What We Fear: Halloween(1978)
John Carpenter’s Halloween is a seminal classic of the horror genre. It’s a film which has held up incredibly well considering how simplistic it is by today’s standards. Made for less than $300,000, Halloween is a low budget horror film about a murderous mental patient named Michael Myers, who escapes the grasp of his doctor, and flees to his hometown of Haddonfield to enact a killing spree. The characters in the film in some ways are secondary to Myers and what he represents. I’m intrigued by his ambiguity, his methodical stalking of victims, and how he symbolizes the inherent evil that is suppressed in everyday people who walk the streets. Michael’s blank white mask for me makes him more monstrous than other horror icons like Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees. We as an audience see a blank emotionless face and know that we can’t understand him. The mask takes away all empathy for him. He’s more of an idea and less of a man. When he is unmasked in the film, he appears normal; this shows the concept of evil capabilities being present in everyone. For me, the core appeal of choosing Halloween(1978) is the question of why this film, and in particular, the shape of Michael Myers still remains relevant in our culture. It’s a basic premise with an antagonist who appears initially simplistic, and yet there’s so much more under the surface.
I could ramble senselessly for ages about how much I love this film, however, I will dwindle the list down to a few essentials I hope to keep. First is the score, which John Carpenter himself composed. It’s as much a character as Michael is, and without it, I think the film simply would not work as well. The movement of the Panaglide camera accompanied by Carpenter’s music gives the film an off-putting feeling. It’s like Michael could be anywhere, always lurking in the shadows. I can’t make this project without the score. Next is Dean Cundey’s work as cinematographer. The low key blue lighting through the night sequences give the film a very surreal feeling. I’ve always felt like the framing/lighting of Michael was so integral. In day shots, Michael is kept distant, and at night he is hidden, and yet he feels closer than ever. You never know where he could appear from. Michael is a force of nature and the low key lighting turns him into a dark storm that just rolled into town. Finally, I want to keep close to the ambiguity of who Michael Myers/The Shape is. The sequels have over-explained his backstory to the point where he lost what made him interesting in the first place, and that’s the lack of motive. I view the character as someone who certainly kills at random, but there’s also a very methodical, stalker-like precision to what he does. If he sets his sights on you, he will study you, and attack when you least expect him to. I see Michael as a cross between a hunter and the great white shark from JAWS. Michael feels an urge to kill, he acts on it, then keeps moving. Simultaneously, he’s setting traps for victims all through the film. There’s a method to his madness even if we only see him as this being of pure evil. So, I at least have to acknowledge what I feel is Michael’s reasoning for why he acts the way he does, but not try and make it the focus of my story. It’s quite the tightrope to walk.
The setting of Halloween night was something where I immediately questioned whether it was integral. Mainly because of when I want to shoot my project. If it’s December and there’s snow, you have to make compromises. That being said, it has become something of a blessing. When questioning whether to keep the events on Halloween or not, an idea hit me. What if Michael didn’t kill on Halloween night, what’s keeping him to that date? More than that, what cultural changes happen when you change the central event of this film? My idea was to change the setting to Christmas Eve and the time to modern day. Halloween night is a night of mischief and pranks; whereas Christmas is about joy, togetherness, presents, and of course Santa Claus. What’s more frightening than Michael Myers attacking on a night when children are accustomed to a mythical figure finding their way into your home? I was immediately attracted to that juxtaposition. Also, it’s worth noting that following Halloween, a vast number of horror films came out trying to capitalize on it’s financial success by way of setting Slasher films on other holidays. So, I’m not exactly on new ground, but I would like to see if this story plays as well in another environment. When it comes to cinematography, I think visually Michael’s white mask in the snow is an eerie image. It emphasizes the idea that he is always lurking as a force of nature. As far as characters are concerned, I think the essentials are Michael Myers and his caretaker Dr. Loomis. I debated whether to keep the character of Laurie Strode for this version. I may have a stand-in character who provides her “final girl” role, but it won’t be Laurie Strode. Her character arc is something which is very hard to summarize in a short film. I wanted to do it justice, but I also don’t necessarily want her to be the main focus of the film either. Her as the focus of the short opened up the option for me as to whether this is a story of trauma following a disaster, or the story of the evil in the heart of man. For the sake of the class topic of monsters, I chose to primarily focus on Michael Myers. One more note of changes, it won’t be called Halloween. To further emphasize that this is more Myers driven, I chose to call it “The Shape”, which is what Michael is referred to in the credits of the original film. The Shape is what Michael becomes by wearing the mask.
In closing, I hope to tell a story that comes close to providing answers to why Michael Myers/The Shape has terrified me all these years. I think he is the embodiment of mankind’s worst tendencies. From the medical field point of view, there is much research for me to still do in order to try and dig deeper into why this character operates the way he does. Although, I feel like digging too deep into realism could ruin Michael’s appearance. When you speak about Halloween and it’s relevancy in today’s world, you need only look at the random acts of violence that are all over the news. Michael still resonates because we live in a world where acts of violence find ways into our seemingly tranquil ways of living. Something always comes along to shatter our sense of security. We as humans see this violence and are puzzled by it, we ask questions, and yet can never find answers, and therefore we fear it. Michael Myers is all that fear and paranoia, but in the shape of a man.
John Carpenter’s Halloween is a seminal classic of the horror genre. It’s a film which has held up incredibly well considering how simplistic it is by today’s standards. Made for less than $300,000, Halloween is a low budget horror film about a murderous mental patient named Michael Myers, who escapes the grasp of his doctor, and flees to his hometown of Haddonfield to enact a killing spree. The characters in the film in some ways are secondary to Myers and what he represents. I’m intrigued by his ambiguity, his methodical stalking of victims, and how he symbolizes the inherent evil that is suppressed in everyday people who walk the streets. Michael’s blank white mask for me makes him more monstrous than other horror icons like Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees. We as an audience see a blank emotionless face and know that we can’t understand him. The mask takes away all empathy for him. He’s more of an idea and less of a man. When he is unmasked in the film, he appears normal; this shows the concept of evil capabilities being present in everyone. For me, the core appeal of choosing Halloween(1978) is the question of why this film, and in particular, the shape of Michael Myers still remains relevant in our culture. It’s a basic premise with an antagonist who appears initially simplistic, and yet there’s so much more under the surface.
I could ramble senselessly for ages about how much I love this film, however, I will dwindle the list down to a few essentials I hope to keep. First is the score, which John Carpenter himself composed. It’s as much a character as Michael is, and without it, I think the film simply would not work as well. The movement of the Panaglide camera accompanied by Carpenter’s music gives the film an off-putting feeling. It’s like Michael could be anywhere, always lurking in the shadows. I can’t make this project without the score. Next is Dean Cundey’s work as cinematographer. The low key blue lighting through the night sequences give the film a very surreal feeling. I’ve always felt like the framing/lighting of Michael was so integral. In day shots, Michael is kept distant, and at night he is hidden, and yet he feels closer than ever. You never know where he could appear from. Michael is a force of nature and the low key lighting turns him into a dark storm that just rolled into town. Finally, I want to keep close to the ambiguity of who Michael Myers/The Shape is. The sequels have over-explained his backstory to the point where he lost what made him interesting in the first place, and that’s the lack of motive. I view the character as someone who certainly kills at random, but there’s also a very methodical, stalker-like precision to what he does. If he sets his sights on you, he will study you, and attack when you least expect him to. I see Michael as a cross between a hunter and the great white shark from JAWS. Michael feels an urge to kill, he acts on it, then keeps moving. Simultaneously, he’s setting traps for victims all through the film. There’s a method to his madness even if we only see him as this being of pure evil. So, I at least have to acknowledge what I feel is Michael’s reasoning for why he acts the way he does, but not try and make it the focus of my story. It’s quite the tightrope to walk.
The setting of Halloween night was something where I immediately questioned whether it was integral. Mainly because of when I want to shoot my project. If it’s December and there’s snow, you have to make compromises. That being said, it has become something of a blessing. When questioning whether to keep the events on Halloween or not, an idea hit me. What if Michael didn’t kill on Halloween night, what’s keeping him to that date? More than that, what cultural changes happen when you change the central event of this film? My idea was to change the setting to Christmas Eve and the time to modern day. Halloween night is a night of mischief and pranks; whereas Christmas is about joy, togetherness, presents, and of course Santa Claus. What’s more frightening than Michael Myers attacking on a night when children are accustomed to a mythical figure finding their way into your home? I was immediately attracted to that juxtaposition. Also, it’s worth noting that following Halloween, a vast number of horror films came out trying to capitalize on it’s financial success by way of setting Slasher films on other holidays. So, I’m not exactly on new ground, but I would like to see if this story plays as well in another environment. When it comes to cinematography, I think visually Michael’s white mask in the snow is an eerie image. It emphasizes the idea that he is always lurking as a force of nature. As far as characters are concerned, I think the essentials are Michael Myers and his caretaker Dr. Loomis. I debated whether to keep the character of Laurie Strode for this version. I may have a stand-in character who provides her “final girl” role, but it won’t be Laurie Strode. Her character arc is something which is very hard to summarize in a short film. I wanted to do it justice, but I also don’t necessarily want her to be the main focus of the film either. Her as the focus of the short opened up the option for me as to whether this is a story of trauma following a disaster, or the story of the evil in the heart of man. For the sake of the class topic of monsters, I chose to primarily focus on Michael Myers. One more note of changes, it won’t be called Halloween. To further emphasize that this is more Myers driven, I chose to call it “The Shape”, which is what Michael is referred to in the credits of the original film. The Shape is what Michael becomes by wearing the mask.
In closing, I hope to tell a story that comes close to providing answers to why Michael Myers/The Shape has terrified me all these years. I think he is the embodiment of mankind’s worst tendencies. From the medical field point of view, there is much research for me to still do in order to try and dig deeper into why this character operates the way he does. Although, I feel like digging too deep into realism could ruin Michael’s appearance. When you speak about Halloween and it’s relevancy in today’s world, you need only look at the random acts of violence that are all over the news. Michael still resonates because we live in a world where acts of violence find ways into our seemingly tranquil ways of living. Something always comes along to shatter our sense of security. We as humans see this violence and are puzzled by it, we ask questions, and yet can never find answers, and therefore we fear it. Michael Myers is all that fear and paranoia, but in the shape of a man.