Personal film opening analysis.

Halloween (2007)


Summary


On Halloween 1963, Haddenfield, 10-year-old Michael Myers, estranged and mentally unstable, is imprisoned in Smith's Grove Sanitarium under the care of Dr. Sam Loomis for the murders of his mother's boyfriend, his older sister, and her boyfriend. Now, 16 years later, he escapes and now in search of his baby Sister Laurie and Dr. Loomis must warn the residents of Haddenfield and get to Laurie before Michael does.

Analysis

The film starts with eerie music and the "Dimension Films" logo comes onto the screen. This is the only company involved in producing and distributing the film. The logo then fades and a famous quote from the previous Halloween film comes onto the screen. The eerie music is still playing creating the atmosphere and tension. The audience does not know what will come next. The music then stops and a loud bang is heard. The title of the film is now visible in clear white writing against the black background. A slow rock n roll track is now playing and it cuts to a typical American house on Halloween. The settling is clearly in autumn as the leaves are on the ground and there are carved pumpkins outside the house. Writing appears on the screen explaining the place and year the audience is now looking at. Then film then cuts to a person with a clown mask on there face. It is not clear who this person is or what they are doing there so it creates a mysterious allure about the character. The music is still playing and is non-diagetic. He is wearing child's clothes which makes him seem more innocent.

The film now cuts to the person again and makes it clear that it is a boy. He takes a rat out of a cage and starts to talk it. Because the boy is still wearing the mask the audience still does not know how old he is but they know he is young because he is talking to the rat and he isn’t very tall. The then suddenly cuts to a ragged man in a kitchen. He is talking to his wife he is cooking breakfast. The sounds are now all diegetic sounds of the breakfast being made and the camera switches to handheld as they start to argue. A girl comes downstairs and it immediately becomes apparent that she is the daughter of the couple already in the kitchen. When she is told to go back upstairs to fetch the boy the scene switches to the boy in a bathroom. The music suddenly changes back to the eerie sounds as the camera moves to the sink and the boys hands are bloody and the rat is no where to be seen. As they both go back downstairs an argument breaks out between the family and the camera goes back to hand held. All the characters are now dressed in normal casual clothes.

The scene cuts to a school bathroom where the boy is and some other people enter. It is clear they are bullies as they are talking about the fights they have just had. The music quickly turns back to the eerie style but now they are faint bangs every so often. The boy is confronted and the edits quicken in pace. An argument turns into a fight. A teacher enters the bathroom and splits them up. The editing goes back to normal pace and the music stops. The film then cuts to an office and the boy now called Michael is being interviewed by physiatrist. The editing here is mostly close up shots of the characters faces showing the audience who they are and giving them a good look. Michael is then seen running away however the other characters do not see this. The shot is then a long shot of him running but the other characters conversations can still be heard. The sound is now mostly non-diegetic as faster paced music can now be heard. The film cuts again to outside the school and bullies are seen going home. However Michael is also seen hiding behind a tree. He is standing showing his dominance yet he is still hidden from view showing his mysteriousness. Now the film is in the woods showing long shots of the bully walking through them. The music is still playing and getting louder and louder as he goes further into the woods. The music suddenly cuts off and Michael springs out from behind a tree striking the bully with a large log. He is wearing a mask and a zipped up coat to try and conceal his identity creating a more mysterious feel to him. The editing now quickens as Michael repeatedly strikes the bully all over the body. The only sounds that can be heard are the thuds of the log hitting the bully and Michaels screams and shouts. The camera shots are now all handheld and shaky showing Michaels current state and out of control. The bully now begs for mercy but Michael carries on hitting him until blood is everywhere and the bully dies.