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.
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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. 
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Simpy
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