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Analysis of an opening sequence-Halloween

The scene starts off with an establishing shot of a house in the night; there is a jacko-lantern which shows that it is Halloween. The camera starts to pan around the
house and the movement is as if someone is waking, so it is a point of view shot.
The director uses this shot to make the viewer feel more involved and curious about
the scene. From the way this is filmed the audience would know that they are
watching the film through the eyes of a killer or criminal. The only sound is diegetic
ambient background noise, this makes the scene feel more realistic and create
suspense. The camera stops in front of a window and shows that the killer is
watching a couple make out on the sofa. There is very low lighting in the scene
which creates suspense as it makes the audience feel like something bad is going to
happen. Once the couple go upstairs the killer watching them goes back to the front
of the house. The pace of the scene is quite slow which adds to the suspense and
creates a realistic feel for the audience.
When the light goes out in the room upstairs, non-diegetic high pitched music starts
to play, this music creates tension and would cause the audience to be on edge
because the sound was so sudden. The killer then goes round to the back of the
house and when the killer enters the house, the music changes this creates
suspense. The killer turns on the light and grabs a knife from a kitchen draw whilst
this is happening the camera loses focus, which is typical from a point of view shot,
as it adds realism into the scene. The way the killer holds the knife is also
stereotypical in horror movies as it makes the character look powerful and

scary. You can partially see what the killer is wearing and later on in scene you see
that it is a clown costume. This again is another typical thing you see in a horror
movie, as the fear of clowns is very common and they are usually seen as evil too.
As the killer walks through the house you hear the voices of the couple and the
boyfriend is walking down the stairs. This would make the audience feel tense as
they might think the killer is going to be seen or attack the young man. But as the
boyfriend doesnt notice him and leaves the house, the killer then continues his way
through the house by going up stairs. The sound of a clock starts when the killer
walks upstairs, this added further tension and increases the pace. It would make the
audience think that something is about to happen. You can hear the young woman
singing which shows that she hasnt noticed the killers presence yet, it also shows
her innocence. The killer also picks up and puts on a clown mask; this would put the
audience on edge as the mask makes it hard to see whats going. The killer walks
into the bedroom and we see the young woman again but this time naked and
brushing her hair. The fact that she is naked makes her look weak and vulnerable.
The woman finally notices the killer and shouts Michael! which shows she knows
the killer. He then stabs her multiple times; this would make the audience feel
shocked. You can hear Michael breathing heavily which works really well with the
POV. He then runs down the stairs and out the house and you can see a car pulling
up in the drive way. The parents come out of the car and the dad says Michael. At
this point the camera changes to show that Michael is in fact a child, which is a
complete countertype and shock. This is a shock because children normally
represent innocence and love. More lighting is used in this shot to show that the killer
has been exposed and caught.

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