How the Opening Sequence of Halloween Captures the Attention of the Audience ' 'Halloween' was made in 1978 and is a good example of the 'Slasher' movies from that time and this is an interesting piece of cinema as it can be related to the German expressionism of the late 1920's which used jerky camera shots and high contrast lighting to enthrall the viewer .In this essay I will discuss how the opening to Halloween captures the audiences attention and how codes and conventions create suspense and tension for the audience. …show more content…
Whilst this is happening the Halloween theme music is playing in the background, this music is very high pitched and uses string instruments to create horror and suspense for the viewers. Once the credits have been shown there is a 'vls' (very long shot) of the house this is used to set the scene, this is a subjective point of view from the killer .This can be related to the German expressionism where they would use bumpy camera movement to seize the audiences concentration .They use a handheld camera to do this scene as it emphasises the killers movements to the audience. As the Killer begins to make his way around the house be looks up to see the light go off. When this happens there is a sharp shrill sound which enforces the killer's actions. When Michael gets the knife, his murder weapon, the audience begin to realize his intentions once again. Once Michael has collected his murder weapon he makes his way into the house and as he starts to move tothe stairs there is a high pitched piano note that make the audience fearful of what Michael is going to do. When the girls boyfriend …show more content…
Once the boy has reached the top of the stairs he turns into another room and collects the mask to change his identity when doing the murder. Ironically, earlier on this same mask is used by the boyfriend to amuse his girl friend with. Like in the rest of Halloween there is low key lighting like shadows and darkness to build suspense for the audience. Whilst this is going on in the back ground you can hear Michael's sister humming quietly which symbolizes her innocence and purity of heart .Michael then turns and heads for his sisters room, when he reaches there the camera is at a high angle to show Michael's power and control over his sisters life. The murder then starts to take place and you see how Michael brutishly slaughters his own sister which will make the audience feel instantly shocked and surprised at what they are seeing .At the time that the film was made women were thought to be weak and innocent, so having agirl as the victim was used to show the societies perception of women at that time. Michael then walks out side and the camera changes from a
Halloween is rife with psychological scares that affect its audience greatly. “Symbolism, dreamlike imagery, emotional rather than rational logic” are present in Psychoanalytic criticism. Siskel and Ebert talked about how the movie makes you feel as if you are the protagonist, scared for your life and feeling every bit of suspense (Siskel and Ebert). The movie is purely fueled by emotional responses to what is happening to the characters and focuses itself purely on how the audience will respond. In the clip shown, the main protagonist talks about how she killed the killer but he is shown alive. The movie is not concerned with the logic; otherwise, the killer would have at least been slowed down by the injuries he sustained. Siskel and Ebert laud the movie on its set up of scenes, score, character development, and use of lighting to make the audience feel the terror the characters undergo.
Throughout the novel Swallowing Stones, Michael is faced with problem after problem. Each problem that occurs, he must make choice after choice. Michael is faced with a position that he must make the choice that will change the course of his indefinitely. Michael soon finds out the mystery death of Charlie Ward. Soon Michael starts asking himself the question “Could he be Charlie Ward’s Killer?” Michael is sure of it. He is now faced with the ultimate consequences that he must face. He knows that if he turns himself he might be let off easy. But then Joe gets him thinking about how easy it would be to just get away with it. He knows that there is know way that they could ever trace that bullet back to his Grandfathers antique rifle, or could they.
Halloween is the time of year that most people loved the idea of being scared beyond belief. But nowadays it’s harder to be genuinely scared because it seems like some people have become accustomed to most horrifying things that relate to Halloween due to the fact that it is the same every year. Nonetheless every year amusement parks use Halloween as a marketing scheme to get people and their friends to come to their horror nights, and spend money on ridiculous overpriced items, which all present the same things; clowns, clowns, chainsaws, and more clowns. Yes we can all agree that clowns are scary, but there has to come a time where the ones coming up with these “horror nights” step back and realize that what they are doing is no longer working anymore. But alas there is someone out there who knows what they’re doing, and it quite possibly could have to do with the fact that they are connected to the movie studio that did invent the horror film genre. But what makes Universal Studios Halloween Horror night so sinister? Universal Studios has a way where they take you out of reality and place you in a horror movie where you encounter many horror mazes, and also by the way they attack your senses in unexpected ways.
Suspense is a 1913 film that portrays the story of a tramp intruding into a family’s home, where a mother takes care of her child while her husband is away. The plot is a common one that had been used previous times before the film’s release, such as in The Lonely Villa (1909). However, through taking advantage of the single frame shot, the filmmakers were able to create a masterful aesthetic of two separate stories that turn a basic plot into a complex story. The film created an inventive way of illustrating stories within cinema by allowing the audience the chance to consume more narrative in less time within just one take.
Along with this we get more connection through the voice over actually describing, in an almost a sarcastic manner which should not be the case at all, about a murder on this high class, high status block. It’s almost as if this is a clear depiction of the true chaos tied in with how this Hollywood life can and will be to the people involved with it. As the film zooms out to a long shot of Sunset, we see the police brigade come and wiz by through a very quick pan shot. The next thing is a cross cut to the actual mansion where more commotion is viewed at an obvious murder scene. Bottom line is that the mise-en-scene involved here does an excellent job setting up the movie’s thematic intentions.... ...
The article Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King distinguishes why we truly do crave horror movies. Stephen King goes into depth on the many reasons on why we, as humans, find horror movies intriguing and how we all have some sort of insanity within us. He does this by using different rhetorical techniques and appealing to the audience through ways such as experience, emotion and logic. Apart from that he also relates a numerous amount of aspects on why we crave horror movies to our lives. Throughout this essay I will be evaluating the authors arguments and points on why society finds horror movies so desirable and captivating.
From the very first scene, detailing Caine and O-Dog's fatal armed robbery of a Korean market, violence is cruelly graphic. “In this instance, the film succeeds in painting a disturbing picture of violence, one in which the characters' lack of remorse, rather than stylistic convention, shapes and colors the horror of the image.” Although most of the violence is filmed realistically and unfolds in real time, the Hughes can't seem to resist stylizing some of the more important narrative events. Thus, while the robbery introduces violence, O-Dog's shooting of the Korean market owner is shown directly only further into the story, when black and white images of the store's stolen surveillance video are played and replayed for the entertainment of Caine, O-Dog, and their friends. While an innovative means of conveying action, the video becomes nothing more than a diversion.
Film scholars around the world agree that all genres of film are part of the “genre cycle”. This cycle contains four different stages that a specific genre goes through. These stages are: primitive, classic, revisionist, and parody. Each stage that the genre goes through brings something different to that genre’s meaning and what the audience expects. I believe that looking at the horror genre will be the most beneficial since it has clearly gone through each stage.
Modern day horror films are very different from the first horror films which date back to the late nineteenth century, but the goal of shocking the audience is still the same. Over the course of its existence, the horror industry has had to innovate new ways to keep its viewers on the edge of their seats. Horror films are frightening films created solely to ignite anxiety and panic within the viewers. Dread and alarm summon deep fears by captivating the audience with a shocking, terrifying, and unpredictable finale that leaves the viewer stunned. (Horror Films)
He goes to her basement, grabs the ax and heads back up stairs. Takes the axe and brutally murders one by one, starting with Mickey, her best friend to her mom, next her little brother, then her baby cousin. But this wasn’t the end of this bloody trail. A few days go by and no one hears from the family, so people get scared and ask Mickey’s father to stop by the house and check on them. So he heads to the house and walks into the house having no idea of what has taken place.
People flock to horror movies each year. Usually to be scared. Another is to solve the question of Who done it? Unfortunately, a lot of these horror movies fail to scare people or make the killer so obvious the audience gets bored. Occasionally, there are a few horror movies that stick out. Scream, directed by Wes Craven, is one of them. Wes Craven is always toying with the viewer's fears. Always finding ways to scare the audience at every turn. He also plays with the viewer's head, and has them second guessing themselves. How does he do it? Well, as one of the characters in the movie exclaims, "There's a formula to it. A very simple formula. Everybody's a suspect!" This paper will discuss how Craven uses sound, camera shots, and mise en scene
After Hartnett’s piece, the movie goes into the story of a policeman (Bruce Willis) who saves a little girl from a child molester, only to have it ruin the rest of his life. He is shot many times and left for dead. Willis’ story is cut off, leaving you hungry to know how it ends.
I can’t hold in my excitement as I run to the foyer. Mom looks at me worriedly, but I ignore her and throw open the door before the person standing behind it can knock. He looks at me with boredom lacing his expression, obviously expecting my weird gift to tell the future. I quickly hug him and grab his pale hand, pulling him outside. Tonight is Halloween, and the only time my pale blonde friend visits me. He’s my first and only friend, so I don’t mind that he doesn’t play with me the other three hundred sixty-something days in the year.
We live in a society where a life of another human being is losing value by the minute, murder is almost more common than marriage, and monsters no longer lurk under our beds but inside us. Even sadder, this is acceptable; this is our normal. When we are children, we have an indescribable innocence; we are invincible. As we grow up, life happens, and we go through hardships that break us. Stephen King says it best with the words “sometimes inhuman places create human monsters” (Stephen King, The Shining) It is in the battle of finding ourselves in the process of trying to pick up the broken pieces. We tend to feel our losses more intensely than our gains- the exact reason we often see the walls we build from our past and not the strength gained in our experiences that aid us in our futures. We all have both good and evil in us, and we become the one we choose to act on. The majority of us choose to represent our good side, the more socially acceptable choice, but some fall victim to their darkest self. However, in order to survive in our society, we generally act on the good in us, and in order to maintain the good, we must feed the bad sometimes. This Is why I agree with Stephen king on his view of why people like horror movies?
Horror films are designed to frighten the audience and engage them in their worst fears, while captivating and entertaining at the same time. Horror films often center on the darker side of life, on what is forbidden and strange. These films play with society’s fears, its nightmare’s and vulnerability, the terror of the unknown, the fear of death, the loss of identity, and the fear of sexuality. Horror films are generally set in spooky old mansions, fog-ridden areas, or dark locales with unknown human, supernatural or grotesque creatures lurking about. These creatures can range from vampires, madmen, devils, unfriendly ghosts, monsters, mad scientists, demons, zombies, evil spirits, satanic villains, the possessed, werewolves and freaks to the unseen and even the mere presence of evil.