Low key lighting is often used in horror films because it creates a sharp constant of light add dark areas producing sharp, distinct shadows. In edition to settings, characters, music, sound and lighting, camera angles, movement and iconology are other elements of a film that are important in establishing genre.
Close up shots are conventional in horror films as they can really capture the fear on the victims face and of the malicious look on the aggressors face.
Certain objects are easily recognised as having horrific meaning, for example, knives, blood, masks, and gravestones and putting these objects into certain scenes an appropriate frightening atmosphere is created.
The opening sequence of Halloween starts with the title sequence, which displays the title, director’s name and stars etc. The credits are seen on a black background with a small, glowing pumpkin (in the distance) on the left hand side. The genre of this film is established as horror immediately by the title Halloween. The black background is associated with mystery and death and the iconography glowing pumpkin are all elements of the title sequence, which also helps to identify that the film is of the horror genre. The typography of the lettering is thick capital letters and when studied closely you can see that the colour of lettering changes from yellow to red, back to yellow again. This adds to the horror genre. The title sequence of Halloween ends as the light of the pumpkin burns out, leaving us with a black frame over which the words “Haddonfield, Ilinois, Halloween Night 1963” appear in fairly small, white capital letters. The purpose of these words is to establish a place/settings of the opening scene possibly the specific night referred to on the video cover.
The non-digestic sound of children chanting rhymes leads us into a long shot of a white, detached house.
The camera unsteadily but quickly moves onto the front door of the house which is the first suggestion that this a point of view shot. A lit up pumpkin can be seen on the porch, which is very noticeable with its bright glow. The camera moves right to the side of the house and we find ourselves looking through at a teenage couple kissing on the sofa. The realisation that this is a point of view shot poses on enigma from the audience – who is this person? The teenage couple again conforms to conventions of horror because teenagers are represented as vulnerable therefore they are easy targets to terrorise or murder. Quite ironically the boy says, “We are alone aren’t we?” To which the girl replies “Michael’s around here some place.”
From reading the blurb we understand that there’s a psychological disturbed man called Michael Myers on the loose after escaping from a mental institution. Could this girl be talking about the same Michael Myers? This enigma creates fear for the audience as we could be looking through the eyes of a crazed maniac.
The boy picks up a mask from the floor, pretends to kiss the girl with it and on his request they run upstairs and turn off the light. The camera still in a point of view shot looks up to a bedroom window to see the light turn off when the eerie music from the title sequence starts playing. This is a key moment in creating tension for the audience as the music creates a horrific atmosphere. This builds suspense and is an indication that something terrible is going to happen.
As the “stalker” moves to the back door of the house and enters, the theme music dies down and I high pitch note is held probably indicating danger. Still in a point of view sot the light switch is turned on and a small hand reaches out to open a kitchen drawer where there is a close-up of a large knife being pulled out. Strangely this “stalker” is familiar with the house, knowing where the light switch and knife draw are straight away. The knife is lifted above the camera as it was heavy and as it was like a dagger. As this is a point of view shot we the audience feel as though we are taking the knife out the drawer. The atmosphere created by the music and the large knife is that something terrible is about to happen.
Our prediction until now has been that the aggressor is a male adult, this being a typical horror convention. Males are seen as stronger and more overpowering than women. However the small hand with green satin sleeve, which maybe a Halloween costume, questions the prediction and makes the situation more suspicious for the audience.
The stalker moves through the dining room which again has a blue glow creating an eerie atmosphere. We now see the boy coming downstairs and leaving. We find ourselves slowly walking up the staircase where the digestic sounds of humming, clock chimes and footsteps can be heard.
At the top of the staircase a mask is picked up from the floor and put on, the audience now knowing it is the same mask previously used by the boy to kiss the girl. When the stalker puts on the mask we are looking through an exaggerated point of view shot. This is a very good effect, as it seems the audience is looking through the mask.
Clothes have been thrown all over the floor and we see the girl sitting on a chair, in front of her mirror, brushing her hair naked. As the aggressor gets closer to the girl she screams “Michael” her tone in her voice is making her sound if she is embarrassed being seen naked. We recognise now that something frightening is about to happen, the organ notes from the theme play, which increases the audience’s fear. We see an arm holding the knife in the air we then watch ourselves repeatedly stab the girl. The audience does not actually see the knife pierce the body but we do see a low angle point of the girl’s corpse.
The audience is still kept on suspense as to the identity of the murderer and the audience fear what his murderer does next, who quickly goes down the stairs, out if the door onto the front lawn. We see two people getting out of a car and we hear a voice saying “Michael”.
The first cut of the opening scene takes place to a medium shot of a boy in a clown costume, holding a large knife. The camera pulls back slowly to show an aerial shot of the house with the two adults and child with non-digestic sounds of organs haunting this scene.
The opening scene of Halloween establishes the film is coming from the horror genre. But this film also has a psychological twist, why did the six-year-old boy brutally murder his sister?
The sound of children chanting a rhyme during the opening of the scene suggests the innocence of the children. But by the end of the sequence we find that this is not always the case and that an innocent child indeed the aggressor and someone we should be fearful of.
This opening does establish the horror genre because of the brutal murder. It also has the eerie music and horror genre iconography. This opening scene will leave the audience in suspense to what happens next in the film. I think this opening scene is very good and very effective.
