Morality In John Carpenter's The Bogeyman

Halloween (1978), was written by John Carpenter in less than two weeks and had a budget of $325,000 however the cultural impact of this film has caused a gross $47,000,000 in the 40 years since it was released ("Halloween"). This film evolved into a major franchise of 10 movies with more on the way which was not Carpenter 's intention. The conversation that follows viewers after watching the movie is the reason why this iconic movie can be appreciated by the both horror movie fanatics and those who typically stay away from scary movies. In the film Halloween, John Carpenter creates "The Bogeyman," Michael Myers, whose murder tactics reflect considerations of both gender and morality, as his victims are predominantly teenagers engaging in risky

Lynda and Bob are a very reckless couple who fit the definition to the tee when it comes to a rise in hedonism. Although the two both drink, they both smoke, and they both have sex, Michael chooses to punish Lynda more severely. Michael pins Bob to a door with a kitchen knife, while this is not the most pleasant death, Lynda has it much worse. Michael uses a telephone cord to strangle Lynda slowly while she is naked and on the phone with her friend Laurie (Halloween). This death was more intimate than a singular stab and it requires Myers to be in closer vicinity. Myers chose to kill her this way because it is more punishable for a woman to act that way than a man, with a man it is almost expected. In the Novel Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film, by Carol L Clover, it is mentioned that the fact that Bob was still punished regardless of to what extent has been the standard for boys in other horror movies as well, "the numbers are not equal, and the scenes not equally charges; but the fact remains that in most slasher films after 1978 (following Halloween), men and boys who go after 'wrong ' sex also die" (Clover, 34). The misogyny displayed by Myers reflects the expectation of women in the 70s. Women had to be prim and proper and it was looked down upon by conservatives to engage in any inappropriate