Formal Assessment: Essay

Analyse the codes and conventions of horror films as shown in 'Dead Wood', 'Dead Mary' and 'Wrong Turn'.

 





We are making a 2 minute horror film opening in this current project and for our research we have looked at three existing film openings; they are 'Dead Wood', 'Dead Mary' and 'Wrong Turn'. We took notes on the films, looking in particular to the conventions, symbolic codes and technical codes. Conventions are like a set of unwritten rules that you are expected to follow when making a film of a specific genre, in this case, horror. A symbolic code in also known as Mise-en-scene which basically means, the staging. This is things like costumes, location, props and so on. A technical code is the camera work, sounds and title etc.

 

In the three openings, the  conventions were all very similar and all very obvious. The main convention in all three is the use of a secluded area. The reason horror film makers use this is to show the audience that the characters are on their own and have no help when something bad happens. In Wrong Turn, it is emphasised by the man shouting down to the lady, "Y'know we're 50 miles from anybody, who're you screaming for?" which is a clever technique used by the film company to give a clear message to the audience. In Dead Mary, the couple have run out of petrol on a long, dusty, empty road surrounded by woodland. This location is not only far away from civilisation but is also hard to get to due to the woodland so straight away we can see that if they are in trouble, they will get no help. The final film, Dead Wood is set inside a woodland where a couple are camping. This is very similar to the previous two, where they are in a secluded area which is hard to access and is a large distance from other people who could help. Another obvious convention within all three film openings is the vulnerable young girl that is left alone either during the opening or after it. In Dead Wood and Wrong Turn, the young girl is left by themselves after their male friend has been killed or died. The difference between these two and the girl in Dead Mary is that they are killed off, and in this circumstance she is left alone in the car while her male partner goes to fetch some petrol. Although nothing happens to her, the director has done this to give the impression that something is going to happen to this defenceless girl during the 3 minute opening. Other conventions that we see are the radio not picking up any stations, the mobile phone having no signal, characters failing to reach their destination right at the last minutes and the saviour character being killed.

 

The symbolic codes throughout the three films aren't as close as the conventions. By this, I mean that they are all slightly different. For example, when we look at the clothing of the characters in Dead Wood, the male is wearing a very vibrant, Hawaiian shirt and a pair of chino trousers. This is a way for the director to send a message to the audience that this character is very confident and in some ways quite brave. The girl is wearing a more 'normal' kind of outfit, with a long skirt and hooded jacket. In my own opinion I think that this is to symbolise that the girl is quite shy because of the lack of flesh that she is showing. In Dead Mary it is quit a different story, the girl is wearing a very skimpy top and shorts, showing an awful lot of flesh to the viewers which is another way of showing vulnerability by giving off the image that she is very exposed. The Girl in Wrong Turn is also being shown using that technique. Although she is wearing climbing gear, she has opted for a climbing outfit that shows off a lot of flesh which goes back the idea of exposure. The props in all three of the openings are very minimal and aren't focussed on a lot. In Wrong Turn, they only props that are used are the van which she nearly gets to before she is dragged away and the rock climbing equipment that they use to complete their adventure. In Dead Wood, the only prop that is used is the tent. This tent is obviously there for camping but shows the lack of protection that the girl has now that the boy has died. In Dead Mary there are a few more props that have meaning such as the mobile phone and the radio which support the convention of a secluded location. The flare gun is also focussed on a lot which is probably because it will make a return in the film later on when they need it. The other props that are used are the car, the CD and the petrol cans. The main symbolic code used in all three films, like the main convention that runs through all three films is the the location which are all secluded and surrounded in woodland. To recap, the reason that it's secluded and surrounded my forest is to emphasise the inability to easily escape or to be heard and saved by the outside world. The make-up is most prominent in Dead Wood, where the man, Rich, has blood and mud on his face when he is running through the woods. The reason they have chosen to put this on him even though we haven't seen what happened to him or what he's running from is to give the audience a sense of mystery and unease. In the other films, there is no make up used on the characters to give a scary effect, however there is fake blood used in Wrong Turn when the man's body is being hung over the cliff edge and his 'blood' is dripped on to the woman's face.

 

The technical codes throughout the film openings are all very similar but then differ throughout. By this, I mean that throughout a single opening the technical codes are different depending on the situation at the current moment, but as a collective group of film openings, the technical codes are quite similar. The main difference between Dead Mary and the other two films is the frequency of camera angles and shots. In Dead Mary, there are a lot more close-ups and extreme close-ups on the girl and other objects such as the mobile phone and the radio. Although the majority of shots are close-ups, there are a few shots from further away, for example there is an establishing shot from the car wheel and also a crane shot about half way through. In Dead Wood and Wrong Turn, the shots are more from a distance and with only a few close ups after the action has happened and the male characters have died, and when this happens the camera cuts get more fast paced and the shot get closer to show emotion and to add tension. A big thing that I picked up on in Dead Wood was that when Rich was running through the woods, there was some hand-held camera work to show the point of view of the character and incidentally, this is what the shot is called, a point-of-view shot.

 

The sound that is used in all films is split into two categories;

• Diegetic Sound

• Non-diegetic Sound

The non-diegetic sound is the music that is put into the film after the filming has taken place. This is shown in Dead Wood firstly at the title screen where it is quite calm but also eerie at the same time. As the film intensifies, the music then starts to pick up pace. As he runs through the forest and gets past more obstacles the music picks up in pace and gets more creepy and more dark. In Wrong Turn, the music follows exactly the same idea, it starts off calm yet eerie and with every event that takes place it gets more dark and more sinister. The sound in Dead Mary is slightly different as there is no music throughout the opening but there is a mechanical-like noise that runs through and get increasingly more noticeable as the mood turns more scary and jumpy. The diegetic sound in Dead Mary is similar to the other two openings unlike the non-diegetic sound. In Dead Mary, the diegetic sound is the sound of the environment, so trees and bushes, along with the radio failing to work, the impatient heavy breathing and dialogue. In the other two it is the same apart from there is no radio and the heavy breathing is from struggle and determination and not impatience. The use of no music during the acting can be just as effecting as some scary or spooky music but they both must be used correctly. In these cases I would say that they are used correctly to give a sense of fear and tension.

Over-all, the films all follow some of the conventions and common codes although they don't always use the same ones. I think that the codes and conventions they do use have been chosen carefully and well to give a clear hint or even a blindingly obvious image of fear and horror.