Tension.

Creating a feeling of tension is an extremely important part of any good horror film. One of the main reasons audiences watch horror movies is to feel on edge and essentially, to be frightened by them. I have looked at the film 'Halloween' (1978) and analysed it to see how the director, John Carpenter, has created tension. I have focused on the opening scene as I think it contains a lot of the common conventions of horror which have been put to great use and are very effective, creating an extremely tense atmosphere for the audience.

Carpenter creates tension in 'Halloween' in numerous ways, using music, mise en scene, camera angles and various editing techniques.

Carpenter uses effective editing techniques throughout the opening sequence, such as documentary style text seen at the beginning of the scene. By making the film seem documentary like, the audience get a sense of realism, as though this could actually have happened. This is very unsettling for audiences and creates tension before the movie has even begun. At the end of the scene, there is a slow zoom out from the child holding the knife, revealing the scene around him and emphasising the scale of what he has just done in comparison to his size and age. This creates tension, as it gives the audience time to take in exactly what has just happened, which is very disturbing as children are widely thought to be very innocent and pure. Seeing a young boy murder his sister is very unsettling to watch.

Almost the entire scene is shot from the murderer's point of view. This means we hear and see the same things the character does and know no more about what is going on than him. This creates tension, as the audience feel as though they are committing or contributing to the terrible crime that the boy commits, which most people would never dream of doing. They are made to feel powerless, as though they are being made to do something against their will. This is very uncomfortable for many people, as they like to be in control of their own actions. When the child puts his mask on, the viewer then sees through the eyes of the mask, creating the illusion that they are wearing it. This adds to the impression that the viewer themselves is the killer.

Music and sound is used very effectively in the scene. In the opening credits, piano music can be heard. This music is in a minor key, which is often used in horor films as it connotes darkness, despair and doom. Clashing chords are also used which indicate disorder and sound unnatural to the audience, causing them to feel uncomfortable. It immediately sets up the movie as a horror by making it obvious to the viewer that bad things will happen. Throughout the opening credits, the sound of ticking can be heard, giving the impression that it is counting down to an event of major significance, creating tension as the audience wonders what this could be.

The use of high pitched Psycho strings as the villain enters the house and makes their way upstairs creates extremely high tension, as it tells the audience that something terrible is about to happen, Psycho strings have become a very common feature in horror films after their debut in the film 'Psycho', as they succeed in creating high levels of tension, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats.

By using all these methods and techniques, Carpenter successfully creates an extremely tense atmosphere in the opening scene of 'Halloween'. I hope to use some of these techniques myself in my teaser horror trailer in order to make it as effective as possible. I have learned from analysing this sequence, that music, mise en scene, editing and camera angles are all equally important in making a good horror movie and I will need to thoroughly plan and think through all of these elements.