Halloween is a 1978 independent horror film directed by John Carpenter. Made on a budget of $320,000, it grossed $47 million. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode who is stalked by escaped mental patient Michael Myers on Halloween. The film is known for establishing many conventions of the slasher film genre and contains references to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, including the casting of Janet Leigh's daughter Jamie Lee Curtis as the main character. Through its point-of-view shots, editing, and minimal graphic violence, Halloween uses suspense to create a disturbing atmosphere.

1. Halloween, 1978
Director John Carpenter
Studio Independent
(Falcon International
Pictures)
Budget $320, 000
Gross $47, 000, 000
Written by John Carpenter and
Debra Hill
Cast
Donald Pleasence Dr. Sam Loomis
Jamie Lee Curtis
(daughter of Janet Leigh) Laurie Strode
Nancy Kyes Annie Brackett
P.J. Soles Lynd van der Kok
Charles Cyphers Sheriff Leigh Brackett
Kyle Richards Lindsey Wallace
Brian Andrews Tommy Doyle
Nancy Stephens Marion Chambers
Plot summary:
15 years ago, 6 year old Michael Myers brutally killed his older sister. The
silent child was incarcerated in the Smith's Grove mental hospital under the
care of psychiatrist Sam Loomis. The town of Haddonfield had slowly begun
to forget the tragic crime, until Loomis returned to the town to warn of Myers
escape from Smith's Grove. With Michael set on killing a group of high school
students, Loomis seeks the help of the hesitant town sheriff to stop him before
it's too late.
Critics have suggested that Halloween and its slasher film successors may
encourage sadism and misogyny. Others have suggested the film is a social
critique of the immorality of young people in 1970s America, pointing out that
many of Myers' victims are sexually promiscuous substance abusers, while
the lone heroine is depicted as chaste and innocent (although she is seen
smoking marijuana, and her two best friends are sexually active and are
substance abusers). While Carpenter dismisses such analyses, the perceived
parallel between the characters' moral strengths and their likelihood of
surviving to the film's conclusion has nevertheless become a standard slasher
movie convention.
The first scene of the young Michael's voyeurism is followed by the murder of
Judith Myers seen through the eyeholes of Michael's clown costume mask.
According to one commentator, Carpenter's "frequent use of the un-mounted
first-person camera to represent the killer's point of view ... invited [viewers] to
adopt the murderer's assaultive gaze and to hear his heavy breathing and
plodding footsteps as he stalked his prey."
• Watch the opening scene of Halloween. What similarities can you
draw between this sequence and Psycho? Consider both
cinematography and representation.

2. • Both of these disturbed individuals deal with obvious mental conditions
which propel them to kill
• Both of the killers are frozen in time. They can’t see past a particularly
traumatizing event in their lives. Norman haunted by the “betrayal” of
his mother, and Michael haunted by memories of murdering his own
sister following a jealous fit in which he observed her giving her love to
another man (presumably a boyfriend.
• As Michael must wear a physical or tangible mask to exemplify this
emotional standstill, Norman wears a mask of another sort; he wears
the mask of manners and normalcy to hide his maladjustment. These
lead character similarities are just the surface of Carpenter’s homage
to Hitchcock, and Psycho.
In terms of formal references to Hitchcockian technique in Halloween there
are many.
• To build suspense Carpenter relies on the constantly changing POV
shot. The characters point of view is suddenly intercut with that of
an objective shot, allowing for multiple views on situations.
• The most startling scenes in Halloween follow this pattern. For
example when the protagonist lead (Jamie Lee Curtis) is walking
down the street and suddenly bumps into Sheriff Brackett, we see
both her POV and objective in the same scene. Carpenter cuts
back and forth until finally quickly cutting from her point of view to a
tight master shot where the two collide.
• This alternating viewpoint builds suspense and allows for the
director to resolve the scene with a shocking effect if desired. The
extensive use of the POV shot in this film owes much to Hitchcock.
• The amount of gore in Halloween is extremely subdued. Violence is
minimal--yet it is referred to as a “gorefest” or “slasher” film. In
actuality, it is through the mental connection between image and
reality that Halloween becomes graphic.
• Carpenter utilizes the aforementioned Hitchcockian camera method
to such a degree of success that it builds an uneasy atmosphere.
When an act of violence does occur, Carpenter prefers to show only
specific images such as the knife thrusting through the air in order
to allow his audience to fill in the rest of the scene. It is through this
mix of atmospheric tension and selected imagery that the viewer
forms their vivid memories of what has just occured on screen. This
Hitchcockian ploy ultimately coerces the audience to turn a rather
bloodless film into one of murder and mayhem--but the actual
violent images are in their own minds and not directly on screen.
Carpenter’s Hitchcock fascination doesn’t end there. Look at the casting.
• Jamie Lee Curtis (the female lead) is the daughter of Janet Leigh, star
of Psycho.
• On the topic of names, look at the male protagonist lead played by
Donald Pleasance. Pleasance plays psychologist Sam Loomis, which
is the name of Janet Leigh’s boyfriend in the film Psycho.

3. As we can see, Carpenter’s appreciation for Hitchcock and Psycho in general
has greatly influenced Halloween.
Scenes for comparison:
• Opening sequence of Halloween with shower sequence
• Psycho parlour sequence with visit to Myers house with Loomis and
sheriff
• House of horror sequence in Psycho with Laurie finding dead friends in
Halloween
Use spec to formulate questions ( on first document)
Narrative structure:
Apply these to both texts
Theorist Syd Field suggests that successful narratives require a ‘three act’
structure. These break down as follows:
Act 1: Set-up where the action takes place; introduce characters; suggest
what might happen in broad terms
Act 2: Key confrontation involving the main character facing a series of
obstacles that he/she will need to overcome to restore order
Act 3: All plots and sub-plots are resolved
Theorists interested in narrative suggest that all stories are structurally the
same. Tzvetan Todorov suggests that all narrative structures have the
following:
1. Equilibrium is established (balance in the narrative ‘world’)
2. Disruption occurs
3. Equilibrium is re-established
In filmic terms, this translates to:
1. We are introduced to the world of the hero/heroine
2. The normality of this world is disrupted
3. The hero/heroine sets out to restore order
In other words, film narratives can often be boiled down to good versus evil, or
order versus chaos. Some films take this approach more literally than others
but most follow this structure to a greater or lesser extent.
Scene comparison 1: ‘Shower scene’ (Psycho) and ‘Opening scene’

4. (Halloween)
1. Compare representations of the monster. How does cinematography
(lighting, framing, shot types) contribute towards the narrative?
Consider how good/evil, order/chaos juxtapositions are created.
Psycho
Halloween
2. Now compare how the ‘victims’ of Marion Crane (Psycho) and Judith
Myers (Halloween) are represented. Again, discuss the role of
cinematography in the sequences.
Psycho
Halloween
3. Compare how violence is treated in the two films. What are the
similarities and differences? Consider cinematography, editing and
sound in the sequences.
Cinematography
Editing
Sound
Scene comparison 2: Norman’s Parlour (Psycho) and Dr. Loomis’ visit to

5. the Myer’s House (Halloween)
1. Using examples of dialogue, explain how parallels can be drawn
between the two ‘monsters’ of Norman Bates and Michael Myers.
Consider the implications of what is said in these two scenes. What
might an audience response be to the two scenes?
Psycho
Halloween
2. What stylistic comparisons can you identify in the cinematography?
Scene comparison 3: Lila’s discovery in the Bate’s family home (Psycho)

6. and Laurie’s Discovery of her friends murder (Halloween)
1. What similarities can you indentify in the two scenes? Make reference
to cinematography specifically. What is our attention drawn to? How is
this achieved?
2. What do these scenes contribute to representation of women (i.e.
Laurie strode and Marion’s sister)? How is this achieved?
3. What do we learn about the monster? What elements are reinforced?

7. and Laurie’s Discovery of her friends murder (Halloween)
1. What similarities can you indentify in the two scenes? Make reference
to cinematography specifically. What is our attention drawn to? How is
this achieved?
2. What do these scenes contribute to representation of women (i.e.
Laurie strode and Marion’s sister)? How is this achieved?
3. What do we learn about the monster? What elements are reinforced?