We’ve all heard the story of creepy, maladjusted men, lurking in the dark corners of internet chatrooms. This phenomenon has become a bit of an urban ledgend; a scary fiction, that for most teens, falls under the categorey of parental paranoia. In Hard Candy, we meet Hayley (Ellen Paige), a smart charming teenage girl. She`s hooking up in a coffee shop with Jeff (Patrick Wilson), a guy she`s met on the Internet. Jeff`s a cute, smooth professional in his early 30s, drives a mini coupe, and makes a good living as a high-end fashion photographer. Normally, Hayley would know better than to suggest that they leave the cafe, or that the two of them go back to Jeff`s house alone. More often that not, she would never go anywhere with a stranger she`s just met. Jeff might be one of those lurkers that she`s been warned about. He could be what you might call a pedophile. Some people would think it strange that a 30-year-old man would meet with a 14-year-old girl, and take her back to his house. In most cases, you’d think the girl didn’t know any better, that she was too young to know about the terrible things that might happen there. In most cases, you’d be right. In most cases. Hayley`s not what she appears to be. In fact, you might say that it is poor Jeff, who is in the dark.

103 minutes – Thriller
Release date: April 28, 2006
Canadian distributor: Maple Pictures