Halloween Film and the Horror Genre - Essay Example

Halloween film and the horror genre The Halloween film, 1978, is a ic horror movie that illuminated the Horror movie landscape with a unique thrilling touch. The movie was produced back in the late 19th century by John Carpenter. The horror genre script was co-produced with Debra Hill staring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence as the casts major actress and actor respectively. The plot of the movie is set about in a quiet town of Illinois involving Michael Myers who after more than 15 years psychotic treatment in a mental hospital, escapes and sets camp in his home town murdering a number of innocent teenagers (Carpenter, 1978). The movie captures the horror genre aspect because it manages to elicit negative emotional reactions from the viewers. It confirms audiences’ hidden fears that are brought to harsh reality when Myers mercilessly kills the innocent teenagers. A similar horror movie by the title “psycho”, 1960, directed by Alfred Hitchcock played a big role in terms of the horror genre inspiration in the directing of the “Halloween” movie by John Carpenter because the Halloween movie turned out to be the most influential and popular films in its era, in fact it earned a classic recognition status in the horror genre. The director, John Carpenter, has been renowned for exquisite television projects, exclusive works and productions in the horror film category. Carpenter’s film works stands out from the rest with having directed exceptional films like The Halloween, The Thing, The Fog and Village of the Damned that have collectively made a mark in horror and thriller genres theatrics. Torture, mystery and serial killers seem to be characteristic prevalent elements employed in all his works to create controversy and build his prolific horrific themes that thrills and upholds the legacy of the Horror prospect deployed in films. The Halloween as one of his film works baffles because it contains little graphic violence but managed to be one of the horrifying horror movies ever produced after the popular Psycho showing the prowess of John Carpenter as a director in the thriller and horror genre (Rasmussen 2013, p.65). The Halloween film helped to popularize the horror genre by its use of various stylistic devices that became synonymous with other films in the genre. The film helped to influence the use of the final girl device in the horror film genre. The final girl device signifies the last girl or woman alive in a horror film who confronts the antagonist. The Halloween film ending saw Laurie Strode confront Michael Myers, the antagonist. With the help of Dr. Loomis, she manages to confront and kill Myers. The use of the final girl or female heroine became popular after the success that followed the release of the Halloween film. The film also incorporated the use of a theme song for the killer, and killing off of the characters who are sexually promiscuous or substance abusers. Numerous horror sequels have one on to embody similar archetypes and plots compared to the Halloween film. The film was among the first that introduced the concept of the killer as an indestructible evil force. Even though Laurie and Dr. Loomis managed to kill Myers, his body vanished leaving the two and the audience in suspense as to his whereabouts. Many films such as ‘New Year’s evil’ and ‘My bloody Valentine’ followed the footsteps of ‘Halloween’ by focusing on specific dates or holiday celebrations to base their story lines (Carpenter, 1978). Based on the film’s casting it is easy to almost ascertain that the film’s intended audience was the youth or teenagers. This makes the film popular because the youth get to easily identify with the characters for instance Jamie Lee Curtis is a young adult sought by the antagonist Michael Myers. The film also captures teenage daily activities such as schooling. The director created the film’s plot in a manner which makes the audience to relate to it. For example, the costumes and wardrobes are quite contextual in further alienating the audience attention to relate to the movie’s plot because of the fact that they feel engaged and also feel sort of equally represented in the movie through the characters and the cast setting locations like schools, hospitals, and homes thud signifying a part of life that is vital and yet can turn dangerous any point in time (Muir 2013, p.102). A normal horror movie that is captivating usually gets tasked with an opinion in its plot development and narrative structure to contain an aspect of mystery and suspense that keeps its audience adequately entertained and grasped (Hantke 2010, p.88). The Halloween appears to have a generic plot at the beginning, a conclusive end and a series of rises and falls that are both semi climatic and fully climatic that creates this unsettling feeling of mystery and the sudden tension releasing that touches on the hidden fears of the audience eliciting fear. The story of the movie follows a plot development similar to that of Tzvetan Todorov’s narrative theory which provides for a buildup of equilibrium, disequilibrium, and finally a new equilibrium. A case of equilibrium in the film is seen developing when Michael Myers in his childhood kills his sister- this is shown to the audience is made to acquire the perception of murder of an innocent teenage girl going to school and Myers is taken to psychiatric hospital as a result. A state of balance is achieved through a proper setting. A discourse in the acquired equilibrium or disequilibrium gets captured when the same Michael Myers escapes from the mental institution the discourse is further felt when Doctor Sam Loomis follows the nutcase Myers to his hometown (Rasmussen 2013, p.109). A progression to this effect sees Laurie fighting the antagonist in self-defense as Dr. Loomis zooms in closer in relation to his chase. Equilibrium appears to finally get achieved towards the film’s end when Myers the killer is thought to be dead but again a disruption is generated when the body of Myer the killer disappears mysteriously and courses the possibility of development of a second sequel, Halloween II, cycle to quench the audience’s curiosity. Horror movies usually are accompanied with effective soundtracks so as to complement thrilling or horrifying scenes and further instill fear to the audience (Muir 2013, p 78). Halloween is no different because as a horror movie its sound track and themes is used to create or to enhance silence pauses with a mood of anticipation hinting to the audience what might be coming next. The film employs the use of orchestral instruments properly to synchronize the rise of the audience’s heartbeat towards climax scenarios and cause more fear anticipation if not a scream (Carpenter, 1978). An edgy feeling is created in the audience mind by the high pitched melodies that resonate in series of breaks and variation. It is easy to notice that the horrifying effect John Carpenter has been adequately achieved by the sound track involved with oozes the “uncomfortable” feeling through the film. John Carpenter effectively thought of a stage set that best describes the Horror genre in capital letters that other progressive and subsequent Horror movies subscribe to in their narrative structure or storyline development (Rasmussen 2013, p.123). He employs the use of night time to best portray the climax scenes, this is accompanied by large lonely house that is dark to have a scare and horrifying effect on the protagonist, the plot content shows a mean killing machine his face hardly shown that has no remorse or mercy whatsoever towards the victims who always end up dead while the protagonist himself has a recurring effect in that at the end of the movie after being “killed “, as he deserves, by the antagonist the killer somehow and mysteriously manages to escape and resurface somewhere to wait for his “second coming”. The example by Myers as a protagonist and the stage set development is a representation of what most horror films deploy in character and plot development that create rights amount of suspense and “torture” to the targeted audience. Décor and props are carefully chosen in the film to synchronize with the narrative structure and plot development to effectively capture the horror genre. A good example is the trade mark knife the killer, Myers, uses for his murdering spree and the shed which brings out a sense of entrapment because of the nature of dark and lonely characteristic that terrifies the victims to their last breath (Carpenter, 1978). It is appropriate to postulate that The Halloween has been an influential piece in the horror genre film category. The film has overseen subsequent productions by different horror movies directors. These directors have tended to borrow a leaf from the classic from the casting, plot line, and wardrobe in their movies. The film has also seen it undergone various remakes that have resulted into installments called the Halloween film series. The major aim of a horror movie is to evoke the ultimate sense of fear and create an air of suspense among its target audience. John Carpenter did his best in creating a film that evokes scares from its target audience. Carpenter managed to create a genuinely scary, tasteful, and stylistic and extremely well crafted horror film that managed to capture and captivate its intended audience as well as creating a lasting impact on the horror film genre. References Carpenter, J. (Director)., 1978. Halloween [Motion Picture]. Hantke, S., 2010. American Horror Film: The Genre at the Turn of the Millennium. Mississippi: Univ. Press of Mississippi. James B. Weaver, R. Tamborini., 2013. Horror Films: Current Research on Audience Preferences and Reactions. New York: Routledge. MUIR, J. K., 2013. Horror Films FAQ: All Thats Left to Know About Slashers, Vampires, Zombies, Aliens, and More (Faq Series) . New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. Rasmussen, R., 2013. Psycho, The Birds and Halloween: The Intimacy of Terror in Three Classic Films. New York: McFarland. Read More