Halloween Questions

How does the start exemplify a common technical code convention of the horror genre?

At the beginning of the film, it shows an event from years ago in which a younger Michael kills his sister. This shows the beginning of the many murders that will take place. As well as this, this opening sequence is all from the P.O.V shot of Michael’s. Michael places a clown mask on his face so the audience have to watch through his limit vision, which adds to the scariness of the film as there is a restriction of what can be seen whereas, as the film progresses, the audience can see everything and are aware of the action taking place.

How does the setting fit with the horror genre?

The setting fits with the Horror genre because it all takes place over one night on Halloween in an enclosed and empty, suburban area. There is an abandoned house on the streets that no one dares to enter. There are also many references to a mental institution at the beginning, which withheld Mike Myers.

What iconography of ‘innocence’ do we hear or see early on?

Early on we see the innocence of Michael as a child at the beginning where he kills his sister. He is dresses up and wearing a clown mask, a very childlike act and sticking to the conventions of Halloween. Laurie is seen as innocent as she is virginal and smart, she is less concentrated on sex, and instead she notices the murder in comparison to her friends who are easily distracted.

What was the main industry impact of Halloween?

The film ‘Halloween’ was very cheap to make. With this came higher profits, which meant more copies of the film were made. It unintentionally marked the beginning of the ‘slasher’ genre as well as created big names.

Name some ‘slasher’ films which followed on from Halloween:

Friday The 13^th, Prom Night, Bloody Valentine, Terror Train, Night School, The Burning, Graduation Day, Happy Birthday To Me, Hell Night, The Slayer, The Prowler.

What are the four plot rules of the ‘slasher’ film sub-genre which Halloween began?

1. Traumatic event involving killer
2. Killer returns
3. Kills obnoxious teenagers
4. ‘Final girl’ survives, killer may or may not die

Give three ways in which Laurie is androgynous:

One way that Laurie is androgynous is due to her manly features such as her deep voice and fashion sense which makes her stand out against her very feminine friends. In comparison to her friends, she dresses in trousers and less fashionable clothes whereas they wear more revealing, short skirts, with longer and styled hair. Laurie is also very brave and focused unlike her friends. She is also incredibly intelligent. In the film she states how men are ‘afraid’ of her because she’s ‘too smart’.

What does the extract mean by ‘a reactionary sexual agenda’?

The killer kills after witnessing their sexual activities.

How does the director, John Carpenter, counter the suggestion that Halloween had a reactionary sexual agenda?

John Carpenter says that the victims of Mike Myers were killed because they were not watching, they were distracted. The virgins traditionally survive whereas those that engage in sexual activities are punished afterwards. Around the 1970’s, when ‘Halloween’ was released, a lot of the population would sleep around in their younger years so this was done as a king of warning. The director states that Laurie was the intended victim all along.

Why does Mike Myers kill his sister?

At the beginning of the film, Mike Myers uses his knife as a phallic symbol as we see him kill his sister after witnessing her in a sexual act. He kills her for the sole reason that he is purely evil. Other characters throughout the film explain how he always acted ‘inhuman’ and possesses supernatural traits. The stabbing action can also be presumed that he done so because he was mimicking the male’s action’s with his sister. As his innocent eyes saw, a man was stabbing her so he did the same in return.