It's just a movie....or is it?

John Carpenter and Debra Hill started a new generation of film in 1978 when they directed “Halloween.” With a $300,000 budget, they managed to create the greatest horror movie ever made. “Halloween” was the first of its kind, and all the movies after it were a mere replication of the phenomenon that was “Halloween.” In the late 60’s and early 70’s horror movies arose with the villains being monsters and ghosts, but “Halloween” was the first movie to strike fear in the hearts of babysitters everywhere. Haddonfield, the town Michael Myers wreaked havoc in was a realistic environment. It was the typicality of this town that made it scary because it could be ANY town.
The desire to be frightened is as universal as the desire to be loved. People are entertained by death, destruction, the kill, and the suspense of horror films. The innovative photography of “Halloween” created a world where danger lurked around every corner, and every empty space had the potential to conceal a threat. “Halloween” was all about suspense and the chase, so by the time Michael Myers actually killed his victim, the amount of gore and blood was unimportant to the audience. The film was scary because the audience was closing their eyes out of fear, not because it was gory and they couldn’t watch it.
Michael Myers’ mask was a very important keep to the shear horror of the film. The creators used a William Shatner mask, cut the eyes out of it and shaved the eyebrows off. The black eyes of the mask allowed the audience to put into the absence what they willed. Why and what one person put behind the mask would be different from another. Another important factor that made the movie so scary was the music score. The composer got the idea from a bongo beat. How could something so simple strike that much fear in its audience? The power of music in films is undeniable. It creates a communication with the viewer that something is coming.
Most of the death scenes in the movie were centered on Michael Myers killing the sexually active couples either before they are about to have sex or right after they do. The hidden innuendo of this film is quite clear: “Halloween” is an uncomfortable mix of sex and death. Promiscuity is evil and the virgin always lives.
In the same way that Frankenstein was made of human parts, Michael Myers was a monster made of cinematic parts: the camera, framing, light, shadows, and sound. With all the powers of cinema at his disposal, Michael Myers embodied the meanings of his creation. He was death itself. The goal of a successful horror movie is to get the audience to try and dissect the psyche of the killer. The boogie man should always remain an enigma, and should have a lot of speculation but no firm answers for his motives.



"Halloween: 25 Years of Terror." Anchor Bay Entertainment. 2006.