Hard Candy Trailer Analysis

•       Hard Candy was released in 2005 at Sundance Film Festival

•       The Film focuses around the idea of dangers facing teenagers on the internet from paedophiles. However the plot turns on traditional connotations as the suspected sexual predator gets tortured by the fourteen year old girl.

•       The film was described as unique and controversial because of its plot

•       Psychological thriller

•       The genre of the film is portrayed through the trailer by the non-diegetic soundtrack, diegetic dialogue/ sounds and the cutting rate.

•       As well as this the trailer creates a sense of tension and feelings of wrongness due to the idea and plot behind the film.

•       The film portrays sadistic violence which is shown briefly in the trailer, helping to portray its genre.

•       By switching the roles between the man and the girl it shows something that is unconventional and for some creates a sense of mystery behind the females character, as the transition from the her first appearance in the trailer as being sweet and innocent to the hard and cold character makes the audience question her motive for targeting this man.

•       The first shot of the trailer portrays the logo of the film company; however the mixture of the non-diegetic soundtrack and the diegetic sound of blinds moving creates a tense atmosphere. This tense atmosphere is also created through the visual effects during this first shot. This also helps to portray the type of genre of the film.

•       It then cuts to a close up of a computer screen with the message “So we should finally hook up, baby?” shortly followed by “NOT a baby, I keep telling you”. This introduces the idea of a flirtatious and sexual relationship which was formed online between a man and a teenage girl; this is made clear through her writing style and user name portrayed “thonggrrrrl14”.

•       It then cuts to a medium close up of a man and alternates from a long angle to a high angle shot through the shot reverse shot. From shots in the trailer, such as this one, the character of the man is shown to represent a seemingly average middle aged male. However as the trailer progresses it portrays him as more of a victim, even though he is the supposed “predator”.

•       The young girl is portrayed as naïve and innocent during the beginning of the trailer, shown through her diegetic dialogue of “I’m reading a ninth grade book”, suggesting that she is trying to impress the man and to seem older than she is. This as well as the dialogue of the man saying to her “you look older than you are and you certainly act older than you are” which in contrast to her reply “really?” makes her seem even more childlike.

•       However similarly to the man, her character becomes more cold and violent, which is mimicked through the non-diegetic soundtrack of the bass gets louder and the cutting rate becomes faster, which seems to mimic her actions.

•       The dialogue of “You thought since we’ve been talking for three weeks you know everything about me” which in the next cut showing a medium shot of her dressed in a grey vest top, makes her appeared hardened, which is also shown through the lighting and her body language.

•       The relationship between the two characters is at first portrayed as happy and slightly sexual, shown through the medium close up of the man touching the girls lips.

•       However in parallel to this, towards the end of the trailer we are shown through a fast paced cut sequence of medium close ups and close ups of her attacking the man. The editing technique used here bridged with the non-diegetic soundtrack portrays the genre and the relationship between the two characters as being violent, as if he was going to kill him.

•       The trailer lasts two minutes and thirty three seconds, which for most movies is the average time given. In that time though we are shown a variety of different shots, which tells us a story without giving away too much information, whilst at the same time promoting the film.

•       The film is an effective form of promotion as the reviews shown in the trailer give positive feedback, such as “will provoke audiences into a debate that will set word-of-mouth on fire.”

•       The poster for the film also portrays the genre of the film, as it shows the small girl dressed in red, similarly to that of red riding hood, with a bear trap around her, symbolising that maybe she is dangerous and is leading someone into the trap.