John Carpenter Research Paper

In 1978, John Carpenter released his horror film Halloween, which would not only go on to become not only the most important slasher films, however, it would be one the most successful independent movies ever made. The low-budget film was produced at $300,000 and grossed over $50 million after its release. The film begins by introducing it notorious, evil killer and psychopath, Michael Myers. Michael Meyers began his reign of terror as a boy, killing his older sister, Judith on Halloween night in 1963 when he was six. After the horrific murder, he was then sent to Warren County Smith’s Grove institution. However, on a day before Halloween night in 1978, Michael escapes the institution, kicking off the events of the first film. Michael returns

Carol Glover best defines the slasher film accordingly, “at the bottom of the horror heap lies the slasher (or splatter or shocker or stalker) film; the immensely generative story of a psycho killer who slashes to death a string if mostly females victims, one by one, until he is subdued or killed usually by the one who has survived.” In a slasher film, the killer usually uses unusual weapons such as chainsaws, blades, and blunt objects. Carpenter’s film had a number of antecedents, mostly similar to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, to which it alluded in several ways, the film’s most notable elements such as highly sexualized violence inflicted with primitive weapons and a sole survivors struggle to escape, resonated again with its target audience. The slasher cycle also discussed and brought to life issues occurring in the mainstream press, such as with the feminist protests against demeaning images or violence against women in commercial media, and activism that reinstated from the social movements of the 1960s. Halloween played a significant transitional moment in the horror genre’s

The civil rights movement was a major important event of the 1960s, and the struggle for racial equality influenced women to seek equal rights. This era, often referred to as second wave feminism, came about in the 1960s, but gained momentum in the 1970s. During this movement, a variety of women’s issues came to light. Issues that had been confined to the privacy of one’s own home became issues of public concern. One area of focus in second wave feminism was a woman’s right to have an abortion. This was a controversial topic that came to a head in the landmark decision of the Roe V. Wade case in 1973. Women’s rights in the workplace also gained national attention in 1970s second wave feminism. Although it may not be apparent on the surface of the horror films of the 1970s, these issues of national concern carried over into the realm of