Candy + Teen Girl Murder Films
Heathers, Jawbreaker, Mean Girls, Scream Queens: 90s + Y2K Sweet Violence + Symbolism
Sweet & Sinister Symbolism: What Does Candy Represent in Teen Girl Killer Movies?
Whether it's bubblegum and blood in Scream Queens, slushies and bombs in Heathers, or oversized hard gobstoppers and asphyxiation in Jawbreaker, candy and teenage girl violence go hand-in-hand in Hollywood.
It’s easy to see why movies featuring teen girls would want to use infantilizing imagery. The stark contrast between a slushie or a lollipop against a backdrop of violence and death is not only a provocative and striking visual but a manifestation of the stark contrast involved in coming of age. Teenagers are notoriously torn between childish and adult instincts.
The disparity between childlike innocence and the brash, jaded corruption that comes with growing up has been a point of fascination, particularly in popular American media, for the better part of a century.
Where did the candy motif in lethal teenage movies come from, and what does it mean?
Heathers + The Dawn of the 1990s
After a decade filled with John Hughes and Brat Pack flicks, the end of the 1980s was met with a wake-up call in 1989’s Heathers. Starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, the film was seen as a reaction to the relatively positive happy endings seen in the mainstream teen films of the 80s, following a popular girl’s involvement with a deranged and ultimately murderous classmate.
Many major plot points in the film feature food and drink: From the classic American public school lunches with subsidized milk cartons littering the cafeteria in the opening scene, to the first murder involving a poisoned drink, to a fateful stop at a convenience store for slushies and corn nuts, and even fried chicken wings in the locker room for a post-death debrief.
Heathers knew that the lighthearted, innocuous mise-en-scène that is snacks and refreshments was a perfect way to lighten the mood and highlight a murder’s black comedy features.
Jawbreaker + 90s Candy-Infused Teenage Murder Movies
Ten years later, 1999’s Jawbreaker hit the scene, starring Rose McGowen, Judy Greer, Rebecca Gayheart, and Julie Benz. Like Heathers, the film centers around a group of popular girls, the (questionably) accidental murder of one such friend, uncanny dialogue, and candy-colored pinks, blues, purples, yellows and greens.
Unlike Heathers, Jawbreaker’s lead character — Courtney (Rose McGowen) — is the stone-cold unscrupulous villain. Audiences were fascinated by a teenage girl capable of a conniving manslaughter cover-up.
"The jawbreaker just came to represent the duality of the poppy sweetness of the girls, of high school and of youth, versus the whole idea that this thing could break your jaw,” Jawbreaker Director Darren Stein told the New York Times ahead of the film’s release.
The idea that the most popular girl in high school, dressed head to toe in bright pastels, could be more than just a mean girl, but a murderous one? Perversely delicious.
The resulting film became a cult classic, as did similar films from the time period: 1999’s Drop Dead Gorgeous explores the dark side of beauty pageant competitiveness. 1992’s Poison Ivy showcases the lengths a teenage girl will go to feel they belong.
1994’s Heavenly Creatures follows two teenage girls committing murder fueled by intense friendship and lovely afternoon tea. 1999’s The Virgin Suicides doesn’t feature murder, but does feature the death of five beautiful, pastel-slicked teenage girls masterfully decaying alongside Sofia Coppola’s acumen.
Indeed, while not all of these films won at the box office, the 90s were a period where candy-colored teenage death was taking over Blockbuster video rental shops and cult classic audiences across the western world.
Candy-colored teenage girl murder arguably became a black comedy subgenre, specific to this era of filmmaking. Even when candy is not on screen, bright and pastel candy-like colors are almost always used.
The croquet balls in Heathers’s opening scene look good enough to eat, as do the bright outfits in Jawbreaker. I’m not neuroscientist, but the pastels in Drop Dead Gorgeous and The Virgin Suicides feel as if they tap into the part of the brain that enjoys powdery Smarties candies while simultaneously stimulating a variety of mental illnesses.
The Pop Culture Pendulum Swings + Teenage Movies Get Sweet
After Y2K hit, the cultural pendulum began to swing. The early 2000s saw a refreshed return to more lighthearted high school comedies, with films like Bring It On!, A Cinderella Story, and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen stealing the spotlight.
Even so, many films from this era had a sensibility heavily influenced by the Heathers effect: Mean Girls features violence against popular teenage girls dressed in pink, and John Tucker Must Die boasted a more vicious tone even in its title.
It was no surprise that by the time 2009 rolled around, the pendulum swung once more, and the fascination with murderous teenage girls in cult classic films was on the rise, in large part thanks to Jennifer’s Body. A little ahead of its time, the film, starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried and written by Juno’s Diablo Cody, saw minimal returns at the box office, but gained a strong following in the years to come.
2014 saw Heathers transformation into a popular West End musical. 2015 brought Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens, featuring murder and Emma Roberts bubblegum blowing chops. And soon, 2017’s Thoroughbreds, starring Anya-Taylor Joy and Olivia Cooke, has been noted as a newer entry1 into the teen-girl-murder film log.
Finally, the 2021 television show Yellowjackets has been praised for its fusion between its modern, thriller-drama elements and nods to the violent-candy-colored-teenage-girl genre from which it was born.
While the pop culture pendulum is now swinging at an alarming, near untraceable rate due to our modern attention spans and media formats, this resurgence stands as a clear beacon through the media fog.
The Dichotomy of Candy + Killing on Screen
By 2024, I’m left wondering: Is the sickly-sweet obsession with coming-of-age female violence more than just a pleasurable dichotomy? Surely, this genre speaks to how simultaneously underestimated and objectified teenage girls feel: Our youth-obsessed culture has long praised young women for their looks while belittling their interests. Who amongst us has not seen a teenager being heckled by strangers on the internet for enjoying the music of One Direction or Harry Styles, while praised in another social media post for their use of candy-pink blush?
In candy-infused teenage murder films, teenage girls are largely the ones with the power: The power to kill, and the power to stop the killing. Instead of being the first one killed in the horror movie, blonde-locked teenagers are the villains, too.
While imperfect, this genre certainly works toward giving a little power back to teenagers. In fact, ultimately, I’d argue nearly all teenage-focused films from the 1980s onward have worked toward throwing teenagers a bone: Validating teenage feelings, trials, tribulations, and instilling some sense of control over their own destiny, all while recognizing the hedonistic nature of coming-of-age.
And what could be more hedonistic, more foolishly decadent, or more deceiving than candy?
In Case You Missed It…
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Leave a Comment and let me know: What is your favorite candy-colored lethal teenage girl movie?
With gratitude,
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Recommended Viewing:
Heathers (1989, Dir. Michael Lehmann)
Jawbreaker (1999, Dir. Darren Stein)
Poison Ivy (1992, Dir. Katt Shea)
Heavenly Creatures (1994, Dir. Peter Jackson)
Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999, Dir. Michael Patrick Jann)
The Virgin Suicides (1999, Dir. Sofia Coppola)
Mean Girls (2004, Dir. Mark Waters)
John Tucker Must Die (2006, Dir. Betty Thomas)
Jennifer’s Body (2009, Dir. Karyn Kusama)
Scream Queens (2015, TV show)
Thoroughbreds (2017, Dir. Cory Finley)
Bonus: Bring It On! (2000, Dir Peyton Reed)
Bonus: A Cinderella Story (2004, Dir. Mark Rosman)
Bonus: Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004, Dir. Sara Sugarman)
Never seen THOROUGHBREDS, but I'm a fan of Anya Taylor-Joy... Might have to give that a whirl as a double feature with one of its candy-coated murderous teen predecessors! What a fun article!
I love Jawbreaker so much!