How 'Halloween' Became a Horror Classic | No Film School

In 1978, John Carpenter changed the horror genre forevermore with a $300,000 film. With Halloween,the director created a veritable formula for horror films as we know them—and a cultural phenomenon that would outpace its panned seven sequels and two reboot franchises.

A new video essay from Fandor's Jacob T. Swinney investigates Halloween's enduring legacy, from its iconic musical score to its overall achievement in plot simplicity.

In the video essay, we learn that Carpenter himself wrote the Halloween score—one of the most memorable film compositions of all time—in a single hour—after a studio executive complained that the film wasn't scary enough. Part of what lends the score its disquieting tonality is the fact that it was written in 5:4 rather than the standard 4:4, which means that we are hearing an extra beat every measure. To increase the anxiety-inducing effect, Carpenter wrote each 5th beat in a Minor 6th interval.

The score's simplicity underscores the film's overall straightforward, pared-down narrative approach. Carpenter gives the audience little else to focus on than the terror of being stalked.

Perhaps most impressive, however, are the innovative leaps that Carpenter and DP Dean Cundy made with the film's cinematography. The use of unadorned long takes traps the audience into a claustrophobic subjectivity, rendering the reveals even more horrifying. On the flip side, POV shots from the killer's perspective—most famously, through the eyes of the mask—force the audience into a position we desperately want to escape.

Source: Fandor

halloween John Carpenter horror directors Video Essay

28 Years Later iPhone

Why Did Danny Boyle Shoot ‘28 Years Later’ on an iPhone 15?

Here’s everything we know about the reports of the new ‘28 Years Later’ thriller being shot on an iPhone 15.

Move over, Sean Baker and Steven Soderbergh—Danny Boyle is the latest director to make the bold choice to shoot his latest feature film on an iPhone. Why, you ask? Partly, perhaps, because the team knows it will get them some nice headlines like this one. And partly just because they can.

Whether you love or hate the idea of shooting professional video on iPhones, it’s hard to argue that these latest smartphones aren’t capable of high-end video.

The iPhone 15, which is what Boyle and his team reportedly used for the long-awaited follow-up to the original 28 Days Later in 2002 and its 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later, in particular, has proven to be a major step forward for Apple and was very much promoted as a filmmaking-capable camera.

Still, as is always the case with these smartphone-shot feature films, there’s more to the story than just the headline here. So let’s explore how Danny Boyle and his team were able to shoot 28 Years Later on an iPhone.

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