Recent Reviews
DVD Review: Hard Candy
By Dave Dreher
Sep 13, 2006, 20:25

You know you’re having a bad day when you find yourself strapped to a table with an icepack on your crotch.  Hard Candy is an uncomfortable film to watch.  Partly because of it’s subject matter and partly because it yanks the blindfold off your eyes and forces you to realize that they are some sick freaking people out there and there is nothing you can do about it but try and avoid them.

I was completely engulfed by this film and the no holds barred attitude that it has in broaching a very touchy subject matter. 

Some minor spoilers lie ahead so proceed with caution but I will keep the plot points as brief as possible and I promise to not ruin the viewing for ya.

I think that we can all agree that for the most part the internet is an awesome thing.  As with all things that the public can just access at their will there are a few that like to turn a good thing into a tool for use as a dark and disturbing thing.  Hard Candy for the most part is a one act play set in an apartment.  The things that transpire there are the things of nightmares.

One of the big reasons that the film works so well is that the lines are blurred between good and evil, right and wrong, vengeance and madness.  We are led down a path where what seems apparent is a lie and what seems a lie could be true.  It is a true rollercoaster ride not only for the characters in the film but also for those of us watching it all unfold on screen. 

Ellen Page is breathtaking as the lead female character Haley.  Her performance is outstanding and was worthy of Oscar mention.  To think that Ms. Page is just starting her career is exciting.  We can look forward to extremely great things from this huge talent.  Also fantastic in the film is Patrick Wilson who plays Jeff.  These two are on the screen easily 99.9% of the time and with the exception of a couple of walk on performances are pretty much the only people you see.

The DVD is available on Sept. 19^th and as always LIONSGATE has put together a great set of special features to chew on.  Here is what you get:

DVD Bonus Features:

1. Commentary with Director David Slade and Writer Brian Nelson

2. Commentary with actors Patrick Wilson and Ellen Page

3. Deleted and extended scenes

4. Making Of Documentary

Seriously, this is one disturbing, messed up, screw with your head piece of work.  What more could you ask for from a horror film.

Pick this one up.  You’ll want it in your collection.