Genre Essay- Halloween (2007)

Analysing the characteristics of the horror genre from the trailer of Halloween (2007)

The trailer for the 2007 remake of classic slasher horror film Halloween is typical of its genre, The first thing the audience is show in the trailer is a woman screaming and being dragged away from the police which immediately signifies the film with tradgedy and crime, the shot is in black and white which give us a sense of it being in the past and also the lack of colour suggests how dark and serious the situation is. Shortly after the shot a newspaper headline fades in which implies it was big news and it suggests to the audience that is why the woman was screaming. The camera uses a close up on the words 'Violent deaths' on the newspaper to highlight the crime, The use of the close up blurs all the other words around it out which implies that its the only thing that really matters and that you cant escape it. The use of the close up on the feet and hands of the man walking down the hall with chains around them connotes captivity and as the previous shot is a little boy in the back of the police car it tells us that time has passed. The director uses a point of view shot from the policemans shoulder and shows the masked chained man running towards the policeman which makes the audience feel threatened and because he is attacking a man of authority shows that he is not afraid of anything and will not stop at nothing. The extreme close up of the woman who Michael kills after she is dead is used to focus on the fear and terror she experienced before she is killed as her mouth and eyes are wide open which suggests it happened quickly.

The costume used in the trailer is very interesting and it uses iconography for the horror genre such as the mask and the mask is strongly captured and highlighted in the trailer and there is a use of close up many times on the mask which is a juxtaposition as normally the close up is used to capture emotion whereas the use of the close up in this trailer we cant see his facial expression which implies that he shows no emotion or remorse for his killings. When Michael is incarcerated he doesnt wear any shoes which implies savagery as its not normal behaviour. The use of props in the film are very iconic of the genre as it includes a lot of weapons, The handcuffs and chains imply captivity. The use of the knife implies that there will be another killing spree and it is iconic of the genre.

The prisoner who says the line of dialogue 'I'm gonna cut that mask right off your face' is typical of the horror genre as it is someone who challenges the Michael, the character is well built and doesnt fear the murderer but in this scene he is killed by Michael, which implies that Michael does not fear anything and that you can’t stop him, He is unbeatable. The use of one particular character that makes this film so shocking is his sister as a voiceover from the policeman suggests he has broken out from the asylum to ‘Finish what he started’ therefore killing the final member of the family which is his sister, the lines ‘He’s come back for his baby sister’ the word baby implies helplessness and innocence which makes it more tragic as he is going back to kill her. The setting of the Mental institute imply madness and makes an audience feel insecure as it is a dangerous place and that you are unaware of what will happen, the use of the ground shot in the long hallway imply loneliness and isolation. The setting of the house in a normal neighbourhood implies community and solemn, the sense of community and safety is breached when we see Michael enter the neighbourhood.

The trailer raises many binary oppositions for example, Sanity vs Insanity which is shown through costume as the police are wearing their full police uniform which signifies order and rules whereas Michaels costume of bare feet, chains and mask imply Savagery and captivity. Another Binary opposition is the power of silence versus the power of noise, This is shown in the scene where the Prisoner is threatening Michael and he stays silent, The end result is Michael killing the prisoner which shows Silence can be just as powerful as talking and shouting.