A great movie isn’t necessarily one that you can simply enjoy on a whim without being fully prepared, with director David Slade’s Hard Candy proving itself to be an enduring cult favorite that demands its audience be in the exact right frame of mind to get the most enjoyment out of a disturbing revenge thriller.
The nasty 2005 feature was a huge hit relative to its costs, with the nerve-shredding game of cat and mouse bringing in over $8 million from theaters on a meager $950,000 budget. Painting Patrick Wilson in a completely different light as a dangerous sociopath with unsavory extracurricular interests, Hard Candy also marked the first major role of soon-to-be Academy Award nominee Elliot Page’s stellar career.
The Umbrella Academy alum plays a precocious teenager who meets up with Wilson’s photographer, but the catfisher becomes the catfishee when Page’s Hayley reveals an ulterior motive. Knowing full well he’s a predator with an interest in teenage girls, a visceral battle of physical and mental wits ensues as the intrepid youngster attempts to extract a confession by any means necessary.
Hard Candy isn’t for everyone, and that sentiment has been compounded by a Reddit threat lavishing the anxiety-inducing favorite in renewed praise. Virtually all of the top-voted comments and replies make a point of noting that they’ve had questionable experiences with the film depending on the company being kept at the time, hammering home that it’s not the sort of thing you can simply show to anybody seeking a recommendation.
Frantic, ferocious, and altogether unsettling, Hard Candy‘s cold-blooded nature comes burdened with a highly specific set of circumstances to enjoy it to the fullest.