Essay: Codes And Conventions In Existing Horror Films Aimed At A Teenage Audience

Codes can be anything that is involved in the technical side of creating TV or Film content (the editing/camera work, lighting and the use of equipment), during filming or post-production that helps the narrative of the story and the symbolic side is anything to do with Mise-en-scene, consisting of everything that is in the camera’s view which is very important as it gives a film its verisimilitude. Conventions, however, are the aspects of a plot or story that frequently occur depending on genre. Both of these things (when they are used correctly) are essential when creating a film especially in an opening as they allow the audience to identify straight away, the genre in which the film is.

The Wrong Turn

In this films' opening, the most prominent convention associated with horror used is the fact that there two people alone in a very secluded location. This is first shown in a crane shot (the first shot) where a vague dirt road in the distance and a large forest can be seen. The camera then tilts at a birds-eye view angle and tracks backwards slowly at first and then faster which accompanied by the non-diegetic  music starting and increasing in volume creates tension in addition to showing the audience the vast scale of the forest in comparison to the area where the two people are rock-climbing - this is can be seen in the second shot which fades into the first one at the same angle to appear as if the camera had tracked backwards all the way to the cliff face they are on. It is then mentioned by the male character when reacting to the female character screaming after she slips, saying "[they are] 50 miles from anybody, who you screamin' for?" which foreshadows that something bad is going to happen and if it does then they will not be able to get help from anyone due to this. 
Before her friend is killed and she sees him being dragged away she asks him to pull her up as she is struggling to climb up to the top, there is no reply (because he is being killed), there is an establishing/extreme long shot of her on the cliff. This shows how extensive her surroundings are in comparison to her, emphasising her vulnerability and isolation due to the separation of characters, which is also another convention used in horror films as it plays on the common fear of being alone or abandonment meaning that the audience can relate to the character's fear in addition to the fact that this makes the female character in this opening quite defenceless against this unknown killer/monster.
Similarly, the female character appears to be the stereotypical blonde girl who  is often one of the first characters to be killed and usually dressed in tight clothing (much like the character in this opening), portrayed as dumb or very jumpy and is usually paired with a stereotypical masculine male character who the female character usually needs to be protected by or is unprotected without them. For example, her skittish behaviour is displayed when she looses her footing and falls as she screams which is the first sense of fear we see in the film and also acts as a fake scare due to the loud volume of the diegetic sound. Stereotypical characters such as this are used to keep the audience on edge as this creates more suspense and tension.
Dead Mary
The main convention used in this opening is that the couple's car broke down so the vehicle won't start. Meanwhile, a girl is waiting for her boyfriend to come back from the only gas station for miles to retrieve gas for the car, all alone in a secluded place which puts her in a position where if anything bad were to happen then she wouldn't be able to get away, with only a small red (has connotations of blood, violence and evil) gun in the glove compartment that she finds, which foreshadows that maybe it will need to be used later on in the film.  This is also a very effective convention as it doesn't damage the film's verisimilitude as it is a very realistic situation that could happen to anyone, so it makes it more believable to the audience.
Out of boredom, the girl tries to turn on the radio but only diegetic sounds of fuzz and small snippets of a song can be heard as there is no signal. Another example of this is when she is trying to call someone, probably her boyfriend, and fails to get phone signal as she reaches it out of the car. This convention is very commonly used as it means that the characters are seen as unsafe because if anything were to happen then they couldn't contact any emergency services if someone got hurt or they wouldn't be able to contact each other if they got separated making them more exposed to danger.

Dead Wood

During the first shot of this opening there is already a fake scare in which as the camera pans downwards from a high angled crane shot of the surroundings of a forest, a small river of a ditch comes into view before someone abruptly splashes into it whilst running away from danger. Similar to the fake scare in 'The Wrong Turn', this is achieved by the use of the diegetic sound of the loud splash of the water in addition to the contrasting non-diegetic music which is quite calm along with the diegetic background noise of birds. This change in atmosphere not only makes the audience jump but it makes them more uneasy and alert so they focus on the action going on in the film - in this case it seems as though the director has used this as an indicator that something is about to happen as a way to get straight into the action.

In most horror films the antagonist is never seen and this film also uses the same convention. From the very beginning of the opening we see a man running away from something unknown to the audience, however we know it is there because of the use of camera shots such as crabbing and tracking which seem like POV shots due to shaky movements and leaves and branches being in front of the scene taking place out of focus giving the impression that the man running is being chased/watched by someone or something. At one point, he looks around frantically and behind him we see branches shaking indicating that the murderer/monster is close by him which keeps the audience in suspense.
Not only is the protagonist in danger from whatever is chasing him, in a secluded place, by himself, he inexplicably falls over while jumping over a huge ditch to get to the other side which he probably could have found an easier route to get to without falling over. As he clings to the edge of the drop this shows that the audience that he is in an extremely vulnerable state as he can't run or defend himself which builds up the tension as the audience knows that he now has no chance at survival and is going to be killed. Additionally, we learn that his camp and tent is right by where he was killed after seeing blood pour from his mouth and his body landing down the drop, giving him a false sense of security as he may have been able o get help from the other character who was in the tent by shouting but it was too late to get to safety. This also gives the audience false hope of the characters survival.