Hard Candy takes the road less traveled.
| Tweet | |
|
|
Hard Candy relys less on visually shocking images and more on psychologically powerful film making, and the result is a rare and engaging horror movie gem.
Review by: The Zombie Master Lee Roberts
September 23, 2006
Release: 2005
Directed by: David Slade
Written by: Brian Nelson
Starring:
Patrick Wilson as Jeff Kohlver
Ellen Page as Hayley Stark
One of the most difficult things to accomplish in film is to make the audience think they have seen something that they haven’t thus increasing the psychological impact by totally freaking out the viewer. Few films have accomplished this and even fewer directors have attempted it because it is much easier to shock visually. Because of the rarity of such cinematic gems I like to pass on the titles that I find that happen to be worth watching.
Hard Candy is one such film. We start with a conversation on the internet between a young thirteen year old girl and an adult man. 
Through the conversation we discover that they have been talking to each other for quite some time and have finally decided to meet face to face. At a restaurant we are introduced to the two main characters. Jeff Kohlver (Patrick Wilson) is the supposed predator and Hayley Stark (Ellen Page) the supposed victim. After some basic conversation, Hayley is convinced to go to Jeff’s abode to view a concert video of her favorite band.
After some more conversation, and a few adult beverages, Jeff starts to feel ill and passes out. Now it gets interesting. Hayley has spiked Jeff’s drink and he wakes up tied to a chair in his own house. The tables have turned and the predator has now become the victim.
For the next 90 minutes, Hayley proceeds to completely mess with Jeff. It seems that Jeff was last seen with a young girl that has gone missing and Hayley wants to know where she is. She torments, teases, terrifies, and threatens Jeff to try to get him to tell where the missing girl is. With an interesting ending Hard Candy will leave you wondering what you saw and what you didn’t.
I have two daughters and the subject matter of Hard Candy has been at the forefront of worries that I have had. One of the things that Brian Nelson (writer) and David Slade (director) expertly accomplish is that no matter what happens to Jeff, you never once start to feel sympathy for him. What Jeff has done is unacceptable in society and the filmmakers keep it that way. They also succeed in producing imagery by way of situation to make the viewer psychologically uncomfortable without having to resort to graphic and disturbing scenery.
Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page are also to be commended for a job well done. The entire script revolves around only two characters and these two actors showed their strength by supporting the weight of the movie on their shoulders and carrying it through to the end without letting up one bit.
When Hard Candy was over I bought into the whole thing. To me that is a success in film making. Bravo. Questions or comments about Hard Candy? Contact us!
Take me to horror movie reviews!
Horror Movie Freaks is the FREE eZine from Best-Horror-Movies.com that will give you the new horror releases, the new horror news and the new horror reviews that you CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT!!
Subscribing is easy, painless and free.
Do it NOW!!
