Halloween is a well-made slasher movie with a strong detail to framing. John Carpenter, the director, used what was on the screen to instill fear and paranoia within the audience. When thinking about framing, one thinks about the basic rule of thirds; a way to compose a shot that creates the image more compelling by using a grid system method for placing the subject. The frame of Halloween lends a hand in the overall unease that the film creates.
The mastery of framing is first displayed during the first shot. Michael Myers is creeping through the house and we are put in the boy’s perspective which creates an unnerving sense of fear. Adding to that, halfway through the shot, Michael puts a mask on, thus obstructing our view even further until there are only two eye holes to see from. What we fear more as the viewer is what we do not see. We are limited to seeing what Michael sees and Michael is limited by his mask. While we go through the house with Michael and put on his mask, our regular framing of movies is diminished. What is left are small holes that we view the world from.
While also being a smart way to show a murder without actually showing a murder, the choice to obstruct our view lends a hand in the understanding that we are not going to know everything. And what we are seeing is not the entire picture. The metaphor this choice makes regarding the theme of unknowingness throughout the movie is carried through until the very end.
Another memorable moment where framing is a powerful tool by the filmmakers is during a scene when Dr. Samuel Loomis is outside on the street during the day. Everyone is attempting to figure out where Michael is but no one can find him. In a shot of Loomis looking around with the street in the background, the car Michael stole and is driving drives through the background intersection and right past Loomis’s nose. There is no emphasis on the car except its inclusion in the shot. The frame of the shot is specific because it focuses on Loomis but Michael is secretly included. This shot flirts with the idea of the entire movie being a film version of ‘Where’s Waldo’ but instead of Waldo, it is Michael.
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The detail to framing regarding the location of Michael builds suspense and tension throughout the entire movie. Once it is established that the audience will never know where Michael is, it becomes a game waiting for him to appear. Another example of this is when Laurie Strode is running from Michael inside the house. The frame is her beside a door that leads to darkness. The filmmakers did an excellent job establishing that Michael could potentially be in the darkness. When the dead body of the boyfriend swings out of the darkness, the job scare is earned because the film leads us to believe that something bad would happen from that darkness. Framing helps the storytellers bring depth and uncertainty to the audience. Framing Michael to potentially be in any shot in the film infiltrates the audience’s safe space thus causing fear.
Film, Gender, Sexuality 
Jimmy,
You made me critically think and become more aware of the framing in Halloween and how this furthers the story. I love what you said about how after Michael puts the mask one the fear is now rooted in what we can’t see versus what we can because our vision is so obstructed. I have to admit, I think this frame is the most interesting shot in anything I’ve ever seen. I feel as if the framing though the mask is what makes the reveal so grand. First the audience is just relieved to see more than just the eye holes of the mask. Secondly, they’re anxious to see who the killer is, and to find out that it is a little boy is shocking. I agree with what you said about how the framing creates this dramatic irony between what the characters know and what the viewers know, which creates tension.
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Hi there Jimmy,
In terms of the first shot, I agree that it is unnerving. However, I believe the height of Michael’s angle within the opening somewhat tricks the viewer. Although I had seen the trailer, which shows the opening scene, I completely forgot that this perspective was of a boy at first. I was thinking of the grown-up Michael Myers because the view and height of the angle didn’t seem to be that of a boy’s, at least to me. In this way, I think the filmmakers make the scene even more unnerving when it’s revealed to be a child who has committed the murder. It betrays the viewer’s senses, leaving them to feel unsettled about how the rest of the film will continue. Will they be tricked again? What other unexpected twists are to come? I also think that by making the angle a little higher than what we would perceive as a child, the film is making a comment on the character of Michael; they make him larger than he actually is to possibly show the monstrous side to him. When we think of monsters, bad guys, and murderers, we don’t think of someone or something small. So, by portraying Michael’s point of view as higher than reality, the film successfully makes the person behind the gaze a more like a monster.
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