Film: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Genre: Horror
Date Released: October 21st 1988 (USA)
Director: Dwight H. Little
Opening two minutes
The film I am going to be deconstructing is Halloween 4, which was released in 1988. This film genre is a horror. It was given an age certificate of 18 by the BBFC. We can tell that the genre for this film is horror from the very beginning, as the opening shot shows a skull on a letterbox and the name of the film is Halloween, this clearly gives the viewer a hint that this film is a horror not a comedy.
The date that the film is set in fades into shot on a black background, then fades out again, there is a faint diagetic sound of the wind blowing from the very beginning, this continues through the scene, but gradually becomes louder. The establishing shot is an extreme shot of an old derilict building. In the foreground of the shot there is a stall with pumpkins on top, it is composed slightly to the right of the screen. The building in the background looks to be a beaten down barn, there is also another building to the left which seems to be a house positioned next to the old barn. The field between the pumpkin stall and the buildings is clearly desert, this whole property seems to be empty. The titles appear in an orange coloured font, which links in with the pumpkins and halloween theme. We can also tell that it is windy and is perhaps autumn as leaves are falling past the screen, aslo the tree composed directly in the centre of the shot is without any leaves. We all know that the end of autumn brings halloween, which this film is clearly based around taking the name of the film into consideration. The next shot is a jump cut to a close up of a letterbox, with a skull on it. This is not what is usally seen in a comedy or drama, so we can tell from here that is more than likely a horror. The diagetic sound of wind and metal swinging in the wind becomes louder. The next shot is an extreme long shot of the whole farm. This shot confirms to the viewer that the film is set in a countryside farm. There is a house compostioned to the right of the screen. The sky is shown in mass, so that the title of the film can be seen in large font. There is also an non diagetic sound of humming that gets louder as each of the shots are shown, then stays at the same pitch. This is a good way to create tension, as the viewer thinks something is going to jump out.
There is a jump cut to a new shot of the farm, this is a long shot of an old warn cabin, the cabin has window frames but no windows, next to the window is a skelenton decoration. To show it is old and unsued, a gust of fog sweeps through the old barn, suggesting it is a cold and dark place. Another jump cut is used to move the viewer onto a ghost like figure with a pumpkin head gently swaying in the wind, this again builds the tension and makes it seen that the film is darker than first thought. The next shot is a mid shot of again a life like figure sitting on an old rusty tractor, with a pumpkin for a head, this shot is made to seem darker, as there is an axe attached to the tractor. Then a metal object with 4 sharp metal prongs are shown against the dark sky, emphasing the points of the spikes. What looks to be a scarecrow with 6 arms is shown on an orange background, again this emphasies the affect of this not being a normal film. Whislt this whole scene is playing the sound of birds calling out can be heard over the constant humming, this is a good form of creating tension.
A new establishing shot of this new scene is a long shot of an ambulance that fades onto the screen, we can tell hours have past as the skies are dark and there is rain pouring down onto the ground. There are no other cars on the road, suggesting that it is the middle of the night, or that the area they are in is quite sucluded. The ambulance is tracked past the camera, showing that they are going at speed, the camera pans righ to left. The ambulance does not have its sirens on, suggesting that it is not an emergency or that the roads are clear so there is no need for noise. The next shot is a 2 shot of the two people in the front of the ambulance, there are sudden bursts of light from the lightning and loud cracks from the thunder. There is also a non diagetic sound of a deep musical instrument being played, it is being played in sudden bursts, but the thunder continues to crash and bang.
The ambulance sound their horn twice, a man comes running in the rain to the van, the man and the people from the ambulance exchange a few words the guard points them round the side of the building. The camera raises and zooms out, as this happens, a horn like instrument starts to play.
There is a jump cut to a new shot of the farm, this is a long shot of an old warn cabin, the cabin has window frames but no windows, next to the window is a skelenton decoration. To show it is old and unsued, a gust of fog sweeps through the old barn, suggesting it is a cold and dark place. Another jump cut is used to move the viewer onto a ghost like figure with a pumpkin head gently swaying in the wind, this again builds the tension and makes it seen that the film is darker than first thought. The next shot is a mid shot of again a life like figure sitting on an old rusty tractor, with a pumpkin for a head, this shot is made to seem darker, as there is an axe attached to the tractor. Then a metal object with 4 sharp metal prongs are shown against the dark sky, emphasing the points of the spikes. What looks to be a scarecrow with 6 arms is shown on an orange background, again this emphasies the affect of this not being a normal film. Whislt this whole scene is playing the sound of birds calling out can be heard over the constant humming, this is a good form of creating tension.
A new establishing shot of this new scene is a long shot of an ambulance that fades onto the screen, we can tell hours have past as the skies are dark and there is rain pouring down onto the ground. There are no other cars on the road, suggesting that it is the middle of the night, or that the area they are in is quite sucluded. The ambulance is tracked past the camera, showing that they are going at speed, the camera pans righ to left. The ambulance does not have its sirens on, suggesting that it is not an emergency or that the roads are clear so there is no need for noise. The next shot is a 2 shot of the two people in the front of the ambulance, there are sudden bursts of light from the lightning and loud cracks from the thunder. There is also a non diagetic sound of a deep musical instrument being played, it is being played in sudden bursts, but the thunder continues to crash and bang.
The ambulance sound their horn twice, a man comes running in the rain to the van, the man and the people from the ambulance exchange a few words the guard points them round the side of the building. The camera raises and zooms out, as this happens, a horn like instrument starts to play.
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