Slasher EG2: Halloween

Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)
PRODUCED BY: Compass International Pictures, Falcon International Productions.
DISTRIBUTED BY: Warner-Columbia Pictures, Miracle Films, Arte (click here to see the full list).
BUDGET: $320k
BOX OFFICE: $47m (USA).
RATINGS: 7.9 (IMDb).

Boy and girl kissing

• The non-diegetic music is fast paced, which raises your heart beat, but also has long notes on top, which sub-consciously makes you hold your breath to raise tension. There is then children chanting a Halloween rhyme. 
• Exposition is provided, as we're told where the film is set, the year and the day. There is also a blueish tint to signify coldness, and supernatural behaviour. 
• The first shot is a point of view. The camera emerges from behind a tree, and  focuses on a house. The camera is shaky, to signify voyeurism, and to make the audience feel like they're walking towards the house

  

  Hand grabbing the mask.

  themselves.
• The camera pans across to the side of the house, and watches a girl and a boy kissing on a sofa. The boy grabs a clown mask, and kisses the girl, then they advance upstairs.
• We then see a light upstairs being turned off, which signifies the couple are having sex.
• The camera moves into the back garden, and who ever's sights we're experiencing enters the house and grabs a knife out of the kitchen. There's a close up of the knife, to focus attention on the weapon.
• The figure moves throughout the house, then we see the boy standing on the staircase putting on his t-shirt. He then leaves and the figure goes up stairs.
• The clown mask is on the floor, and a hand grabs out and picks it up. The figure puts on the mask, so it is harder to see the surroundings.
• They walk into the girls bedroom, and she's sat brushing her hair topless. She turns around and calls out the name 'Michael' which signifies she knows who the person is. She is then stabbed several times, and the killer leaves the room.
• They go outside, and a car has pulled up. The audience presume this couple to be the girls parents. The man takes the mask off the killer, and a young boy is revealed. It is now clear that the boy is the girls brother. There is a close up of the boys face, which shows shock.
• The ending ends at 7:00, with an ellipsis jumping forward 15 years.

Credits:

• The font is sans-serif.
• The background is black, and there is a pumpkin on the left. The colour of the font changes from orange to red, which reflects the flame coming from inside the pumpkin.