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Movies / On DVD / Hard Candy
Hard Candy

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Hard Candy (2005)

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Reviews Counted:9

Fresh:6

Rotten:3

Average Rating:6.5/10

Consensus: Disturbing, controversial, but entirely engrossing, Hard Candy is well written with strong lead performances, especially that of newcomer Ellen Page. A movie that stays with the viewer long after leaving the theater.

Rated: 18 [See Full Rating] for disturbing violent and aberrant sexual content involving a teen, and for language.

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:16-06-2006

Synopsis: Hayley's a smart, charming teenage girl -- but even smart girls make mistakes. She's hooking up in a coffee shop with Jeff, a guy she's met on the Internet. And even though he's a cute,... Hayley's a smart, charming teenage girl -- but even smart girls make mistakes. She's hooking up in a coffee shop with Jeff, a guy she's met on the Internet. And even though he's a cute, smooth high-end fashion photographer in his early 30s, Hayley shouldn't be suggesting that the two of them go back to his house-alone. When they get there, Hayley quickly finds some vodka and starts mixing screwdrivers. She even suggests a photo shoot and strips off some clothing. Everything is going well for Jeff… until his vision blurs and fades, and he passes out. It turns out Hayley has spiked Jeff's screwdriver, and when he revives, he's tied down with Hayley searching through his place. She doesn't think it'll take too long to get a confession that she's not the first teenage girl Jeff's brought home and, more importantly, that her prisoner knows what happened to Donna Mauer, another girl who disappeared from Jeff's favorite coffee shop. And if he's unwilling to confess, well, she has another plan -- She uses an icepack as a homemade anesthetic… She starts shaving an incision site… She's learned a lot from the internet -- including this little surgical procedure she's dying to try… Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page star in HARD CANDY, a provocative psychological thriller directed by David Slade, written by Brian Nelson, produced by David Higgins, Richard Hutton and Michael Caldwell, and executive produced by Jody Patton and Rosanne Korenberg. It is the latest film produced by Vulcan Productions (FAR FROM HEAVEN, TITUS) in association with Launchpad Productions. -- © Lions Gate Films [More]

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Ellen Page, Sandra Oh, Jennifer Holmes

Starring: Patrick Wilson, Ellen Page, Sandra Oh, Jennifer Holmes

Director: David Slade

Director: David Slade
Screenwriter: Brian Nelson
Composer: Harry Escott, Molly Nyman
Studio: Lions Gate Films

[See More Credits]

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  • Exclusive Clip: "Hiding Something"
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    Exclusive Clip: "Busted"
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    Exclusive Clip: "Stop"
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Reviews for Hard Candy

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1 - 9 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Thoroughly confounding the 'normal' relationship between abuser and victim, first-time director Slade presents a complex morality tale under the guise of an exploitation thriller.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
06/15/07
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A cracking little thriller which makes you think even as it’s keeping you on the edge of your seat. It’s not always easy viewing, but Hard Candy is an intelligent, challenging film which deserves to be seen.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Caroline Westbrook
Caroline Westbrook
Empire Magazine
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A film that will have you both squirming in your seat and teetering on the edge of it.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/24/06
Stella Papamichael
Stella Papamichael
BBC
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Packaged in an increasingly lurid, credibility-free storyline, delivered with unstinting insensitivity by a first-time director determined to show off his ad-man’s box of visual tics.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out
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Seen as a film, seen as acting and direction, seen as just exactly how it unfolds on the screen, Hard Candy is impressive and effective.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
04/28/06
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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Maddeningly exploitative, the film takes a provocative subject -- pedophilia -- and wraps it in a sterile, vacuum-sealed package, devoid of meaning.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
04/13/06
Kevin Crust
Kevin Crust
Los Angeles Times
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More sour than hard, this highfalutin exploitation flick starts with an unsavory premise that quickly becomes downright unpalatable.

comment 1 Comment
04/13/06
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
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There is nothing sugar-coated about this taut, timely psycho-thriller.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
04/12/06
Michael Rechtshaffen
Michael Rechtshaffen
Hollywood Reporter
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A spectacular performance by teenage thesp Ellen Page elevates this disturbing slice of designer shocksploitation into a film that's impossible to dismiss on principle.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/02/05
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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1 - 9 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for Hard Candy

December 06, 2007: Ellen Page on Juno: The RT Interview
Canadian actress Ellen Page is an anomaly in Hollywood. The star of this week's Juno has been in movies since the age of 10, has the face of a 14-year-old and the pop... More...

June 18, 2007: Patrick Wilson (Pretty Much) Confirmed for "Watchmen"
He did great work in both "Hard Candy" and "Little Children," so now it might be time for Patrick Wilson's shot at the comic book material. More...

December 27, 2006: Foster a Vampire Groupie for "30 Days of Night"
After playing troubled, goth-influenced teens in projects like "Six Feet Under" and "Hostage," it's about time Ben Foster just went right to the vampires. In... More...

April 14, 2006: JB's Exclusive "Candy" Clip
One of my very favorite movies of the year (so far, anyway) is Brian Nelson & David Slade's Hard Candy, a tough and steely psycho-thriller about an internet predator, an... More...

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