Young Summer Pays Tribute to John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’ with Spooky ‘Undone’ Video [Premiere]

John Carpenter’s Halloween has influenced everything from other slasher flicks to even music videos. With her new visual “Undone,” indie-pop artist Young Summer rips images from the iconic 1978 film for a tension-splitting story that guarantees to creep under the skin.

Young Summer (real name Bobbie Allen) stars in the video as a woman unaware of her surroundings. While out walking her adorable pooch Scrappy, a stalker (Miloš Šarenac) wearing all black lurks from the corners of each frame.

Everything about the brand new “Undone” music video, on which she worked with frequent collaborator and cinematographer Seth Dunlap, feels very 1970s. From long lens shots to a vibrant but muted color grading, Allen (director/editor) masterfully laces suspense by using various classic film techniques and equipment – namely the telephoto Canon FD 50-300mm T/4.9 zoom Lens. 

“I knew using that long zoom for the spy shots would make the stalking scenes feel truly voyeuristic and build dread,” Allen shares with Bloody Disgusting. “I also used the ‘Iris in’ transition to allude to the filmmaking of the past but also allude to being watched. I never provide relief from the suspense built, as one would usually bookend the use of an ‘Iris in’ transition with the ‘Iris out’ at the end. I purposefully let the feeling of fear go unimpeded – the thing is still out there, coming towards you.”

“Focusing on the construction of the shots, how long or not long to hold on a moment is what makes all the difference, which is also why I love editing so much,” she continues. In other aspects, such as color and lighting, Allen draws upon not only Halloween but Rosemary’s Baby, The Wicker Man, and David Fincher’s Zodiac. 

“These movies have a distinct color that while vibrant also feel limited or muted to an extent which I associate with filmmaking from the ‘70s,” she elaborates. “Very importantly, there’s a glow and halation within [those] films. While being beautiful and of the time period, the softness and glow in those movies give a subliminal false sense of security or comfort.”