Research: Codes and Conventions of existing teen horror films

Conventions:

In 3 of the opening scenes to the horror movies Dead wood, Dead Mary and Wrong turn they are all set In a secluded location. This convention is used in most horror films. By using this convention in a horror film it allows the victim(s) to be isolated from everything and everyone else which creates more suspense and helps set the mood for the rest of the film. In the movie dead wood it is set in the forest where there is just two characters (1 Male 1 Female) that are isolated from everything and everyone else. This is similar in the horror movie Wrong turn apart from this time the two characters male and female again are rock climbing in a forest. The male character also says 'Were 50 miles away from anyone'. In the final horror movie Dead Mary the two characters are on a long empty road surrounded by forest. Again it is a male and female. This often occurs in horror films and the male is usually the one who dies first as people automatically assume the female wont be able to survive as she wont the physical strength of the male.

Another convention used in all 3 films is the fake and jump scare. In the film dead wood there is a jump scare right at the beginning when the man unexpectedly ran through the puddle of water that at the time was used for a close up. The sudden splash causes a jump scare from the audience. In Dead Mary there is a jump scare when the male character is returning from the gas station with a Jerry can at this point he is a fair distance from the car, so it is cut to a shot of the woman waiting for him in the car then suddenly there is a bang from the male putting the cans on the boot of the car which again is unexpected and frights the audience and at this time the audience didn't know it was the man putting the cans on the car, this would result in more fear from the audience until the male is shown. A jump scare occurs in Wrong turn when the female character falls from a rock and screams causing a jump scare from the audience. Jump scares are one of the oldest and most used conventions in horror films.

The convention of a victim inexplicably falling is used in both Dead wood and Wrong turn. In dead wood the male victim is running through the forest and trips over scrambling back to his feet to carry on running from the mysterious killer. The victim falling over causes the audience to interact with the film or look away. In the film Wrong turn the woman is running after the male actor is killed, she is running towards her car, which is another convention often used in horror films. Victims will often get in their car and it won't start, drop the keys while trying to open the door or being metres away from the car and trip and get caught just like what happened in Wrong turn. I also mentioned the male actor was killed which is another convention used in horror films, a character often dies within the first 5 minutes. This will possibly give the audience a glimpse of whats to come it will also set the mood and tone for the rest of the film.

In Dead Mary when the female tried to use the radio and her phone there was no signal for both. This is a convention used a lot in horror films, this is so when the victim needs help there's no way they will get via a phone call. Generally films are set in secluded locations so they would have to be lucky enough to find someone else in that area.

Someone investigating a strange noise is another convention used in horror films. This convention was used in Dead wood when the female heard a strange noise (the male actor dying) from inside her tent. She then goes out the tent to investigate however this is where the opening scene stops.

Codes:

There are two types of codes thesis are symbolic and technical. Technical codes are how the equipment is used to tell the story to the audience for example the camera works in a film. Symbolic codes show what is beneath the surface of what we see for example how a characters actions in a film.

A technical code used in both wrong turn and dead wood is an establishing shot. The establishing shot in dead wood is a high to low shot within a forest which tells the audience that the films is obviously in a forest. The establishing shot in the movie wrong turn was also a crane shot over the top of forest, it also showed they were in a secluded location which immediately gives off a sense of danger to the viewer. This also allows viewers to infer that there will be no one around to help and they will have no signal on there phones if they needed help.Another camera shot used was the extreme close up in wrong turn when the female was climbing away from her rope to make sure she wasn't pulled up by the killer at the top. The extreme close up was of her foot this would change the emotions of the audience as they would have thought she was going to fall from the cliff due to the extreme close up and the another convention used which was the sound, the pace of the music picked up and became more intense which also makes the audience think the female is going to fall. Music and sound can also be classed as an symbolic code for example in dead wood all you can here is bird chirping then suddenly intense music is playing and someone is running as fast as they can. The male running is covered in blood and mud and has a look of fear on his face this is a use of Mise-en-Scene. This will immediately make the audience think that the potential victim is being chased by someone or something that is probably trying to kill him. This would create more suspension and excitement within the audience and get them more engaged with the film. At this point there is also a lot of different camera shots to show the unsteadiness of the man as he runs through the forest tripping up. This gives the audience a more realistic point of view and makes the audience feel more interacted with the movie.