Essay

In this post, I am going to analyse the codes and conventions of horror films as illustrated in the openings of "Dead Wood", "Dead Mary" and "Wrong Turn". 

This is the sheet where I wrote all of the analysis, which I am going to explain more in detail below.

Technical codes

Use of the camera:

At the very beginning of Dead Wood, a tilt shot is utilised, which generally signifies height and power. In this case, it shows the density of the location. It also builds up the anticipation of the audience as the they are not aware of what is going to happen. 

As soon as the tilt is finished, the camera is suddenly handheld and gets shaky, to show the danger and the intensity of the scene. It follows the main character running from an unknown source of danger. Some point of view shots are utilised as well, so it makes the audience feel involved and sympathetic towards the character. When he abruptly stops and tries to reach the other side of the forest, there are many cuts present to represent the character's perturbation/anxiety and the intensity of the scene yet again. There is an edit present in the scene, a slow motion is included. It builds anticipation as the jump is being slowed down.

When the character falls, there is a panning shot which leads to the tent the character was attempting to reach. 
When the woman gets out of the tent, there is a long shot of her and the tent which might symbolise loneliness. The scene ends up with a powerful crane shot to make it as if we are looking down on the character. It symbolises power but it could also symbolise that the villain is slowly achieving his aim, and that his next victim is the woman.

In Dead Mary, the camera is moving 
upwards with an extreme close-up to give more information about the place and the ambiance. It also makes the audience feel like they are present in the scene. The camera also zooms in from the woods to the car, which might reveal that most of the film is going to be set in the forest.



There is also a long shot of the road to show the exact location. In this case, it makes the audience emphasise with the woman due to her being on her own in the middle of nowhere. There is a high shot of her legs included as well which might suggest her youth, or happy-go-lucky attitude. 



At the end of the opening, there are some shots reverse shots because of the dialogue. The shots are extreme close-ups to show the characters' emotions as they are conversing. 





In Wrong Turn, straight at the beginning, there is a bird's eye view shot of the forest. The camera movement used is a tracking shot. It gives the audience the exact location, so they know where the scene is set straight away. It also draws them into the action.

There is another tracking shot, where the two characters are climbing up the cliff. It allows the audience to be in the action and follow the characters around. 
Similarly to Dead Wood, when the female is being pulled up the cliff  by an unknown character, there are many sudden cuts to show the intensity of the scene. 

When she finds out that her friend is dead, she gasps and there is a close-up of her face to show her reaction and emotions.
When she sees the branches shaking abruptly and runs away, point-of view shots are utilised so it feels as if the audience is part of the scene and it gives the character's perspective. 

Sound/Lighting/Titles: 

No special lighting has been added onto any of those openings, due to all of them being filmed at day time. 

Sound-wise, all three of them have non-diegetic sound. For Dead Wood, the music score has been composed especially for the opening, as the music matches the actions. The music is dramatic, to emphasise the seriousness of the situation.

Similarly, in Wrong Turn, the sound is dramatic. However, at the beginning of the opening, the music is slightly less loud, it allows the film to set the audience in a cold atmosphere, and it tells the audience already what type of movie it is. From when she is being pulled up the hill, the music becomes louder and quicker so it adapts to the scene. 
However in Dead Mary, all sound included is mainly diegetic, which means sound whose the source is visible on the screen or whose source is implied to be present by the action of the film. Indeed, the main things we can hear in Dead Mary are the birds' singing, and loud sighs and the dialogue between the woman and the man. 
At the very beginning of Dead Wood, there is also diegetic sound so it makes the scene more realistic and natural. In Wrong Turn, the diegetic sounds include the fall, the rope getting pulled up, the girl's scream as well as the dialogue.

Titling is also a great way to communicate information with the audience. It sets the mood and it helps the audience to identify the genre of the film. However in Dead Wood, no titling has been included in the opening. It sets the opening apart as the other two both have titles in them. It allows gives the opening a sense of mystery in it.
Moving onto Dead Mary, the titles have been included cleverly, and it instantly let the audience know the genre of the film. Indeed, the letters of each word appear randomly and then they all turn red as they fade, whose connotations are blood and danger.

In Wrong Turn, similar to Dead Mary, the colour of the font is white but no special effect has been carried out like in Dead Mary.

Symbolic codes:

Elements of mise-en-scene (costume, make-up, props, location):

All three of the openings have been set in or nearby a forest, which is the most prominent secluded location in a horror movie.
The main character in Dead Wood is wearing a Hawaiian shirt, which might signify that he is a bit of a innocent character, who is only seeking for a few days away. Blood capsules have been included to make the scene more realistic. Also, the location is secluded,  which maximizes the chances of him getting killed. As for the woman, she is wearing dull colours and her costume doesn't say much about her, or maybe that she might be wiser than the man.
In Dead Mary, the woman is wearing skimpy clothes and is barefoot. She's not really wearing any make-up. Props used include the car, the phone, the radio and the flare gun, which might make the audience reckon that someone is going to get killed in the movie. 
The guy is wearing a simple outfit which composes of a simple shirt and jeans.
In Wrong Turn, both of the characters are wearing sporty equipment. Props used include fake blood, the car and the equipment. The props and the costume tell the audience that the characters are not prepared for any kind of accident that might occur. No special make-up has been included. The location is secluded and the amount of danger that is exposed in the location is tremendous (high rocks). 

Conventions: 

The conventions present in all three of the opening sequences are secluded locations (forests in these occasions), the girl is left alone, and the main characters are one male and one female only. In Dead Wood, the conventions that are present are that the protagonist never gets out alive, the character trips over as they're about to reach safety, the horror is present but you can't catch sight of it, the character never takes the best route and fake scares. 
In Dead Mary, the conventions present are that there is no way to contact anyone (no phone signal, the car's broken down) and the man is doing all the work, leaving the woman on her own. As for Wrong Turn, the main conventions included are shaking the trees/bushes, the character trips over as they're about to reach safety, many cuts and handheld camera when the pursuit commences, the villain can't be seen and one of protagonists die first, in this case the man.

Overall, I personally think that the best opening was Wrong Turn, as it ticks all the boxes for me. You can't see the villain but you know it is present, which heightens my anticipation for what is going to happen next. Also, how the villain managed to get hold of the woman's rope intrigues me. The opening definitely left me wondering what is going to happen next. The location used makes it a little scarier as it is happening quite high too.