Opening Sequence Analysis of Halloween - Miss Georgiou

How does the opening sequence of the film 'Halloween' inform the audience of the conventions of a thriller film

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', a multitude of different micro-elements have been used to create effect for the audience and draw them into the film. In terms of the purpose of these micro-elements, they are used to establish a narrative and set a mystery for the audience to follow which gives them a reason to continue watching as they want to find out who did the killing and what the outcome of the film will be to see if the killer was brought to justice or if there were any plot twists. The opening sequence of the film should also set the genre of the film to see if the audience want to watch it or if they do not like particular genre shown, as an action-thriller may contain too much fast-paced content for some audiences and a psychological-thriller may be too complex for people to want to invest their thoughts into. The opening sequence should also contain conventions, a constant trait in the genre, of the thriller genre like keeping the killer's secret an identity in order to give the audience something to follow and speculate upon, allowing the film to gather the audience's attention by giving them something to keep watching for. In terms of the content shown, the opening sequence should set the scene for the genre of the film like how in this scene the audience witness a murder committed by an unknown killer, connoting the thriller genre as there as it presents a mysterious antagonist that the protagonist will have to stop in order to cease the disequilibrium. The opening sequence should also set the physical scene for the film and where it takes place like in this film the opening sequence takes place in a suburban house, a relatable location for the audience that in turn increases the shock factor for them as they can imagine it happening it to themselves. The opening sequence should introduce key characters, for example in this clip the key character introduced is Michael as we see a lengthy shot and hear his name called. The opening sequence should also serve to create shock, suspense or surprise in the audience in order to entertain them and keep their attention. For the actual plot, the audience should be kept in suspense by using features like an unknown killer and a murder in the first five minutes to entertain the audience and keep them questioning. The clip in question is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELF1DCf1ChA

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', cinematography is used to create suspense in the audience. The audience see a continuos point-of-view shot from the killer's perspective as he does various things around the house like locating a knife in a drawer, finding his sister and stabbing her before leaving the house. This hides the killer's identity from the audience as it will add to the mystery in the narrative as they do not know who the killer is and will want to find this out. The inclusion of the halloween mask being placed on the face of the camera allows the audience to feel as if they are the killers as well, due to seeing the events through the eye holes of the mask. This creates suspense in the audience as they want to find out who the killer is and why they have decided to kill their own sister as this is not a normal thing to do. The scene itself causes suspense as the audience are trailed around the house after the killer with no indication as to what is going on with tension increasing as the unknown figure heads upstairs with a knife. This is conventional as the audience expect to see someone die by an unknown killer in order to shock them into watching more, as well as fuelling the narrative that will take place. The scene creates a relationship between the audience and the killer due to the audience being curious as to who the killer is and wanting to know more about what the killer plans to achieve by doing these killings.

In the opening sequence the audience see a high angle shot, it is used to create shock in the audience. The audience see the killer looking down on the girl that he has just killed, she is covered in blood and lies naked on the floor. The use of a high-angle shot tells the audience that the killer is powerful as he is able to overpower a person and kill them, something that requires a deal of strength regardless of their gender. This also suggests the mental state of the character as they are able to look down on the person they have just killed and not feel any evident remorse perhaps even feeling like they have the moral high ground, represented by the high camera angle of the killer. This use of cinematography creates shock in the audience as it is unexpected for the killer to look down on his victim rather than fleeing the scene, as well that the audience later find out that she is his sister, suggesting a deeper psychotic break in that he has been able to kill his own sister. This is conventional as the audience expect the killer to have no human emotions and not be able to empathise with the distress his victims are going through and stop what he is doing, rather he enjoys it. This use of a high-angle shot creates a relationship between the audience and the victim as they feel sympathy for her as she was murdered by the killer and was unable to escape and live her life, instead she died too soon.

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', a mid shot is used to create shock in the audience. The audience see a mid shot of the young child who is revealed to be Michael, the murderer, holding a bloody knife with a startled look on his face. This tells the audience that he was the killer as he is seen holding the knife with blood on the end from killing his sister. This scene is also used to get audience thinking as the boy is revealed as the killer but under suspicious circumstances, with the shocked look on his face giving the idea that he was framed and doesn't understand what is going on. This creates shock as the audience do not expect the killer to be a small boy, rather expecting an adult as they possess the strength to overpower their victims, with the boy appearing to not know what is going on, suggesting that he does not see what he has done wrong. This is conventional as the audience expect to see a plot twist in order to make the plot feel unique and surprising rather than the narrative being too alike to other films in the genre. The use of the mid shot also creates a relationship between Michael and the audience as they can start to get s strong dislike towards the character due to his nature of killing people that do not deserve it, with this relationship fueling the audiences drive to continue watching the film to see if he gets justice.

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', a zooming out shot is used to create shock in the audience. The audience see a zooming out shot of Michael holding a bloody knife on an incredibly dark background as he gets smaller and smaller as the camera gets further away. This tells the audience that this could happen in a normal neighborhood due to the killer becoming equal with the background in terms of size and then being overtaken by the size of the audience. The inclusion of the house in the background as well as a family in the shot, Michael and his parents, juxtaposes the sinister actions of Michael with the normalcy of his surroundings suggests to the audience the domesticity of the murder and makes them feel vulnerable. This creates shock in the audience as they do not expect a child to murder someone let alone in the middle of the suburbs where someone could hear it happen, suggesting that either the child is not the killer or he is confident that no one will believe that he is the killer. This is conventional of the thriller genre as the audience expect to see a red herring that will throw them off who they expect to be the killer. This use of cinematography creates sympathy for Michael as it is clear that he doesn't understand what he's doing or doesn't see that murdering his sister was the wrong thing to do.

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', a reaction shot is used to create surprise in the audience. The audience see this when, after the killer murdered the girl, the killer's mask is taken away to show a young boy looking frightened. This tells the audience that there is something very wrong with this situation that they want to know more about it due to the very odd circumstances of a young boy committing the murder and allowing himself to get caught whereas it would be expected for the killer to be and adult and expect to escape. This creates surprise in the audience as they expect the killer to be an adult and deranged yet the reveal shows a young child which takes the audience by surprise as there does not seem to be anything wrong with him. This is unconventional in a thriller film as the audience do not expect to see a young child to be the killer as children are usually represented as being innocent and good yet this child is shown as being bad. This makes the audience want to know more about Michael in order to determine why he has killed his sister and the audience will have to watch more of the film to learn this, hooking them into the film to understand what is going on. There are not many editing techniques used in this sequence due to a higher focus on cinematography to create effects on the audience.

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', non-diegetic sound is used to set the expectations of the thriller and create suspense in them. In the additional clip, the audience hear the sounds of children singing Halloween rhymes with an echo effect to them, this can be heard from 2:07-2:22. This tells the audience that this will not be an ordinary Halloween and the innocence of the holiday and the children will clash with the violence and sinister nature of a murder in the town. This sets the expectations that the film revolve around the misleading ideas of a child's innocence and how the child will grow up to kill again. This creates suspense in the audience as they want to know how the presence of children will affect the story or whether they will be in danger at any point in the sequence as this is thriller film and their survival is in question. This is conventional of the thriller genre as the audience expect to see innocent people in danger from the killer who will try to escape from the killer and survive the events going on. The clip for this sound is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_tGvktfjjk

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', diegetic sound is used to create suspense in the audience. The audience can hear the sound of a clock striking as the killer walks up the stairs to the girl who is on her own, this can be heard at 2:17-2:30. This tells the audience that the girl's time is running out and she will soon be dead due to the chiming signifying the end of an hour with the slow chiming and the slow walking of the killer tormenting the audience as they want to know if the clock chiming will mean her death or if she will be able to get away in time. This creates suspense in the audience as they do not know if she will get away from the killer or if she will meet her fate and the audience must wait to see rather than know immediately with the most likely chance being that she dies, so the audience is left to imagine her death. This is conventional of the thriller genre as the audience expect to see someone die in the opening sequence of the film and 'Halloween' plays on this by making the audience wait out a long drawn out scene before the killing takes place. This creates sympathy for the victim as the audience and the killer know she will die in a vicious manner yet she does not and the audience are powerless to stop it, meaning they have to watch her be attacked.

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', hear parallel sounds to create suspense in the audience. The audience hear a constant piano sound while Michael finds a knife in a drawer and proceeds through the house to the stairs that remains in pace and gets gradually louder, it can be heard from 1:17 to 1:36. This tells the audience that the killer is determined to kill the girl and there is nothing to stop him from doing it with the increasing volume showing how closer he is getting to his target. The beginning of this sound when Michael picks up the knife represents how his plan is being set in motion and can now come to fruition while the quieting of this sound shows how the girl's boyfriend coming down the stairs has halted his plans temporarily. This creates suspense in the audience as they are left wondering what the piano indicates and what it shows about the killer and his plans while also leaving the audience thinking about what the killer will do to the girl as the piano is a very frightening tune and more of a creepy tune that is constantly playing. This is conventional of the thriller genre as the audience expect to see the killer's plans begin with the acquisition of a weapon that he can and to see them be interrupted by outside interference or the victim acting out of the killer's expectations of them. This allows the audience to worry about the fate of the girl's boyfriend as he has come close to interfering with the killers plans and is less equipped to deal with the killer.

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', the codes and conventions of a thriller are apparent as the killer's identity is covered up, creating an enigma. This is shown when the killer puts on a mask coupled with the use of a POV shot throughout the scene. This tells the audience that the killer has gone to an extent to hide his face from his victim, indicating that the victim will recognize the killer if she sees him and that this will allow him to be identified easier if the victim got away, indicating that the victim knows the killer. This creates an enigma for the audience as they do not know who the killer is and will not find out until the end of the scene with the audience still wondering if the killer is a child due to it being an unconventional character of a killer child. This is conventional as the audience expect to be kept in the dark about who the killer is yet the killer is unveiled very soon after the murder so it has elements of being unconventional. This allows the audience to understand the struggle the police will go through to find the killer as neither the audience nor the police will know who the killer is, where the audience can be unsure if Michael is the killer due to his young age.

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', another convention is stuck to as the setting is during Halloween night, creating suspense in the audience. The audience see that it is the 31st of October in the form of writing on a black screen before the scene starts. This tells the audience that there are likely to be sinister events as the setting of Halloween connotes that there will be something evil going on due to the connotation of dark and evil things during this holiday. The setting of Halloween night in particular connotes that no one will be around to see the murder take place. This creates suspense in the audience as they expect that there will be something sinister happening in a film set on Halloween night but the audience are left to imagine what will happen with the only surefire thing that will happen is that a murder will take place. This is conventional as the audience expect that something bad will happen on Halloween night due to the dark connotations associated with the holiday. This allows the audience to feel pity for Michael as on Halloween night he should be out taking part in regular activities that kids do yet he is alone with no one there for him as his sister would rather spend more time with her boyfriend.

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', the killer is represented as being smart and more powerful than his victims, creating surprise in the audience when he is revealed to be a child. The audience see the killer walk into the house and move around quietly without getting found and also able to locate a large knife to use in his favor. This tells the audience that the killer is more powerful than the victims and that he will be able to overpower his victims easily and successfully get away with the murders. His ability to move around quietly shows that the killer is cunning and will be able to evade the capture by the authorities. The inclusion of a knife in the killers possession shows the elements of danger present in the film. This creates shock in the audience when he is revealed to be a child as it is unexpected that a child be able to find these things and move around without being found as well as being physically dominant over adults. This is conventional as the audience expects to see the killer be physically dominant over his victims and able to time after time successfully kill the victims, both men and women, without any getting away. This creates sympathy for the girl as the audience know that she has a low chance of survival due to the physically dominant nature of the killer.

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', the victim is represented as being weak and vulnerable to the audience. The audience hear the girl screaming as she is attacked by the killer, this can be heard from 3:05-3:15. This tells the audience that the victim is weaker than the killer and unable to hold her own against the force of the killer as she is unable to contain herself and must let out a scream in order to express how scared she is. Her nakedness also shows that she is weaker than the killer as she has less protection to his attacks on her. This creates shock in the audience as they do not expect such a vicious attack on the girl without any clear reason especially when she is alone and vulnerable when she is attacked which shows that she is weaker than the killer due to her lack of clothing and the absence of anyone to save her. This is conventional in the thriller genre as the audience expect to see the victim to be weaker than the killer in order to show the killer's power and to set the events in motion that will the fuel the films narrative. It is also conventional that the women is weaker than the man in the situation. The audience feel sympathy feel for the girl as she is clearly weaker than the killer and that her death will inevitably come to her in a way that is unnatural and unceremonious to her.

In the opening sequence of 'Halloween', the film's narrative is used to creates shock in the audience. The killer's identity is hidden from the audience throughout the sequence until the killer is revealed to be a young boy named Michael. This presents to the audience the disequilibrium of the film in that the a person has been murdered and that it appears that the child has been set up due to his facial expressions that the audience want to keep watching the film to discover who the killer definitely is. The creates shock in the audience as they do not expect for a child to be the killer and that it is quite unbelievable that a child could perform such violent acts and left audience wondering whether the child is the actual killer or whether he has been framed for the murder. This is conventional for the thriller genre as the audience expect to not know the killer's identity and be left guessing until the end of the movie, however the killer's identity is revealed at the end of the intro so it is quite unconventional. This makes the audience want to know more about Michael as it is unsure whether he is the killer or not due to his childlike innocent.

In conclusion, this opening sequence informs the audience of the conventions of a thriller as it contains very conventional elements that make it a very good opening sequence due to elements like the killer's hidden identity that will leave the audience guessing as to who the killer is while there also being other conventional elements like the killer being able to overpower the victim easily as he is an armed male and she an unarmed female, with these conventional elements being used previously in other thriller films making this film recognizable to the audience as a thriller film due to these elements. This opening sequence will help me to make my own because this is a very good example of a highly regarded opening sequence to a thriller film and so I can learn how to use its elements for my own needs like a lack of editing to create a more realistic and natural flow to the events on scene and by adhering to the style used in this opening sequence I can see how it can be adapted to my own piece in order to give it an authentic and classic thriller feel to it.