Task 2.1: Horror Analysis (Halloween)

The opening scene of 'Halloween' opens with a POV shot as the Michael walks around the outside of the house as he waits for his Sister and her boyfriend to turn the lights off and continue upstairs. This gives the audience the impression that he's going to do something he is not meant too.

The second shot is again a POV shot as Michael walks back to the front of the house and watches the upstairs light turn off, a scary sound plays as the lights turn off which imply that he's about to do something horrible and let's the audience the impression that something bad is possibly about to happen.




In the next shot Michael goes into the kitchen and opens the draw, the audience see his arm which shows he is wearing some sort of clown suit as he draws a knife and begins to head upstairs. Of course the audience does not yet know that it is Michael's POV and could have the impression that it could be a plain joke, or a possible murder about to happen.

The next shot is a medium close up of Michael's sisters boyfriend, as we watch him walk down the stairs straight past Michael and out the house, this is where the audience becomes aware that he is about to murder his sister. With the scary music still playing in the background the audience becomes aware that it isn't a joke, and something bad is about to happen.

As Michael get's to the top of the stairs, he see's his clown mask that his sisters boyfriend had and puts it on, again showing his arm the audience see his clown costume as Michael puts on the mask to cover his face as he goes to murder his sister.




In the next shot we see Michael's point of view through the clown mask as his sister notice's him and cries 'Michael' this is when the audience are told that it is Michael behind the costume. With his sister sitting on a stool, he look down on her (high angle shot) as he draws the knife and begins to stab his sister. She cries and screams as some more intense and impacting music plays showing the audience the horror of the situation.

He then walks downstairs to the door to find his parents arriving at the house, as they take off his mask and find out it's him, they see the blood on the knife and instantaneously are told that he has just murdered someone or something. The shot then pans away and get's higher implying the fear and horror of what Michael has just done.