The film itself always freaks me out because the suspense builds to such high levels and no matter how many times i watch it and know whats coming i jump out of my skin.. The way in which the camera follows the movement of Michael Myers and manages to keep his actual identity hidden, i think is brilliant.. The only complaint i have to make is that you dont find out why he is attacking these people. But maybe you have to watch the sequels to understand the story properly.
The soundtrack is very powerful, it gives the film extra suspense, also the mask Myers wears is nightmarish. I think you could interpret the mask as an uncanny object because you never see his face until the end, so its down to your imagination as to why he has it, or what his face looks like...
The suspense in the film reminds of something that Alfred Hitchcock would have produced. Even at the end when you think Myers is dead, and you hear his breathing it just gives you shivers..
Online Interim Review - 15/12/09
ReplyDeleteAny of your proposed scenes have the potential to create an evocative environment; I'd suggest the alleyway is a bit 'easy' - in so much as it is already a site for anxiety, and so the inversion aspect is diminished; alleyways are always associated with crime, so I wonder how much you can add to this; you could use this against itself, of course - but that would require combining the alleyway mise-en-scene with something unexpected or out-of-place: I don't know, say a bouncy castle... anyway, you get the gist.
The interior spaces have great potential; you've just watched Halloween, so will appreciate how easily domestic spaces can be rendered threatening or full of suspense (incidentally, I LOVE the fact that Michael's pursuit of the baby-sitters is never explained, and it's why I hate the sequels - and the remake especially; in the original Michael is some primal force that just 'happens' to the world - the bogeyman - in the remake, they turn him into a mixed-up social services candidate - talk about mundane...).
I suggest you further develop your ideas as they are currently a little generic; consider the following strategies for sharpening up your focus; think about putting your scenes into particular time periods; think about generating a story, out of which your scene is a 'wafer-thin' slice - come up with some back-story or set of circumstances surrounding the moment depicted; also, maybe characterise the pov of the camera - who is doing the looking, and does that help you resolve the content of the scene?
In terms of your written assignment, focusing on waxworks is solid stuff, but I think you'll need to widen your angle a little to include narratives that make use of waxworks' uncanny qualities; there a number of movies about waxworks or set in waxwork museums, and a great short story by A M Burrage; if you're going to talk about waxworks, you're talking about 'excessive likeness' - as referred to in the Freud essay on myUCA - which you must read first.
See the next 2 posts for more general info re. the written assignment.
Hi All,
ReplyDeleteGo onto MyUCA and check out the class files that would have been for today – Its Merry Christmas fun with Fur!!! Watch the videos and see what you can come up with. I’ll give you a full explanation in the New Year.
Merry Christmas everybody.
Alan
Matt,
ReplyDeletePlease contact your tutors immediately.