Hard Candy (film)

Hard Candy is a 2005 crime thriller focusing on the torture of a suspected sexual predator by a 14-year-old female vigilante. The film was directed by David Slade, written by Brian Nelson, and starred Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson. It was the first feature film for Slade, who had previously mainly directed music videos.

The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, and was screened at the Florida Film Festival in April 2006. It had limited release in two theaters in the US. The film made over $7 million at the box office, including almost $6 million from outside the US, on a budget of under $1 million.

Hard Candy won three awards at the 2005 Sitges Film Festival, four awards at the Málaga Film Festival, and was also awarded Overlooked Film of the Year at the 2006 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards. Page won Best Actress at the 2006 Austin Film Critics Association Awards.

Plot

The film opens with a sexually charged, flirtatious online chat between two people with the screen names Thonggrrrl14 and Lensman319. Lensman319 is a photographer who admits to "fantasizing" about Thonggrrrl14. Thonggrrrl14 entices Lensman319 to meet at a café to "hook up". At the café, Thonggrrrl14 – Hayley Stark – meets Lensman319 – Jeff Kohlver. Hayley makes several references to her age (14 years old), yet succeeds in convincing Jeff to take her to his house. After showing her around, Hayley makes them both screwdrivers and asks him to take photographs. Before he can, Jeff gets dizzy, his vision blurs, and he falls to the floor unconscious.