Whole Film Case Study

Whole Film Case Study

• 1.
  Technical Aspects • • • In thefilm Halloween, cinematography, sound, mise en scene and editing are all used to create meaning. Sound is used to build up suspense. Whenever a character is alone we hear a piano piece playing, this is done to let the audience know that something is about to happen. Whenever the killer is about to strike, a screeching noise is heard, this happens throughout the movie. This makes the audience associate the screeching noise with violence, and whenever the sound is played, the audience automatically know that someone is about to die.
• 2.
  Technical Aspects (Continued) • • • Interms of mise en scene, the movie is set in a posh suburban area. This conforms to horror movie conventions. Most horror movies are set in suburban areas because of the fact that it’s the last place that you would expect to see a killer. Having the movie set in a suburban area is effective because it makes it hard to distinguish who the serial killer is. Serial Killers tend to be psychotic, poorly kept and poor, and its unlikely that you will find anyone like this in a rich area. The film is also set in a school playground, this is also another horror movie convention. Horror movies are set in a school playground because the majority of people that will be there will be kids, and kids are very vulnerable.
• 3.
  Representation & Characterisation • Inthe movie, the female victims were all innocent, they had had no contact with the killer. • The Serial Killer first appears as an innocent boy • The Killers identity remains hidden throughout the whole movie • A stereotype in the movie was the fact that the female victims were the American Cheerleader type, rebellious and innocent. This is also a horror movie stock type.
• 4.
  Genre Conventions • • Many genreconventions are conformed to in the movie. For example, the killer is made out to be indestructible. In many horror/slasher movies it is borderline impossible to destroy the serial killer and this is evident in the movie. Many attempts are made to try and finish of the killer. One victims smashes his face with an axe and he still survives. He is pushed out the window and he stills survives and his former psychologist shoots him in the chest a number of times and yet he still manages to get up and escape. • • Another convention that appears in the movie is the mystery phone call. When one victim is alone in the house she receives a call and there is no one on the other end. During the call we hear the infamous movie quote – “Hello, who is this” Some more genre conventions is that some scenes are set in the night, this makes the atmosphere very dark and the killer uses a knife as a main weapon.