Films › Genre craft
Halloween
Directed by John Carpenter, 1978
Carpenter shot in Panavision, which gave him wide empty frame space to hide the threat in plain sight. The killer frequently appears in soft background focus with no musical sting, training the audience to search the frame. Carpenter's own synth score in 5/4 was composed cheaply and remains the template for the genre. Point of view opening shots implicate the viewer immediately. Cinematographer Dean Cundey used the Panavision frame's negative space as a compositional tool, planting Michael Myers at the edges where peripheral vision naturally fails to register him. Carpenter's low budget forced simple, elegant staging solutions that later became genre convention rather than limitation. Editors studying pacing should note how long unbroken takes are used specifically to deny the audience a cut that would relieve tension. Carpenter also uses static master shots held well past the point of comfort, letting dread accumulate in real time rather than through cutting.
What to watch for
Watch the backgrounds of daylight scenes rather than the foreground.
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