Category Archives: 52 in 52

THE EXORCIST (1973)

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SYNOPSIS

The seminal movie of the “demonic possession’ subgenre is William Friedkin’s 1973 film adaptation of The Exorcist. Like our trip through Connecticut (The Conjuring) in Week 5, the film and its novel are based on true events. In a 1972 New York Times article titled “Everyone’s Reading It, Billy’s Filming It,” Chris Chase reported that Blatty based his novel on the 1949 Washington Post story, “Priest Frees Mt. Rainier Boy Reported Held in Devil’s Grip.” Details are provided in the personal diary of Fr. Raymond Bishop who performed over 30 exorcisms on 13-year-old Roland Doe. Supernatural occurrences noted in the diary included, but were not limited to, distortions in Doe’s voice (1). It has been speculated that Doe’s behavior may have been the result of a Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal (PANDAS) infection.

THE PSYCHIATRY OF THE EXORCIST

At Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the first module ‘ titled Necromancy ‘ of our year-long resident Psychopathology course focuses on ghosts (wraiths) and demons. While the former references disorders that are episodic in nature, tales of demonic possession serve to reinforce teaching points of chronic and persistent illnesses such as the Dissociative Disorders (DD). At the completion of the DD block, participants should appreciate that movies about demonic possession may be metaphorically interpreted as case studies of dissociation. For example, the hallmark characteristic of Dissociative Identity Disorder, a disruption of identity, may be described in some cultures as an experience of possession (DSM-5).

Another pedagogic lesson of The Exorcist references Holotropic Breathwork (HB). HB combines music with accelerated breathing to reach an “altered state of consciousness” as a form of self-exploration and psychotherapy. In their book (2), the Grofs describe the experience of demonic energy as “a change in facial and vocal expression…their voice is deep and raspy…spastic contractions make their hands look like claws, and their entire body tenses. [They] can muster physical strength.” After an outburst, everything quiets down and there is an eerie silence.

Regan demonstrates the pathognomonic description of demonic energy, which is associated with reliving memories of severe childhood trauma. The absence of her father and nocturnal enuresis (urinates coming down the stairs) lends further support to the etiology of her “possession.”

Last week’s movie: The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Next week’s movie: Mama (2013)

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)

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SYNOPSIS

The Blair Witch Project is a “found footage” docudrama about 3 student filmmakers who investigate the Legend of the Blair Witch. The urban legend tells of the 1940’s deaths of numerous children in Blair (present day Burkittsville), Maryland. In true Stephen King fashion, the small town values are a facade over Burkittsville’s sinister secret; a secret of an “old hermit” who lives in a cabin in the woods who is somehow tied to “an old woman whose feet never touched the ground” (a.k.a. the Blair Witch). The Blair Witch Project is about 2 intertwining legends, and therefore may be depicted as “The Sandman meets Home Alone.”

THE PSYCHIATRY OF THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT

Like all urban legends, the Legend of the Blair Witch reinforces a taboo so that a culture can maintain social order. The legend likely reinforces the prosocial value of “early to bed, early to rise.” As an interview with a “townie” in the beginning of the film discloses; if you try to stay up late, the Blair Witch will get you. There are parallels with this legend and similar prosocial warnings of the Sandman (sleep with one eye open, holding your pillow tight) and Santa Clause. While the latter promises gifts if you go to bed early (positive reinforcement), the Sandman sanctions (positive) punishment to little boys and girls who get up once they’re tucked in.

On their second day, the hikers locate an old cemetery with seven small cairns. The rock formations are metaphors for their having found the “old hermit.” Translations of the term
include “stone man” (German steinmann), “imitation of a person” (Inuit inuksuk), and “small man” (Italian ometto).

Their discovery is that of the “small man,” Mr. Parr, an old hermit and outcast likely afflicted with Schizoid Personality Disorder. Characterized by social inhibition, the detachment from meaningful relationships usually leads to the afflicted being deemed a loner. It’s often human nature to impart meaning to people who don’t otherwise share who they are. Individuals with Schizoid Personality Disorder then may become the focus of town folklore such as a man who moves into the Black Hills to avoid human contact (also, Kid Lester in The Best of Times; Old Man Marley in Home Alone; and the Witch in Big Fish).

Last week’s movie: I Can See You (2008)
Next week’s movie: The Exorcist (1973)

I CAN SEE YOU (2008)

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SYNOPSIS

Somehow the United States of Horror Films map earmarked Carnival of the Dead for this week’s
destination movie. Unfortunately, efforts at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to find the film were unsuccessful. Alternatively, we arbitrarily chose I Can See You as the film to represent the First State. The 2008 horror film depicts a camping trip of Ben Richards, Doug Quaid, John Kimble, and Sonia Roja; advertising workers who are seeking inspiration for an ad campaign. When a camper mysteriously disappears, reality testing breaks down, and everyone’s safety is put in imminent jeopardy.

THE PSYCHIATRY OF I CAN SEE YOU

On the way to the campsite, Kimble receives a phone call from Ivan, who invites the group to a barbecue. When they arrive, Richards sees Summer Day, a former crush, who Richards refers to as a hippie. As the two rekindle their relationship, the pictures Richards takes of the wilderness come out distorted and parallel his difficulty focusing his vision (accommodation). When he goes swimming in a stream with Summer, Richards removes his glasses, and has as much difficulty with his speech as with his sight. Summer leaves, but with his vision blurred, Richards doesn’t see where she goes. Having been the last one to talk with Summer, Quaid is sought by Richards and Kimble when they uncover his camera (and see pictures he took of Summer). They find him disoriented, and after Quaid runs off, Richards discovers his body at the bottom of a cliff. Richards then hallucinates when he see Hauser who tells him to take a second look at the cliff without his glasses (Richards then throws his glasses over the edge).

Summer’s background, the pervasive theme of having difficulty with accommodation, jumping from a cliff (believing he can fly?), and hallucinations all point to LSD intoxication as the source of the campers’ horror. Additionally, the plot may also incorporate Dimethoxybromoamphetamine (DOB) as an adulterant. Also known as brolamfetamine and bromo-DMA, DOB is a substituted amphetamine that has a different dose response curve than LSD. Specifically, DOB takes up to 6 hours to take full effect. Consequently, unsuspecting users, such as the campers, who believe they are taking LSD may re-dose after 3 hours (and accidentally overdose). Additionally, the amount of time it takes for the DOB effects to begin increases when used in conjunction with alcohol, which the campers drink throughout the movie.

Last week’s movie: Friday the 13th (1980)
Next week’s movie: The Blair Witch Project (1999)

FRIDAY THE 13TH

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SYNOPSIS

Filmed in Blairstown, NJ, Friday the 13th is a 1980 slasher film written by Victor Miller. New Jersey stands second to no one when it comes to the weird and sinister. Many movies (The Toxic Avenger) and media (War of the Worlds radio broadcast) have either been set in or inspired by (Jaws, Halloween) events that have occurred in the Great Garden State (yes, even The Amityville Horror was partially filmed in Toms River, NJ!).

Friday the 13th depicts a group of teenagers who are murdered one-by-one while attempting to reopen an abandoned campsite. The movie begins in the summer of 1957 with two camp counselors being murdered by an unseen assailant after they sneak away to a cabin to “party.” The film then jumps to present day, and chronicles the ill-fated attempt of Steve Christy and a group of counselors to reopen Camp Crystal Lake. Friday the 13th introduces the uI?ber-slasher, Jason Voorhees, an imposing giant donning a goalie mask and wielding a machete.

THE PSYCHIATRY OF FRIDAY THE 13TH

The Substance Related and Addictive Disorders chapter in the DSM-5 includes the category of Substance-Induced Disorders. Substance-Induced Disorders may include substance intoxication, substance withdrawal, substance-induced mental disorders (e.g. Alcohol-Induced Mood Disorder) and other syndromes caused by the ingestion of a substance (e.g. fetal alcohol syndrome, overdose, etc.).

Friday the 13th serves to teach points of the Substance-Induced Disorders and Syndromes such as the introduction of the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) through plot summary. For example, the motive behind the mass murders at Camp Crystal Lake correlates with a case of FAS. [Spoiler Alert] When Mrs. Voorhees reveals herself as the killer, we learn that her rampage is the result of severe mental illness endured from the loss of her son, Jason, who drowned because camp counselors were drinking and having sex. Just as FAS results from the teratogenic effects of alcohol (in utero), the fate of a young Jason Voorhees results directly from the influence of alcohol on camp counselors who were partying instead of supervising the 11-year-old boy swimming in Crystal Lake.

Last week’s movie: Night of the Living Dead (1968)
Next week’s movie: I Can See You (2008)

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)

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SYNOPSIS

Night of the Living Dead is an independent film directed by George A. Romero that follows a wayward protagonist, Ben, and 6 others who are trapped in a rural Pennsylvania farmhouse. Their shelter is attacked by “living dead” ghouls, making Night the landmark zombie film of its generation. Among Night’s many contributions are that the zombies a) resemble “regular people,” b) possess memory and rudimentary intelligence, c) could be de-animated only by destroying the brain, and d) are cannibals.

THE PSYCHIATRY OF NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD

Night of the Living Dead is renowned for relegating the zombie horde to a backdrop of the human condition, thus allowing the viewer to focus on human motivation during a time of crisis. In his 1943 manuscript, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Maslow posited a hierarchy of human needs based on two groupings: deficiency needs and growth needs. Night of the Living Dead serves to review Maslow’s deficiency needs; specifically, those of physiological, safety, belongingness, and esteem. Within the deficiency needs, each lower need must be met before moving to the next higher level. This principle is tested with the introduction of Mr. Harry Cooper and Tom, as the group dynamic displaces the zombie as the primary threat. Harry represents the need for safety/shelter, as he is adamant that the cellar is the most secure area of the home. His point of view is opposed by Ben who counters that the upstairs is the most important area to protect because of its resources (including the physiological need for food). Their conflict of prioritizing their deficiency replaces the zombies as the primary threat. Ben’s assertion is loyal to the Maslowian pyramid, as Harry puts safety needs ahead of the biological. Their conflict reaches a pinnacle when Harry grabs Ben’s rifle and threatens to shoot him. Ben wrestles the gun away when it fires, mortally wounding Harry who (ironically) stumbles into the cellar and dies.

MaslowsHierarchyOfNeeds.svg

Last week’s movie: Wrong Turn (2013)
Next week’s movie: Friday the 13th (1980)

WRONG TURN (2003)

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SYNOPSIS

Inspired by our December 12 trek through New Mexico, The Hills Have Eyes, Wrong Turn is a
horror movie depicting medical student, Chris Flynn, and his unfortunate rendezvous with five
motorists stranded in the West Virginia “holler.” Just when you might be tempted to argue that
Silent Hill (2006) is a more deserving horror movie in West Virginia, we are made aware of the
role of the main character. Since the medical student has WV license plates, he most likely
attends West Virginia University. Any horror movie depicting a WVU medical student warrants
top billing in 52in52 (with all due respect to Silent Hill)!

While it’s near impossible to mention “West Virginia’ and “medical student’ in the same
sentence without thinking about Morgantown (or Charleston), it’s the film’s rural setting that
allows for a sinister, if not prejudicial, backdrop for horror, with the archetypal, prosocial
warning to “be careful taking the path less beaten.” Scott even references Deliverance (1972)
despite that film being set in Georgia (he would have done well to check out April 3 on our
itinerary). While the history of the cannibalistic, half-feral, mutants is disclosed in subsequent
sequels, the following post is based solely on the original film.

THE PSYCHIATRY OF WRONG TURN

Wrong Turn serves to review the algorithm on how to diagnostically approach mental illness. The 3-step process includes ensuring that a patient’s chief complaint is not due to a) another general medical condition or b) the direct physiologic effects of a substance. The DSM-5 lists potential substances as medications, drugs, or toxins. Only after these are ruled-out should a psychiatrist c) attribute the patient’s symptoms to mental illness.

A. Rule-out Another Mental Disorder

As early as the opening credits, we are reminded of the effects genetics play in the predisposition of mental illness. Signs and symptoms such as “psychosis” and violent outbursts” appear in a montage of newspaper articles along with hints of the role of genetics.

B. Rule-out the Direct Physiologic Effects of a Substance

Immediately following the opening credits, we see Chris Flynn driving to Raleigh. The music on the car radio references whiskey, and serves as foreshadowing to alcohol’s influence on the plot. When his route is blocked by a chemical (toxin) spill, viewers are left to wonder if the highway is a corridor for the transport of hazardous materials and if so, whether previous spills are the cause of the mutants’ pathology. In this sense, Wrong Turn may be viewed as a rhetorical case study of a substance- or toxin-induced psychotic disorder. Soon after he crashes into the hikers’ truck, they refer to Fran and Evan as “stoners,” and Jessie calls Chris a “mule.”

C. Mental Illness

Once A and B above have been ruled-out, psychiatrists will begin to formulate the most likely diagnosis based on current, recent, and past signs and symptoms. Since it’s established that the prominent symptoms are psychotic, our most likely and differential diagnoses will come from the Schizophrenia and Related Disorders chapter.

Since Wrong Turn is likely a case study of a toxin-induced psychotic disorder (choice B above), elaboration on a primary psychotic disorder is beyond the scope of this post. Interestingly, alcohol use also figured prominently in many adaptations of the blood feud between the West Virginia family, the Hatfields, and their Kentucky rivals (McCoys). Wrong Turn then is another cautionary tale in West Virginia folklore about the hazards of excessive alcohol use.

Characters from Wrong Turn fitting into Joss Whedon’s Archetypes
Cabin in the Woods archetype Character from Wrong Turn
The Slut Francine
The Athlete Jessie Burlingame
The Scholar Chris Flynn
The Fool Evan
The Virgins Scott and Carly (we had to improvise)

Last week’s movie: An American Crime (2007)
Next week’s movie: Night of the Living Dead (1968)

AN AMERICAN CRIME (2007)

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SYNOPSIS

An American Crime is a drama based on the true story of Sylvia Likens by an Indianapolis housewife, and is told through a series of flashbacks of eye witnesses during 1966 trial of Gertrude Baniszewski.

The movie accounts the life of sisters, Sylvia and Jenny Likens after their father leaves them in the custody of Gertrude so that he can travel with the carnival through Indiana. The carnival has long been the setting for folkloric myths intertwined with mental illness. From the human novelty exhibition of Joseph Merrick (the Elephant Man), to Erik from Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, both man and mystery are “one combined.” However, the carnival has never been as unsettling of a backdrop as the one it provides for An American Crime.

THE PSYCHIATRY OF AN AMERICAN CRIME

We are first introduced to Gertrude (Gerti) Nadine Baniszewski upon her returning from church when she tells a fellow parishioner that she “is better,” and that now, she can pick-up more ironing as she tries to make ends meet. While the conversation on the bus establishes a history of mental illness, we are not initially provided any further details.

In addition to psychiatric themes such as Nicotine Use Disorder, and possibly Pedophilic Disorder, the focus of the film is Gerti’s disorganized behavior (impulsively whipping Sylvia when payment is late) which is initially observed upon adopting the responsibility of Sylvia and Jenny Likens. Despite Mr. Likens’s $20 coming soon after, Gerti’s violent behavior continues and progresses to torture. Further evidence of her denial occurs when she confronts Sylvia, “you flirt with Andy’I saw you!” What was a neutral interaction between Sylvia and Gerti’s ex-boyfriend was imparted a fixed belief shrouded in jealousy. While Gerti demonstrates psychotic symptoms as described above, she likely does not have a primary psychotic disorder given that she appears cognitively intact. As a formal thought disorder, we would expect Gerti to demonstrate deficits in attention, memory or speech if she was afflicted with a psychotic illness such as Schizophrenia.

Later, Gerti discloses that she’s addicted to Phenobarbital and Chlorpheniramine (an antihistamine). Taken together, Gerti’s chronic cough is likely due to asthma (and possible gastroesophageal reflux disease, GERD), both of which are worsened by cigarette smoking. Her self-medicating with the above drugs exacerbated psychotic and antisocial traits that directly contributed to the torture, rape, and death of Sylvia Likens. Given that Coricidin contains acetaminophen in addition to chlorpheniramine, liver toxicity (rule-out encephalopathy) may have further contributed to Gerti’s behavior.

The film may also be viewed through the eyes of the other children, who choose not to intervene when Sylvia is repeatedly tortured. Here, 2 characters deserve special mention; Johnny and Ricky. Johnny demonstrates cruelty to animals and a motivated disregard for others’ safety. Given his age, 13, he is therefore likely afflicted with Conduct Disorder. Conversely, Ricky’s behavior is likely the result of the Stockholm syndrome; stress resulting in his loss of identity and consequent identification with the aggressors.

Finally, the film itself appears to be an artistic expression of the double bind, a family dynamic where a person receives simultaneous mixed messages. For example, a child receives two conflicting messages about their relationship when a mother tells her son that she loves him, while at the same time turning her head away in disgust. In An American Crime, the disturbing content is balanced by the equal and opposite music from a soundtrack that includes Petula Clark’s Downtown and Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me.

Last week’s movie: The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Next week’s movie: Wrong Turn (2003)

YELLOWBRICKROAD (2010)

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SYNOPSIS

One morning in 1940, the entire population of Friar, New Hampshire disappeared. 572 people left behind all of their possessions and walked together up a winding mountain trail into the wilderness never to be heard from again. A search party dispatched by the U.S. Army eventually discovered the remains of nearly 300 of Friar’s evacuees. Many had frozen to death while others were slaughtered. Over the years, a quiet cover-up operation managed to weave the story of Friar into the stuff urban legends are made of. The town has slowly repopulated, but the vast wilderness is mostly untracked, with the northern-most stretches off limits to local hunters and loggers. In 2008, the coordinates for the “YELLOWBRICKROAD” trail head were declassified.

The first official expedition into the sick and twisted wilderness will attempt to solve the mystery of the lost citizens of Friar. The researchers’ hopes to turn a legend into an item of recorded history are jeopardized when their equipment fails; leaving them lost and at the will of what evil lurks in the woods.

THE PSYCHIATRY OF YELLOW BRICK ROAD

In our curriculum at Rutgers-RWJMS, we relate episodic illnesses (such as Delirium and Major Depressive Disorder) to ghost stories. In their quest for discovery, the ghosts from 1940 Friar will haunt a group of researchers, allowing for YellowBrickRoad to be discussed in the context of Delirium. Serial mental status examinations by Walter (a psychologist) reveal progressive cognitive decline in the group that is abrupt in onset. One researcher, Daryl, demonstrates alterations in cognition and consciousness incident to his discovery of a hat that bears a resemblance to that of Elphaba’s, but is more appropriately comparable to the (Mad) Hatter’s in Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The Hatter is a principal character who is portrayed as mad, asking unanswerable riddles and reciting nonsensical poetry. His reality parallels that of the expedition in that he is trapped in a never-ending tea party; time having stopped, keeping him and the March Hare at 6:00 pm forever. While the Hatter is portrayed as mad, the phrase “Mad Hatter” doesn’t appear in Carroll’s works. Instead, it refers to a delirium caused by mercury poisoning that can be traced back to the 19th century when mercury-based compounds were used to make fine hats.

Daryl’s delirium however is not caused by mercury poisoning but is likely due to anticholinergic toxicity from deadly nightshade. Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade) is an anticholinergic alkaloid amine (plant metabolite), and is one of the 3 subgroups of alkaloid amines which also include the hallucinogenic alkaloid amines and the stimulant alkaloid amines. The film may therefore be conceptualized as a depiction of delirium due to the direct physiologic effects of Atropa belladonna, i.e. anticholinergic toxicity.

In addition to serving as a case study of delirium “spread” through mechanisms of Shared Psychotic Disorder (versus mass poisoning), YellowBrickRoad also references Jungian theory by teaching the archetypal warning of “losing oneself in the wilderness.” This may be taken both metaphorically, as the characters stray from their own rationality, as well as literally. The original townspeople’s abandonment of Friar has less to do with what they were walking towards and more to do with what they were leaving behind and has its roots in manifest destiny. Accordingly, Yellow Brick Road should be viewed along with other rural gothic narratives such as The Shining (1980) and its own reference, the ill-fated Donner Party (1846’1847).

Last week’s movie: Carrie (1976)
Next week’s movie: Wolf (1994)

JAWS (1975)

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SYNOPSIS

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Peter Benchley’s “remake of Moby Dick” was adapted to the screen. Inspired by the 1916 shark attacks down the Jersey shore, Jaws is the tale of a rogue shark that terrorizes the small island community of Amity. Jaws caused many viewers to be afraid to enter the ocean in the lost summer of 1975, and established the notion of the great white as nature’s number one killing machine.

THE PSYCHIATRY OF JAWS

First described by Walter Bradford Cannon, the hypothalamus influences various emotional responses including the fight-or-flight response. Building on Cannon’s work, Jeffrey Alan Gray (1987) described a sequence of four defensive responses that occur depending on the organism’s proximity of danger; a) alert or vigilant immobility, b) escape, c) fighting and c) tonic immobility. While first three have been extensively studied in humans, tonic immobility has been primarily investigated in animal models.

Once thought to be nature’s apex predator, the numbers of great white sharks have diminished in recent years. There have been increasing reports of pods of killer whales hunting great whites utilizing tonic immobility by turning the shark on its dorsum. The shark then enters a natural state of paralysis and may remain in this state for up to 15 minutes. Tonic immobility is a limbic system function that therefore serves as an animal model for dissociative-like symptoms experienced in the anxiety, trauma- and stressor-related disorders including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Much like a zombie apocalypse serving as a backdrop to the Romerian group dynamic, the rogue great white shark attacks are the setting for the film’s main characters to interact. Brody has a past psychiatric history significant for specific phobia, natural environment type (irrational fear of the water), and acts to mediate the conflict between Hooper and Quint, both of whom have histories of prior trauma. Hooper has an experience with a thresher shark that “ate his boat” when he was a young boy. Quint also shared his encounter with a thresher’s tail when he shows Hooper a scar on his right leg. Right after, Brody points out a tattoo on Quint’s left arm of the USS Indianapolis, marking Quint as a survivor of the greatest single loss of life at sea in the history of the US Navy. Quint relates the story of the ship that was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Of the 900-11,000 men who entered the water, only 317 survived; largely the result of the largest shark frenzy in recorded history (probably the oceanic white tip).

Despite having past traumatic experiences, both Hooper and Quint chose careers at sea. This likely represents their employing denial, and developing a counterphobic attitude (Otto Fenichel) that results in them running towards (instead of avoidance/away from) their fear. The final line of the movie, “I used to hate the water…I can’t imagine why,” illustrates the effect of flooding in extinguishing the learned (avoidant) behavior. Of course ‘ and ironically ‘ Brody’s “therapy” takes places while the Orca is flooded after being rammed by the great fish; a reincarnation of the rogue sperm whale that sank the Essex in 1820 (inspiration for Moby-Dick).

Psycho-nicity: ‘Synchronicity’ is a Jungian term depicting the acausal connection of two or more psycho-physic phenomena. For our purposes, it serves as the root for a neologism (newly coined word), psycho-nicity; suggestions that make a movie a transcendental experience. If you have an opportunity to catch a Movies on the Beach event, make Jaws a must-see.

Last week’s movie: Wolf (1994)
Next week’s movie: The Conjuring (2013)

HALLOWEEN (1987)

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SYNOPSIS

Halloween begins with six-year-old Michael Myers killing his seventeen-year-old sister, Judith, on Halloween 1963. He is subsequently hospitalized at Smith’s Grove Sanitarium. Fifteen years later, Michael escapes and returns to his hometown where he stalks the people of Haddonfield, Illinois.

THE PSYCHIATRY OF HALLOWEEN

Michael Myers serves as a case study of Conversion Disorder, a type of somatic symptom disorder. The common feature of the somatic symptom and related disorders is the presence of physical symptoms that suggest a general medical condition. The symptom or deficit (e.g. mutism) is not fully explained by a) a general medical condition (e.g. aphonia), b) the direct effects of a substance or c) another mental disorder. Following the murder of his sister, Michael loses his ability to talk. Through the entire franchise which includes the original film, seven sequels and two remakes, Myers doesn’t utter a single word. There is no physical explanation for his motor deficit. His violent behavior may therefore be interpreted as non-verbal communication resulting from the defense mechanism; acting out. The film and its many reproductions are illustrations of a conversion reaction stemming from the trauma of murdering his sister.

The film is similar to other slasher movies such as Friday the 13th and Scream (52in52, 2/13/15 and 6/26/15) in that it reflects the prohibitions against “inappropriate babysitting.” Judith Meyers’s fate is the consequence of her having sex with her boyfriend when given the responsibility of supervising her younger brother (the stuff urban legends are made of). To this end, Michael is referred to as the Bogeyman throughout the film.

An interesting subplot of the film is that there are multiple references made to deviant sexual behaviors (paraphilias). When Michael first returns to Haddonfield, he stalks Laurie Strode. Stalking is a variant of voyeurism/voyeuristic disorder. While its motivation (sexual fantasies or urges) is unclear, Michael’s stalking behavior clearly results in Laurie’s mental distress. Later in the movie, Tommie hides behind the curtains to scare Lindsay www.sites.google.com/view/freemusicallyfollowers when he sees Michael across the street carrying the body of his dead sister. The scene has voyeuristic undertones, and is similar to movies depicting peeping toms as key eyewitnesses to murder (Disturbia, Mr. Brooks, The Burbs). In another early scene, a reference is made to an obscene phone call. Telephone scatologia is a variant of exhibitionism/exhibitionistic disorder which centers on the need to expose one’s genitals to other people (typically strangers caught off guard) in order to achieve sexual satisfaction. With this subversive context, it’s no mistake that the sexually-inhibited Laurie is the only teenager to survive Michael Meyers’ vengeful rampage.

Last week’s movie: The Crazies (2010)
Next week’s movie: You’re Next (2011)