Masks are often a feature in horror films to
conceal the identity of the killer and add a frightening element to their
appearance. Both the 1978 and 2007 versions of Halloween have the killer (Michael Myers) wearing a mask. However, each
film uses the mask for slightly different purposes, with the 2007 remake
directed by Rob Zombie using masks to reveal aspects of Myers personality and
inner psyche. In the original Halloween (1978)
directed by John Carpenter, there is less emphasis on masks as they are used to
scare the audience and conceal Myers face. The mask also does this in the 2007
remake of Halloween but there is a
back story and other features of masks throughout the film. Although the mask
that Myers wears as an adult is the same in each film, there are slight
differences between the two including how they look and how Myers obtains them.
In the original Halloween, at the beginning Myers is a child and wears a clown mask
when he kills his sister. It is the night of Halloween when this occurs, thus, Myers
mask here is part of his Halloween costume. This is evident as there is a shot
of him standing in a clown costume, including the mask. The clown mask in this
shot is not used again at any stage in the film. In comparison, the remake features
Myers wearing a clown mask as a child in a number of scenes. Although in
Carpenter’s movie there is a clear reason as to why Myers is wearing the clown
mask, there is not much of an explanation in Zombie’s film other than he likes
to wear it. In the opening sequence his step-father attempts to take it off which
someone advises him against. Although this is not as explicit as the reason in
Carpenter’s film, overall Zombie’s Halloween
offers more information on Myers turbulent childhood. Therefore, this
provides some explanation as to why he goes on to commit such heinous acts of
violence. This background knowledge of Myers in Zombie’s film could reflect
how, in recent times, people crave answers to everything. Myers refusal to take
his clown mask off mirrors a later scene in the film. When he is an adult in a
mental institution and one of the security guards tries to take his homemade
mask off, another security guard advises him not to. By seeing this earlier in
the film with the clown mask, the audience begins to understand Myers
disposition and issues of identity that are mirrored in this later scene.
The mask Myers wears as an adult is the same in
each film. It is a white/grey, human-looking face with black/brown hair. However, how he
obtains it varies between the films. In the 1978 version, Myers steals the mask
from a local shop in town, thus, it is relatively new looking. In the 2007
movie, Myers finds the mask under floorboards in his childhood home, hence it
looks aged with the addition of cracks, dirt and marks. There is also a scene
in Zombie’s film in which Myers uses this mask as a child to kill his sister.
Myers gets the mask from his sister’s room as her boyfriend wore it when they
had sex together. As Myers first wears the mask as a child, this is a hint to
the fact that this is what he will eventually become. In Carpenter’s movie, the
mask is used to make Myer look frightening and conceal his identity. However,
Zombie’s remake and use of masks reveal aspects of Myers identity (or confusion
of identity), personality and possible reasons for being a serial killer. For
instance, the one time when Myers shows an ounce of humanity as an adult is
when he sits in front of his younger sister (Laurie), takes off his mask and
hands her a photo of the two of them when they were younger. In this scene, his
face is revealed, highlighting that he is in fact a human and not just a
soulless mask.
The use of masks in both Halloween films make for a fascinating analysis of various horror
themes, characterisation and setting. Masks are not only there to scare an
audience; they can be used in a range of ways which they are in both films but
in particular in Zombie’s remake. Zombie explores the killer’s relationship
with masks and how he came to be obsessed with them. In many horror films
(including the original Halloween) this
idea is not explored closely which makes it an intriguing addition to the
remake.
References:
Halloween
1978, DVD,
Compass International Pictures, United States of America, directed by John
Carpenter.
Halloween
2007,
DVD, Dimension Films, United States of America, directed by Rob Zombie.
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