Overview
Strangers shouldn’t talk to little girls.
Hayley’s a smart, charming teenage girl. Jeff’s a handsome, smooth fashion photographer. An Internet chat, a coffee shop meet-up, an impromptu fashion shoot back at Jeff’s place. Jeff thinks it’s his lucky night. He’s in for a surprise.
Review
Always be weary of an innocent-looking damsel wearing red. Yes, four of five doctor’s clearly think Hayley’s insane. She’s also Jeff’s karma. Hard Candy is a classic revenge story and one hell of a psychological thriller.
Ellen (at the time) Page (now Elliot) played one of the most intense, brilliant roles in a horror thriller. As Hayley, she flips the switch from innocent, naive young teen to relentlessly pissed off psychopath in the blink of an eye. She dismantles Jeff (played by Patrick Wilson) both physically and psychologically as this film progresses and it’s brutal to watch it play out. But, at the same time, there is a universal justice coming to fruition.
Hard Candy is truly an unforgettable film. This movie may serve Hollywood and the world with a wake up call. There is quite a bit of manipulation happening in power-hungry places with innocent young lives falling prey to the dynamics of sexual abuse and pedophilia. And one of these abusers might just come across a wildcard (like Hayley) that alters the course of their life. This film is believable enough and intensely poetic enough in its vigilante justice to put some deviants on the straight and narrow.
Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)
