Right off the bat, I have a confession: I have altered this poster. I only did one thing, but it was significant enough that I wanted to be forthright in my PhotoShop deception. I removed something from the top of the poster…a review quote, to be precise. See, I really don’t like it when movie companies place review quotes on the posters. I know, I know, it’s all about marketing…and good reviews sell more tickets. But, to me, adding a questionable movie review quote (because, really, how many people out there give a movie a good review in the hopes that their quote will be the one chosen?) to someone’s design is like adding the McDonald’s golden arches to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Okay, it’s not that dramatic. But it’s still tampering with someone else’s artistic vision. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this or not, but I have yet to choose a poster that contains review quotes. I highly doubt that will change…but never say never, right?

Anyway. So this is the poster for 2005’s Hard Candy. Without the gratuitous review quote at the top, this poster takes on an even more desolate, haunting quality. Lots of empty space, interrupted by this gorgeously unsettling image: a solitary hooded figure, facing away from us, standing in the middle of a giant animal trap. The person standing inside the trap has a rather androgynous quality to their figure; however, the skirt and leggings, the delicate wrist with the aqua-colored watch band, and the thin ankles and small feet lead us to believe this is a girl. True, the oversized nature of the trap makes her seem even more diminutive, but she’s obviously also rather slight, while her mode of dress leads us to believe that she’s young…more than likely somewhere in her teens.

And she’s bait. It’s not just the obvious that gives this away. Look again at what she’s wearing: a red hoodie with the hood pulled up. Perhaps it’s because of childhood conditioning, but I immediately think of one thing when I see a red hood: Little Red Riding Hood. My, what big teeth you have, indeed. Of course, the predator becomes the prey in Little Red Riding Hood’s story. Kind of like how a predator caught in a trap like the one in this poster also becomes the prey.

There’s a surprising lack of vulnerability in the girl’s stance. Even though she’s facing away from us and her hood prevents her from even sneaking a peripheral peak behind her, she’s completely at ease. Her weight is evenly distributed to both feet. Her arms are down by her sides, her hand possibly slipped inside a pocket on her skirt. We can’t see her face, but from the position of the hood, it seems as though she is holding her head at a normal angle rather than looking downward. Nothing defensive or protective in her posture at all. Just her standing there, in the middle of a trap with her mysterious bag of tricks slung over her shoulder. If it weren’t for all those jagged teeth around her, you’d think she was just waiting for a ride or something equally benign.

Oh, and yet again I’d like to mention: We can’t see her face. Rather limiting, don’t you think? No clues to her appearance or emotional status at all.

Here comes a bit of an assumption followed by a bit of possibly offensive image association. We live in rather disturbing times, however. And while there are many things that could require a teenage girl as bait, I think it’s safe to assume that most people would jump to a disturbing sexual conclusion about this scenario. Now, take another look at our red-hooded, upright (some might even say erect) figure inside this wide-open circular trap just waiting to spring closed around it.

Graphic enough for you?

As you look at the floor on which the trap sets, you can’t help but notice fissures running underneath the right side of the trap. Something isn’t quite right, something isn’t holding. Something is cracking under pressure.

Then comes the movie title. The artist used a clean sans serif, nicely kerned and in a complementary, almost soothing neutral color. Sort of softens the blow of the preceding image. It also somewhat lessens the jarring meaning of the title when taken in conjunction with the assumption that this is a lure for a predator of the sexually perverse variety. Hard takes on a rather sinister meaning in this unsettling, predatory light. To be honest, so does Candy. Something sweet. Something succulent. Something to be savored. Something to be devoured.

But not easily. This candy is hard…