poster analysis - Hard Candy

Hard Candy is an independent psychological thriller about a 14 year old girl and an online sexual predator with an unusual twist.

This poster consists of many elements, the first is the image of a young girl which is distinguishable from her skirt and child like clothing. She is wearing a red hoodie which is clearly a suggestion to little red ridding hood, which connotates innocence. She is standing in side a large ominous bear trap which suggest that she is in danger and conveys to the audience that this film will be darker than first thought.
The background of the poster which consists of textured, washed out neutral colours, which contrast greatly with the red of the girl's clothing and therefore draw the audience's eye to the main image. The background starts up lighter further up with the girl in the foreground which portrays the girl's innocence but turns in to a dull grey colour lower down with the bear trap in the foreground which suggests danger and bleakness.
The image of a young girl standing in a giant bear trap along with the striking red of her clothing instantly creates an alarming image which will grab the audience's attention and convey to them that this film will be a thriller or possibly horror.
The muted grey of the title matches the grey of the ominous looking trap, and it is also in a sharp edged type face which itself looks 'hard'. At the very top of the poster there is a quote which is written in capital letters for for exaggeration. The phrase 'absolutely terrifying'  is in a slightly larger font for emphasis, this lets the onlooker know that this film is undoubtedly part of the horror/thriller genre. The quote itself is one praising the film, and below it lets the audience know that it was made by a respected film critic of a film magazine. 'Once it lands you it hooks you in, there is no tearing away' also ties in with the connotations of entrapment and danger portrayed by the main image.
The layout of the text also plays its role, the quote praising the film and suggesting of its content is at the top of the poster where the red of the girl's clothing in the foreground draws the eye. It is also position in front of the lighter yelow-ish background which helps emphasise the text even more. Whilst the title, is at the bottom of the poster. However both texts are still in a muted colour and kept to the ends of the poster so as to not distract from the main image, making this poster more visual as oppose to verbal, and giving the overall poster a more appealing look.

Overall I think that this is an effective poster as it is simple in its use of shock imaging to draw in the audience and portray the main themes of childhood innocence and eminent danger, and then entice them enough to want to find out more without giving away too much information about the film.