and continues his pursuit at full strength, we can move on to the confirmation stage. There is something inhuman about Michael. Laurie and the psychiatrist then go on to confront him to stop the terror. This procession is quick because we know that Michael is a serial killer, but he is not a monster in Carroll’s terms until he survives stabbings, falls, and gunshot wounds. Michael is confronted, but he then escapes, so we must assume he shall be conquered in the next film. Or the one after that? And so on.
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