MovieChat Forums > Les yeux sans visage (1962) Discussion > Inspiration for Carpenter's HALLOWEEN

Inspiration for Carpenter's HALLOWEEN

posted 19 years ago by 666Night999
7 replies | jump to latest

I thought it was interesting that Carpenter was inspired to use a mask in his HALLOWEEN movie based on this movie. He said in a documentary that he was transfixed by the emotionless mask the woman wears in this movie, or masks in general. It remains blank yet we assign different levels of emotion onto it. At times in this movie, I felt sympathy and horror/dread/fear from the mask. It's like a prison, holding its victim in frozen space. Obviously in HALLOWEEN, the mask takes on more ominous tones of horror since the person behind it is a killer, but there is a bizarre mixture of reactions the woman in this movie elicits by wearing it. We feel sympathetic to her plight, but also fearful of her changeless visage. Of course, she takes it off a few times, and we see the beauty beneath, but then the mask has to be put back, which reinforces the mask as being an extension of the person, someone who isn't 'from beyond', as she fearfully expresses during a failed facelift attempt which left her disfigured yet again. Powerful imagery.

The world's a hell, what does it matter what happens in it?

[–] 666Night999 18 years ago

bump.

Come on, someone. I would have thought this would get a reply by now. I just reread it last night and I'm very pleased with what I wrote. Any comments about this, or how it relates to HALLOWEEN?

"Nice beaver!"
"Thanks, I just had it stuffed."--The Naked Gun

[–] Bitter_Almonds 18 years ago

I didn't know that. To me, it reminded me of the mask in Abre Los Ojos (later remade as Vanilla Sky). The face make-up reminded me of The Phantom Of The Opera with Lon Chaney. I thought the mask itself was weird-looking because from the far-away shots, Christiane looks normal. It's when she comes close to the camera that we begin to see how odd it is. With slasher movies, it's a little different. Michael Myers relies on his complete physical presense instead of just the mask. He wears these monochrome blue overalls, has an imposing stature, supernatural strength, and the mask is added. With Christiane, all she does is wear the mask to create a sense of... imbalance. Like something is not quite right. I felt this same effect in The Stepford Wives (the original, not the crappy remake). Remember how at the end, the clone version had deep black eyes with no white in them? It's very efficient in creating a sense of otherworldliness - even if the robot/clone of the wife had her whole face intact (the reverse of Christiane's features). I suppose the dress and costume also worked for Christiane since her coat came down to her heels; it looked as if she was gliding across rooms.

Do The Mussolini! Headkick!

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] absinthia 18 years ago

666Night999 that was a nice post and sounds reasonable. this movie is coming tomorrow from netflix and i can't wait. i can't remember where i saw the title to put in my queue. i'll say something after i watch the movie.

there are more seams to me than there seem to be. --me, circa 2001

[–] absinthia 18 years ago

well. i was somewhat disappointed in the movie because i read the comments that built it up so much. the actress was good, but i didn't get a myriad or plethora of reactions from her wearing a mask. i thought it would have been more interesting (and believable) if she had simply committed suicide.

the fact that it was B&W and foreign didn't really affect my opinion. M is an excellent movie that i enjoy watching. eyes without a face is okay, but i wouldn't put it in a list of "must-see" movies.

there are more seams to me than there seem to be. --me, circa 2001

[–] 666Night999 18 years ago

Ok, thanks for the reply. I have seen the movie 3 times now. It is not told in a typical thriller pace, the kind we are used to these days, but I thought it was very well done. I suppose I placed more sympathy with the woman from the beginning, since she is basically imprisoned by her father and forced to remain 'dead' to her boyfriend. And she seems to kind of float by at times. It was spooky too.

There is no night as deep as this
Inevitable mind's abyss
Where I now dwell with foes alone

[–] eolloe 8 years ago

I just (re)watched Halloween two nights ago and then watched this one last night. The similarity between the masks was quite striking, and I immediately thought of Halloween. I had not known that Carpenter has said he was inspired by Les yeux. Thanks for the info.