The title of this post may be a little mis-leading. I have not seen the movie Hard Candy, so I am not 100% sure that this movie does tackle such topics. However, after seeing the trailer (click here) I can only assume that it does so. This was apparently a big hit at Sundance and is about Internet stalking. Alright, so this topic has been covered before, but I never quite bought it. The thing that appeals to me about the trailer for Hard Candy is that it disturbs the hell out of me, and I think any film about Internet whack-jobs needs to be this disturbing in order to open more eyes.

It appears to be the story of a 30-something photographer (Patrick Wilson) that lures a 14-year-old girl (Ellen Page) into meeting up with him and coming back to his place for a little foul play. A few skeletons come out of the closet and madness ensues.

This trailer really holds a lot of appeal and I anticipate its release. Most horror/thrillers are just recycled remakes. It is nice to know that for every When A Stranger Calls that some Sundance wonder with original material of his or her own comes forward with a project like this. Yes, I sat in the theater watching this trailer feeling uncomfortable as I watched an older man creppily lick chocolate icing from a teen girl’s lip. The thing is, pedophilia is a big problem on the Internet so much that Dateline NBC has done God knows how many successful undercover stings. Someone had to make a movie about it instead of sitting in denial, and I am glad director David Slade has done so. I think Hard Candy has the potential to be a great thriller because it focuses on something that is quite sadly happening frequently in real life. So parents….lock up your daughters!