The Scene in Cinema – Research Assessment
By Ruby Williams
FILMS
- BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974)
- BLACK CHRISTMAS (AKA BLACK X-MAS) (2006)
- CARRIE (1976)
- CARRIE (2013)
- HALLOWEEN (1978)
- HALLOWEEN (2018)
- FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)
- FRIDAY THE 13TH (2009)
- THE EVIL DEAD (1981)
- EVIL DEAD (2013)
- CHILD’S PLAY (1988)
- CHILD’S PLAY (2019)
- IT (1990)
- IT (2017)
- IT CHAPTER TWO (2019)
Through the Eyes of a Killer
Introduction
In the history of horror films very few camera techniques are more chilling than the POV killer shot where the audience sees through the eyes of the antagonist which is primarily used to create suspense and unease for the viewers as they gaze upon their future victims while the characters usually don’t realise until it’s too late, however, when applied correctly it’s also one of the most creative choices for horror films as it can be used beyond making the audience feel dread the technique can generate mystery and even surprise in the audience and has also been proven to be a budgetary lifesaver in some cases. The POV killer shot has been used across many horror films over many years particularly among iconic slasher horror movies (Halloween, Friday the 13th, etc.) and in the last two decades or so Hollywood has been reinventing these classics for the modern audience with bigger budgets and updated equipment.
The purpose of this research assessment is to examine a handful of horror classics along with their modern remakes and examine this camera technique did they reuse the technique and if so, how is it used? Is it a recreation? an homage? Did they reinvent or modernise it? While breaking down how the shots were filmed and the narrative purposes behind them.
Black Christmas (1974)
Director: Bob Clark
Cinematographer: Reginald H. Morris
The original Black Christmas is a staple in the horror genre for being one of the earliest, if not the earliest, movie to kick off the slasher genre. Black Christmas also stands out due to the mystery of its killer known as Billy as the audience discovers though the various phone calls he makes to the sorority girls he torments and kills though the night. we barely see him fully due to him always being hidden in shadows or hiding from his victims and essentially no details about him are revealed except his name. The film is also famous for how it chooses to present its killer as director Bob Clark has his antagonist showing the audience what he’s up to almost entirely in POV shots through Billy’s eyes. The POV shots were filmed and performed by having camera operator Bert Dunk film the shots using a rig he designed attached to his shoulder so that the shots were at eye level, but this also freed his hands so that Dunk could portray Billy’s actions on camera. Choosing to never fully reveal the killer makes for a great surprise twist as just when the audience thinks final girl Jess is safe after killing her boyfriend Peter who she thinks is the killer and with the way Clark structures not just the film itself but how Peter appears and behaves throughout the film he makes the audience consider she might be right however since thanks to structure and editing we don’t see Peter either admit anything or show any confirming physical evidence the audience can’t be one hundred percent sure. The dust settles and we are shown shot of the attic where two of his victims remain undiscovered and we hear Billy singing showing the killer was not only not Peter but is still at large as the camera pans to the exterior of the house as the phone begins to ring again as the credits role leaving the fate of the surviving characters unknown.
Black Christmas (aka Black X-Mas) (2006)
Director: Glen Morgan
Cinematographer: Robert McLachlan
Unlike its predecessor this take on the 70’s classic attempts to give billy a backstory (which is one of the most, if not the most, disturbing origin I’ve ever seen in a horror film) making his origins well known to the sorority sisters and the town itself as a kind of urban legend where the events actually happened which gets rid of the mystery entirely, however, POV shots from Billy’s perspective are used in this film in the form of flashbacks, homages and a few shots in between struggles but there are still a lot less compared to how many the original did and done to a less impactful effect. While the movie tries to include shots that may appear like the characters are being watched they’re all done smoothly on tracks and appear more like interesting shot choices instead of POV shots due to their robotic smoothness as opposed to the realistic movement handheld camera techniques provided. The POV shots this time around weren’t shot by one camera man and a custom rig but several crew members and an actor for shots including an homage to the original using the technique to show someone climbing up the Sorority house like the we witnessed in the 1974 film from there POV shots are typically one person with the camera and are used to spy on one of the girls showering which makes Billy creepier than he already was and are used very briefly in struggles between the killer’s (spoilers: there’s two) and the victims and they, in my opinion, feel like they were just thrown in there like they had to be for reference because they lack all the suspense and shock the originals had as the technique served a narrative purpose and these shots don’t.
Carrie (1976)
Director: Brian De Palma
Cinematographer: Mario Tosi
It’s rare for horror movies to show their killer as the central character whose perspective we follow throughout the movie, but Carrie is a rare case as she is not some premeditated murderer but a bullied high school girl who gets pushed too far by her classmates. The POV shots are used to show Carrie’s mindset before the massacre begins it doesn’t justify the killings, but it does shine a light and explain why she snapped, while putting the audience in her shoes and trying to explain why she does what she did. The film uses it’s time to build the events leading to the prom with showing Carrie White being picked on by her fellow female classmates, we see her being mistreated by her fanatically religious mother and we see the top mean girl Chris get her prom ticket taken away after she expresses zero remorse in her role for what she did to Carrie and refusing to complete the punishment that gym teacher Miss Collins had given the class leading her and her prom date to slaughtering pigs to dowse the blood over Carrie when she accepts the title of Prom Queen. When the announcement comes Carrie heads to the stage with her date Tommy while a POV shot shows her fellow classmates smiling, cheering and applauding her as they head to the stage Carrie smiling herself as she believes she’s finally been accepted amongst her classmates which makes it only more heartbreaking when the bucket finally drops and the camera cuts between Carrie’s horrified reaction and POV kaleidoscope like shots and the camera whipping between people laughing at her. According to the cast in their minds it was only one girl, Norma (the girl in the red hat shown laughing without the kaleidoscope effect), who was laughing while the rest were hallucinations which enhances De Palma’s intentions with the kaleidoscope effect. These shots contrast with the previously happier shots and really makes the audience sympathise with Carrie, again it doesn’t justify her actions, but it serves a purpose by explaining them from Carrie’s point of view.
Carrie (2013)
Director: Kimberly Peirce
Cinematographer: Steve Yedlin
While a more modern take on the Stephen king adaption this movie really does nothing new aside from bringing it to the 2010’s as opposed to the 1970’s. While it follows the same story beats as the 1976 original with some minor added details and changes when the prom scene arrives it features no direct POV shots (which leaves me with little to write about as I can’t talk about how the shots that don’t exist were filmed) instead choosing to actually show us the classmates laughing instead of it being a figment of Carrie’s imagination with standard close up and mid shots and deciding to show us an overview of the layout of the scene and show scenes not technically considered POV shots but the camera is with the teens as the chaos erupts around them.
Halloween (1978)
Director: John Carpenter
Cinematographer: Dean Cundey
At some point in 1977 horror legend director John Carpenter asked Black Christmas director Bob Clark what he would do if he were to make a sequel and while Clark had decided against a sequel as he did not want to reengage with the genre at the time told Carpenter he would have had a sequel where Billy would have been caught and institutionalised only to escape a year later around a different holiday and with Clarks approval Carpenter took the idea and in 1978 directed arguably the most iconic slasher film of all time, Halloween. The film sets itself apart with its hauntingly silent killer Michael Myers aka The Shape with his altered William Shatner mask and kickass final girl Laurie Strode played by at the time relative newcomer Jamie Lee Curtis but also through Carpenters directing and classic score. It’s not just the mask and jumpsuit that makes Michael Myers so well-known but also how Carpenter surprised audiences in the opening scene that cleverly uses POV so that when the reveal at the end of the scene comes it shocks first time viewers. The opening puts the audience in a POV shot that follows outside the house and inside as someone reaches for a knife. The figure goes upstairs and puts on a Halloween clown mask that partially obscures the killer and the audience’s vision where the young naked victim says Michael’s before she’s savagely stabbed several times to her death. The POV continues back down the stairs and out the front door where a car pulls up and Michael’s parents get out of the car where his dad takes his mask off. The POV ends here as the audience is met with a mid-shot of a 6 year old in a clown costume holding a bloody knife revealing to the audience the shocking reveal that not only were the audience witnessing a child committing a murder but also revealing that Michael Myers’ first kill was in fact his older sister Judith. The shot is one of the most iconic opening scenes to a horror film and was filmed using relatively new steadicam technology which adds a chilling smoothness to the boy’s movements that he would continue to use throughout the movie as an adult.
Halloween (2018)
Director: David Gordon Green
Cinematographer: Michael Simmonds
After a collection of (mostly) poor received sequels and a previous 2007 remake by Rob Zombie Halloween made a return to form in 2018 with Halloween sequel that ignored all previous remakes and sequels excluding the original 1978 film directed by John Carpenter taking place in the year it was released in showing what’s happened to Haddonfield and how Laurie Strode has dealt with her faceoff with the shape 40 years later. Like a lot of the remakes on this list it chooses to ditch the POV shot but it does choose to reshow pieces of the original POV when one of the podcaster’s starts discussing the details of Judith Myers murder. That said the film does try and succeed in getting creative with its shot choices to elevate Michael’s instead of just reverting back to standard camera angles like so many remakes do.
Friday the 13th (1980)
Director: Sean S. Cunningham
Cinematographer: Barry Abrams
The original Friday the 13th is infamous for kicking off a slasher icon in the form of Jason Voorhees yet the original barely has Jason present at all and he’s yet to begin killing or even don the hockey mask which he won’t actually do until the third instalment in the original the killer is actually his mother Pamela as she seeks vengeance against camp councillors who’s negligence led to her son drowning. A handful fo Pamela’s victims are shown through her eyes and the film continues to show Pamela committing these horrendous acts without revealing her to the audience she finally comes face to face with the film’s final girl and it’s not until she reveals her motivations do people suspect that a seemingly nice mother could be behind these killings which adds a huge shock to the movie as the audience learns not only what Pamela’s capable of but the audience had to get rid of all the suspects they assumed in the movie making it an interesting and shocking twist.
Friday the 13th (2009)
Director: Marcus Nispel
Cinematographer: Daniel C. Pearl
This remake chooses to honour the events of the first movie from the 80’s as opposed starting a completely clean slate where we follow Jason Voorhees from the start instead of waiting for the sequel as the open recreates the ending of the original film with Jason’s mother Pamela Voorhees being decapitated and Jason picking up after her however without the mystery and the movie lets the audience know almost immediately who the killer is the POV shots don’t serve the same purpose here and were therefore deemed unnecessary to the director.
The Evil Dead (1981)
Director: Sam Raimi
Cinematographer: Tim Philo
The original Evil Dead is unique with its use of POV shots with a tight budget due to it being the directorial debut of Sam Raimi the POV shots are achieved with multiple forms of transport including boat, bike and camera men running with the camera which helps the unseen force that would later be known as a Kandarian Demon that unnatural touch with the technique’s speed and shakiness. The handheld POV could allow the unseen force to hover above water, weave between trees, and even the cabin itself which was achieved by Raimi and some crew members in a boat while Raimi held the camera as is hovered above water, having camera operators run through the forest and between the trees and even included a shot achieved by Raimi riding the previously mentioned bike through the woods and the cabin with a camera attached to it. The film stands out due to how the POV is used to remind the audience of an ever looming presence throughout the film that gives the viewers an extra sense of dread when the camera twists and turns before heading at Ash, the film’s final survivor, as he screams and the screen cuts to black just when we thought he was safe and the movie was over.
Evil Dead (2013)
Director: Fede Álvarez
Cinematographer: Aaron Morton
The “remake” works as both a remake and sequel by using similar narrative beats from the original but with a new set of characters and some slight changes to the originals narrative. While the film has it’s POV shots it’s nowhere near as intimidating as it’s lost its more unhinged shaky effect its predecessor had likely due to the upgraded budget and equipment the 2013 film provided and the force takes a physical form of the person they’re about to possess which also takes away from the use of POV as characters and the audience can now see what’s attacking them.
Child’s Play (1988)
Director: Tom Holland
Cinematographer: Bill Butler
Child’s play is a standout in the horror genre. (and my personal favourite of the classic horror franchises) due to the fact that while chucky does start off human the film franchise centers around a possessed doll as opposed to a standard human killer which has led to some great films (and some not so great) as well as some unique camera choices as the film caters to a 2-3 foot killer as opposed to a 5-6 foot one. The movie opens with Charles Lee Ray played and then voiced by Brad Dourif engaging in a shootout with police detective Mike Norris before being fatally shot and transferring his soul into the body of a good guy doll using voodoo. The doll eventually makes its way into the arms of Andy Barclay an adorable and innocent 6-year-old who owns a lot of good guy merchandise and has been dreaming of owning one for a fair amount of time. Director Tom Holland shows Chucky’s first kill in POV both to create mystery and surprise the viewers as audience and the films characters aren’t one hundred percent sure who killed Maggie although it appears more obvious to the audience and we don’t need to be convinced the doll is alive however at the time it happens Andy is wearing good guy pyjamas and is a similar height to the doll which adds to the confusion until the scene ends with proof it was chucky despite the movies characters failing to believe the child. The second kill we see shows that while it’s clearly the doll commenting the crimes as the POV cuts between the shots and Andy nowhere near where the killer is the director chooses to do this to build up anticipation this time instead of create mystery so that when we finally get to see the doll the payoff is huge showing how lifelike the doll is as not only is he turning human in the narrative the animatronics are pretty impressive for the eighties as well the director realised there needed to be a big reveal but the character couldn’t sit there doing nothing for half the film which is where the POV saves this aspect of the film. It shows the audience what the character is doing without actually revealing the character until the script requires it.
Child’s Play (2019)
Director: Lars Klevberg
Cinematographer: Brendan Uegama
In this 2019 remake director Lars Klevberg seeks to take the POV shot and modernise it which is one of the smartest decisions this film makes as it elevates the horror and takes it to a whole new level. While the POV shots in the original Child’s Play aimed to confuse, create mystery and were used to build up a shocking payoff for the audience the POV shots are applied in this remake solely to terrorise both the audience and protagonist a now 13-year-old Andy Barclay. This time around instead of a serial killer possessing the body of a good guy doll through Chucky is a jacked-up AI who gets all his inhibitors switched off by an overworked employee before he commits suicide with cameras in its eyes so that it can keep an eye on and record its surroundings which can be shown on Andy’s smartphone through the buddi app. This results in a deadly game of cat and mouse between Chucky and Andy as Chucky uses prerecording’s of Andy’s mother and past victims as threats and with Chucky able to switch the camera off at will gives Andy hints of who he’s going after and where he is before turning it off again to toy with him which has a chilling impact on the audience. It’s in my opinion the cleverest of the use of POV shots in the mentioned remakes as it reinvents and modernises the POV that also serves a narrative purpose instead of being a clever call back.
IT (1990)
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Cinematographer: Richard Leiterman
Due to the way the miniseries was shown, being a two-part televised miniseries, as opposed to a theatrical release the crew had to avoid the gory factors that are present in Stephen King’s source material in case it was watched by children at home which lead to the POV camera technique saving this film having most of Pennywise’s victims being shown through its POV as they scream in terror typically cut between images of pennywise attacking with his gruesome teeth on display or whatever form IT has decided to take at that time. Despite not being overly violent with its gore the POV shots stuck with the minds of the viewers making it a really well known POV which managed to haunt viewers till this day as they were left to their imaginations with what Pennywise was capable of. The use of POV also would have saved the production a lot of money as they didn’t have to invest in money recreating the gory factors they adapted from the novel with makeup or special effects.
IT (2017) + IT Chapter Two (2019)
Director: Andy Muschietti (Both Films)
Cinematographer: Chung Chung-Hoon (Chapter One)
Cinematographer: Checco Varese (Chapter Two)
27 years since the 1990 television adaptation Pennywise the dancing Clown and the Loser’s Club came to the big screen with its MA15+ rating and a cinema viewing that was suited for more mature audiences as opposed to its predecessor’s televised miniseries that was broadcast on television where any child could see it Muschietti took the chance to make a more gore filled remake which lacked POV shots compared to its predecessor as they could finally show what happened to Pennywise’s victims instead of showing their last moments through the being’s eyes. While the POV shots are lacking in this two-part cinematic remake and are more quickly used like the previously mentioned Black Christmas remake I think the lack of POV for once benefits this film as showing horrifying experiences the victims go through makes for a more horrifying set of films.
CONCLUSION
From this research I concluded that the modern remake would prefer to leave the POV shot in the past or use it sparingly and I think it’s a shame that some directors on this list didn’t use the POV shot in their sequels at all when others in this list showed how it could be upgraded and/or still work well within the films narrative as I’ve stated in this piece just how many ways a POV shot through the eyes of you killer/monster/antagonist can heighten a horror film beyond creating a good scare.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Black Christmas (1974)
Dir. Bob Clark
Back Christmas (aka Black X-Mas) (2006)
Dir. Glen Morgan
Dead Meat – Black Christmas (1974) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wlKAPBO_-M
Black Christmas (1974) – Ending Explained + Analysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yYfkOBnARE
The Scariest Scene in the original ‘Black Christmas’ Maximises Yuletide Terror with Minimalism and POV
https://www.slashfilm.com/scariest-scene-in-black-christmas/
Proper Value: Black Christmas
http://www.the-culture-counter.com/proper-value-black-christmas/
Dead Meat – Black Christmas (2006 Remake) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d5W3BCnCgg
Exploring Black Christmas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTe-DYpQMRg
“What Have You Done” The Remaking of Black Christmas Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YF41kpCKrk
Carrie (1976)
Dir. Brian De Palma
Carrie (2013)
Dir. Kimberly Peirce
Dead Meat – Carrie (1976) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_dDpmoQjqg
Carrie’s Prom Scene: An Oral History (part one)
https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/11/03/carries-prom-scene-an-oral-history-part-one
Carrie’s Prom Scene: An Oral History (part two)
https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2016/11/03/carries-prom-scene-an-oral-history-part-two
Dead Meat – Carrie (2013) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzayfQzldug
Halloween (1978)
Dir. John Carpenter
Halloween (2018)
Dir. David Gordon Green
Dead Meat – Halloween (1978) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfVQMYvgXuQ
Watch: John Carpenter Shows How to Master Point of View
https://nofilmschool.com/2016/11/watch-john-carpenter-shows-how-use-point-view
Opening Shots: Halloween
https://www.rogerebert.com/scanners/opening-shots-halloween
The Depiction of Evil in ‘Halloween” Gets What Made the 1978 Original So Scary
Dead Meat – Halloween (2018) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHfGhuidwBg
Friday the 13th (1980)
Dir. Sean S. Cunningham
Friday the 13th (2009)
Dir. Marcus Nispel
Dead Meat – Friday the 13th (1980) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reHO3XcA3sI
Frame by Frame: Friday the 13th (1980)
https://mattmulcahey.wordpress.com/2018/07/13/friday-the-13th-1980/
Dead Meat – Friday the 13th (2009) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_N1xgGvDc4
The Evil Dead (1981)
Dir. Sam Raimi
Evil Dead (2013)
Dir. Fede Álvarez
Dead Meat – The Evil Dead (1981) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVoAxh22yl8
Dead Meat – Evil Dead (2013 “Remake”) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZYOKR83QU4
Child’s Play (1988)
Dir. Tom Holland
Child’s Play (2019)
Dir. Lars Klevberg
Dead Meat – Childs Play (1988) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INo8_xMA3tQ
Dead Meat – Childs Play (2019) Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU6xXdlaZIg
IT (1990)
Dir. Tommy Lee Wallace
IT (2017)
Dir. Andy Muschietti
IT Chapter Two (2019)
Dir. Andy Muschietti
Dead Meat IT (1990 Miniseries) [PART 1 of 2] Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF2xjP83yVo
Dead Meat IT (1990 Miniseries) [PART 2 of 2] Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWiFsm87H_I
Dead Meat IT (2017) [PART 1 of 2] Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZbala54uzk
Dead Meat IT (2017) [PART 2 of 2] Kill Count
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR1J1tZ_HRE
Dead Meat IT Chapter 2 (2019) Kill Count