Point of View Work in Halloween

Point of view is an incredibly important tool – and perhaps weapon – in Halloween. The way camera angles are designed in this film communicate the POV of specific characters watching each moment or scene. Instead of most shots in the film giving an omnipotent point of view on the scene, the majority of them subconsciously either place character perspectives into point of view, or you, the audience member.  This makes POV incredibly important to understanding, connecting with, and empathizing with characters in the movie. This extends even to Michael Meyers, the obvious terror and antagonist of the film. 

A prime example of the audience being introduced to Meyers’ point of view is at the opening scene, where we watch the first murder from the killer’s perspective.  It becomes clear to the audience that we are the murderer as the knife is grabbed from the drawer in the kitchen, and later, when the mask being placed on the camera lense to indicate the audience’s face.  This being said, the fact that the killer we are seeing through is little Michael remains a surprise until the very end of the scene. How disruptive, to experience a cold-blooded murder from the killer’s perspective, and then realize at the end it was her own baby brother.  Although the monstrousness of Michael’s character is later emphasized by the words of Loomis, we experience it first through point of view work. 

Many of the shots of people walking outside come from the perspective of some sort of predator, indicating Michael Meyers even when he may not be in that specific spot.  The camerawork plays with mixing physical point of view with symbolic point of view. As the elementary school kids are released from class earlier on in the film, the camera is surveying them from behind the chain-link fence, creeping along in a slow pan.  A bit later, as Laurie, Annie, and Lynda finish their conversation, the camera stops following them, and watches them walk some distance away from a singular spot. In this case, the audience knows Michael Meyers wasn’t walking in step with them for their whole conversation and then stopped, but we do get the sense that he is always watching, even when others may feel comfortable and safe.  Similarly, after Laurie gets spooked by Annie’s father, the very next shot shows her walking to her house from a distance, as if we are suddenly lying in wait for her to come home. The shot comes from low on the ground, emphasizing creeping and sneaking. This choice reminds the audience not to relax. The danger is not over. It was not a ‘false alarm’. Anyone can become prey at any time.  When Annie and Laurie are driving to their babysitting job, there is a shot in which the camera surveys their car, and Meyers’ car, passing by from one spot on the side of the road.   

Notice that the camera even bobs down slightly to emulate the way a head would turn to keep looking as the cars passed by.  This behavior is the same as Michael’s in all the scenes we’ve seen him in. Looming, watching from one perch at a time, until no one sees him pop to the next.  Even though Michael is obviously in the car that is following them, and not on the street, the shot still speaks to his point of view on the situation.  

Some shots create a point of view that allows the audience to view events happening right in front of the characters that they don’t see or know about.  For example, when Loomis finds the red truck, we observe him from a viewpoint of someone who already knows what he’s going to find, and what he’s not finding.  We watch him view the asylum clothes Michael was wearing, and watch him find the matchbook from the nurse, triggering him to run for Haddonfield and leave the scene behind.  As he goes, we stop watching him, panning instead to the dead guy in the bushes that Loomis missed. It’s a simple maneuver, but it helps the audience understand that Michael is moving and acting at a pace that is hard even for Loomis to keep up with.  Another great example of this is the shot of Brackett (Annie’s father) and Loomis having a conversation, shown as if we are a third person watching them converse facing parallel to us. The shot provides us the view of the street next to them that we would have standing with them on the sidewalk.  It is from here we can see what they will inevitably never see: Michael Meyers getting away, driving his car right by them. The suspense! The frustration that conveys, showing us that Loomis is desperately searching for a danger that is moving right past him once more, undetected.  

I focused on scenes and shots from before the later murders because I think they are vastly important to the rest of the film.  The amount of suspense, and anticipation that point of view creates in the first half of the film carries us into Meyers’ murder spree.  The audience is constantly asking when he’s going to strike. There are plenty of moments where he could, which are emphasized by point of view, and thereby help us realize the cold, evil calculations with which Meyers acts.  Without these choices in the first half of the film, the murders, and Laurie’s fight, would not be nearly as meaningful, suspenseful, or plain old scary.