The beginning of the film Halloween opens with the opening titles fading in and out but before each title fades away they change from yellow to orange to red . This has been used I believe to create a sense of danger and spookiness as each of the colours represents a key connotation of horror. Such as red being blood, aggression, anger and orange being, fire and destruction. The fading of the titles also gives the feeling of unnaturalness as they seem to appear and disappear by magic. A lighted pumpkin also creates this fiery atmosphere as it is flickering darkly next to the fading titles. The pumpkins juxtaposition is the left of the screen whilst the titles juxtaposition is centre so the title can clearly be seen by the audience. The background behind the titles is also a connotation of horror as it is black and therefore implies a sense of coldness , darkness and most of all death. All off these things are stereo typical of this type of film , the type of film being horror/thriller. Incidental spooky music begins to play as the pumpkin appears and the frequency and tempo of the music go up. The sudden build up of music may have been used to put the viewer on edge as it creates the atmosphere it is building up to a dramatic event.
Throughout, it seems the title appear in order of importance and Jamie lee Curtis in mentioned as introducing. Finally as the titles begin to come to an end the camera begins to zoom in on the pumpkin this build up suspense and terror because as the pumpkin is drawing ever nearer it feels as if the pumpkin is literally coming towards you and your personal space ,putting you into a sense of fear before the film has already begun and therefore setting you up for what the film is all about. A sound bridge of kids saying a Halloween rhyme plays as the setting is introduced to the viewer. Creating a spooky atmosphere as the sound bridge sounds very jingly and spirit like. The camera than pans to a white house at night and the ambient sound of an owl can be heard . This creates a murderous mood as an owl is a connotation of hooting and killing for its food implying something of the sought is about to take place in this house as the camera zooms into the front door .
This is followed by a hand held /subjective point of view shot which slowly and steadily creeps round the house this has been used maybe to create a sense of danger and not belonging as it seems the person is spying on the house . Through a window a girl and a boy are seen they are both represented as teenagers as they are wearing stereotypical teenager clothes from this time period of time e.g such as the girl in a tight top and short skirt and the boy in laid back youthful clothes . The two are seen through the subjective point of view going upstairs together . Iincidental music again begins to play which sounds very screechy and like someone is screaming. This may has been used as it puts you on edge and agitates you as screaming is a connotation of pain and danger. The subjective point of view also has been used as it makes you feel you are their to witness the actual murderer and therefore feel the literal terror surrounding the scene. As Micheal moves up the stairs the ambient sound of a ticking clock begins to sound and the girl singing creates a sense of a countdown to a certain event as the clock keeps ticking constantly like a ticking time bomb as Micheal makes his way up the stairs .
When stabbing his sister Micheal is looking at the knife .Michael is homage to Alfred Hitchcock psycho as he is witnessing his own act of violence towards his sister.Micheal's Breathing starts when he has got his mask on and as he floats down the stairs the subjective point of view makes it seem almost creepy and not natural like he is floating. The director filmed the subjective point of view from a higher view creating the illusion it’s an adult and maybe competition for the boyfriend so therefore the viewer is shocked when a boy is revealed as the murderer.
Micheal's sister shouts at him and covers herself up but he doesn’t leave the room he hurts her instead.Micheal's subjective point of view shows him seeing the bed is messy and therefore this is a connotation of a post sex scene implying Micheal is so Repulsed by the act his sister has just committed he felt he had to kill her.
The scene ends with Micheal being shown in a Halloween clown outfit shown by a medium long shot . Clowns usually have the connotation of being creepy ,freaky and scary. Therefore his costume is a perfect representation of his character. The medium long shot used also reveals two older people in suits implying they are Micheal's parents . The sudden switch to this shot creates a shocking feeling as the murderer is revealed as a boy who is usually innocent then a crane shot is used showing the camera sweeping away from Michael and his parents suggesting there confusion at what Micheal has just done.
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