The Shadows of Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN

This scene is one that many remember who have seen the film. There are countless moments of fear as Carpenter wipes past shadows of darkness. This scene establishes an ordinary trope of modern horror: do not have sex on Halloween, unless you’ve checked all of the possible outlets. Even then, he still might be behind the last thing you check. So maybe just go back to your room and get some sleep.

Since this movie’s release, there has been no shortage of scares on the famous holiday. Halloween rattled audiences nearly 45 years ago. We can still feel the shock wave of its influence in the horror genre and cinema as a whole. How? It’s use of shadows and messing with perception through the lens.

John Carpenter changed how we, as audiences, watch and look in horror movies. Halloween was one of the first movies to use shadows to deepen the field of view for the audience. Much of the film is there to build tension for a large release. A first-time watcher will clinch at the laundry scene when The Shape peers at Annie through a window. Carpenter challenges the viewer's eyes to confront their fears by instilling them in casual situations. For audiences of the 1970s, putting Michael in these shadows invited a disturbing imagination to run rampant. Many people create their reality in shadows, welcoming dark thoughts into the landscape of ordinary settings. Although Halloween never explicitly shows any gore or intense violence like some of the early 1970s Italian Giallo films, it does a great job of letting the viewer decide what happens off-screen. This filmmaking can be harsher than reality, depending on how far you allow your thoughts to go.