Film Deconstruction - 'Halloween'

'Halloween' -Opening Scene Analysis And Deconstruction

Directed by John Carpenter, the 1978 slasher film, is set in a small suburban town in western Illinois. It strongly sticks to the conventions of a usual slasher films by including gore and a masked killer.

Mise en Scene:

Location:

• The house is filled with normal day to day items to create the sense of realism for the audience.
• Also, as it is the victims home, it is more close to home for both the victim and the audience so therefore creating a more sympathetic and fearful feel from the audience. 
• For example, it has furniture which is usual and common to that time period which not only creates realism but also the thought that it can happen to anyone amongst the audience
• The house is also decorated modernly to incorporate the sense of realism again
• The house is shown as friendly family home to prove the innocence of the victims to make the audience sympathise with the victim more.

Furniture and interior 

• The house shown at the beginning of the scene contains muted colours for a  homely feel
• The decor is basic and simple with no extreme tastes or styles which may be distracting. This also keeps the scene relatable to as wide of an audience as possible.
• There is a large dining table which suggests the building is a family home.
• Also, in part of the sequence, there are children toys visible once again promoting the concept of a family friendly home. 

Clothing

• The characters are wearing very typical teenage clothes which makes them more relatable
• Towards the end of the scene the girl wears very little clothing, which may hint at her promiscuity. The conventions of slasher films mean that often the flirtatious female character is killed, so clothing her in this way foreshadows her death.
• At the very end of the opening, the boy is shown to be wearing a clown costume. Clowns are a common fear of many, so the use of this costume plays on the contemporary audience's fears. However, clowns are also often use for fun and pleasure for children, thus subverting there normal use.
• The young boy carries a knife which informs the audience that it was he who previously killed the woman.
• The two men surrounding the young boy are wearing smart suits, which is a symbol of their authority and power over the young boy. This is interesting because it is actually the young boy who has the power in this scene as he takes the life of another.

Hairstyles and Makeup

• The scene features very little evidence of creative hair and makeup design - the costumes are kept simple to make the characters as relatable as possible.
• The 'killer', when shown has a mask on, perhaps hiding not just his identity but also his age as he is such a young child.

Lighting:

• The scene is set at night time which gives an eerie low lighting effect.
• The house, when the killer enters, is shown to be low lit, so therefore, also low key lighting, so continuing the eerie atmosphere of the scene.
• There seems to be full shadow over the victims face, using backlight only; thus promoting her insignificance and lack of sympathy for her death to the killer.

Camera Framing and Camera Angles:

• When killing his victim, a point of view shot is used to create an ominous effect for the audience. Also, the framing of this shot seems to be quite low down, perhaps foreshadowing for the viewers that the killer is a child.
• Also, in the final scene, the dolly shot moving away from the child, also creates a foreshadowing effect for the audience as it leaves an unanswered question as to whether or not the child actually committed the crime. 
• The point of view shot, also implies that the crime was committed purposely by the killer.

Editing:

• During the murder scene, there is an effect to show that the killer is wearing a mask perhaps to hide his identity and human like features from the victim. - However, it later shows that this does not work because of the the victim then questions his identity.

Sound:

• The off-screen diegetic screaming of the victim promotes her fear and terror as she is being killed.
• The off-screen non-diegetic music has a slight build up to create tension for the audience. It is also very much the stereotypical slasher genre music, making it obvious to the viewers the type of film and what to expect. For example, gruesome and gruelling scenes.
• The off-screen diegetic sound of the crickets the desolation and isolation of the location and how far they are from everything else and therefore conforming with the slasher genre. 
• The off-screen diegetic sound of the knife coming into contact with the victim accentuates the gruesome extent of the attack. It also makes the scene quite difficult to watch as it sounds so life like, making the audience quite uncomfortable. 
• At the end of the opening, the music builds up greatly to emphasise the significant of his crime as well as who the killer is himself. 

-Caera Mendez