Codes and Conventions of Existing Teen Horror Films

Dead Wood

At the beginning of Dead Wood, before we even see any visuals, we are presented with the symbolic code of birdsong. Immediately, an audience associates this with peace and innocence, and are lured into a false sense of security, which is only increased by the soft, ethereal music that begins to play alongside it (note, though, that the piano plays a series of minor chords, creating a melancholy, creepy atmosphere). We are

The jumpscare and shaky camerawork

then left completely unprepared for the following jumpscare, which makes it all the more effective. As this happens, there is also a crescendo in the soundtrack, which adds to the scare and causes the audience's adrenaline to increase for the chase scene. During said scene, the camera shots are unstable. We can no longer see clearly because of it, and become disoriented, just like the protagonist himself.

In the final moments of the opening, Rob's friend is calling out to him, and a crane shot slowly pulls us out of the scene. Having the camera looking down upon the character represents how vulnerable she is, and visually shows us how isolated the rest of the woods are, emphasised by the eerie score in the background. It is also interesting to note that we are never shown who, or what, killed Rob. Presumably, this has been done to build up to a reveal later on in the film. By keeping us unaware of what the threat is, we don't know entirely what it is capable of, and creates a whole new fear of the antagonist.

There are quite a few conventions used within this opening. Immediately, we are introduced to the secluded location; this isolates the protagonists from any help, and therefore makes the threat of something chasing Rob more significant, as he must face it alone. Furthermore, the somewhat clichéd jumpscare alerts the audience, and makes sure they feel unsafe and on edge while the chase scene happens. As he flees, Rob falls victim to the convention of inexplicably falling over, and this builds up the apprehension that the protagonist is not going to make it out of his situation alive. A variant of the short cut trope appears as he tries to jump over the stream and ends up being dragged to his death-in-the-first-five-minutes; through this, the threat of the killer is established, and the audience are given the impression that escape from the antagonist is difficult, if not completely futile. Both of these inferences make viewers more afraid of what the enemy can do, which will impact the fear we feel whilst watching the rest of the movie.

Dead Mary

Dead Mary's use of codes is very interesting, as there is lots of contrast with what is typically expected of horror as a genre. Cicada sounds, which are the first sound effects we hear, suggest that this scene takes place on a summer's day - this is unusual, considering that bad weather is a convention of horror movies. However, combined with the squeaking of chains that we come to hear, the sound creates a piercing noise that is uncomfortable to listen to, and begins to build up suspense. The added tapping of the protagonist's fingers slowly bring the noise to a tense crescendo. Occasionally, it becomes distorted. Because of its ghostly sound, we can infer this to mean that something supernatural is nearby, and because the protagonist is unaware of this, the audience feel unsettled.
Camera shots are also used very cleverly, such as the close-up focusing solely on chains. This plays with our assumptions; knowing the film's genre, we connect this image with imprisonment and restraint, but in the next establishing shot, it is revealed to be a sign. Although this is anticlimactic, the conventional isolated location

The trickery of the camera work

means that the tension is not destroyed completely. The camera also keeps a selective focus on the car, which takes up a small portion of the shot, rather than street behind it. This makes us cautious that something may be lurking beyond our vision. Suspense is built by shots that seem to suggest something hiding (shots of trees, empty streets, under the car, etc.), but lead to nothing; again, an anticlimactic reveal, but the abundance of these sorts of shots seem to suggest that something isn't right in this location, even if we aren't yet being given any clues. The suspense continues to build because of this.




Conventionally, though, Dead Mary contains very little. As mentioned before, the location is secluded, and there is also no phone reception. As an audience, we then feel that the threat is so much more dangerous, as the characters are disconnected from any sort of help, and must face the looming threat on their own. There is also a minor jumpscare when the oil cans are slammed onto the ground; it breaks the tranquility of the first few minutes, and keeps the audience on their toes. Otherwise, it is not a very generic opening to a horror movie. In many places, it outright juxtaposes the film's conventions, such as the broken vehicle being fixed before any sort of threat is encountered, and positive weather. In many ways, this is a positive thing, as the audience can no longer predict how the plot will play out; we are more likely to be invested in what is happening, and the scares will be much more effective if we cannot see them coming.


Wrong Turn

Wrong Turn is very heavily influenced by codes. Sound plays a heavy part in this. From the very beginning, we hear deep, eerie bass sounds, which immediately set a sombre tone. Echoes of voices have been edited into the scenes during post-production; this emphasises the emptiness and seclusion of their location, making sure the audience understand that help is out of reach. In the visually frightening moments, there are often sudden swells of music. Examples of this occur when blood drips onto the girl's face (the first indication of her friend's death), when she discovers his dead body (the confirmation of his murder) and when she is dragged away by the antagonist (suggesting that she will meet the same fate). These musical cues punctuate each event, and mark them as significant to the story, as well as reflecting the bursts of fear that the female protagonist feels in each of these moments. In contrast, silence is frequently used to stop the action, even for a moment, and interrupt the pace. This happens twice - when the girl falls from the cliff, unaware that she has landed next to her friend's dead body, and when she trips while escaping. Both of these make the moments following them - the discovery of the body and being captured by the killer, respectively - much more poignant and effective, causing the audience to wait for the next scare and building up tension. They tease us with hints of safety, only to snatch it away when the danger kicks back in.
Visually, there are also lots of codes. Frequently, we see birds-eye views of the climbers. Similarly to the crane shot in Dead Wood, it is a visual representation of the vulnerability of the characters. On the other hand, there are also lots of worms-eye shots, or point of view shots

of the girl looking up at her friend. These have the same effect, showing the girl helplessly looking up, and adding to the sense of being weak, unsafe

The victim inexplicably falls

and fearful. During the tense, action-driven moment in which the unseen force is trying to cut the ropes holding the girl on the cliff, there are rapid transitions between shots, sometimes having four or five different shots in a single second, which increase the pace of the moment, replicating the protagonist's desperation and adrenaline. This effect is even stronger during the chase scenes, in which, for a second time, the camera is unstable.

This film is very similar to Dead Wood in its conventions, and the intentions behind having them. Like all of the openings so far, the location is secluded to prevent the protagonists from being saved. This setting, on the side of a cliff, is also very dangerous, which adds to the threat when the antagonist arrives. There is a fake scare when the girl nearly falls; this forewarns the audience to the danger that this protagonist will be in when she is inevitably hunted down. The victim inexplicably falls whilst fleeing to her vehicle (which she never reaches, so it is unclear whether she would have adhered to the car-won't-start convention), and is inevitably the second death in the film's first five minutes. Like Dead Wood, this is done to generate fear for the protagonist, and present the antagonist as inescapable.

A screenshot of the notes used to write this essay