Hard Candy

A teenage girl agrees to meet a thirtysomething fashion photographer in person after becoming acquainted with him in an online chat room, and the resulting encounter finds the line between predator and prey slipping slowly out of focus in director David Slade's provocative and topical thriller. ...more

A cautionary tale of cyberspace pedophilia served with a sick but satisfying twist, Hard Candy couldn't have come at a more opportune time, given the ubiquitous warnings of online predators that had become a staple of nightly newscasts. Of course, topicality can only get a film so far in terms of finding it an audience, and despite the controversial and somewhat off-putting central concept, it's a clever combination of tense thrills and directorial restraint that prove the ultimate key to Hard ...more