This document provides an analysis of the psychological thriller film Hard Candy. It summarizes the plot, which follows a 14-year-old girl, Hayley Stark, who drugs and tortures a 32-year-old man, Jeff, whom she suspects is a pedophile. Though Jeff denies the accusations, Hayley forces him to hang himself. The film examines complex themes of justice, morality, and manipulation. It also discusses the film's conventions, including its single confined setting, naturalistic costumes, and complex characters that subvert expectations and stereotypes to keep audiences unsettled.

1. Hard Candy (2005)
Plot
Hard Candy, which was directed by David Slade, is a psychological crime thriller, that although
is a hybrid of genres, still follows the conventions of a psychological thrillers. The film follows a
14 year old girl called Hayley Stark (played by Ellen Page) who meets an 32 year old man
named Jeff after a sexual online chat. When Hayley arrives at his house, she drugs his drink
and Jeff falls unconscious. When he awakes he finds that Hayley has tied him to a chair and
she explains that she will torture him because she knows he is a rapist and pedophile to which
Jeff denies. After an intense and extreme array of violence, Hayley offers Jeff a deal – she will
destroy the evidence of his actions if he hangs himself which he does.
The film is a perfect example of a psychological thriller narrative as the plot is disturbing and
twisted. This is shown through the extremely uncomfortable scenes of violence the most
famous being when Hayley castrates Jeff. Even though the castration is fake, this scene is still
extremely disturbing and gripping for the audience as throughout the entire film, the audience
questions whether Jeff really is guilty of rape and murder. This is what makes it such an
enticing psychological thriller as the audience is left wondering throughout the film which
raises feelings of paranoia and tension which is conventional of a psychological thriller.

2. Themes
Here is a word collage I made using Word It Out about the themes in the film Hard Candy.
The themes in
Hard Candy do
adhere to the
themes often
found in
psychological
thrillers. This is
because it
discuses themes
that are slightly
taboo and
uncomfortable
for the audience
which is what
makes the film so
gripping and
disturbing.

3. Character Investigation
Hayley is an interesting and disturbing
character whose qualities and characteristics
are conventional of many thriller characters.
The audience starts off sympathizing with
Hayley as there is evidence to suggest that Jeff
is a child predator and she is giving into his
wants by allowing him to take nude photos of
her. However this opinion quickly changes as
she takes a more dominant position and begins
to violently torture Jeff. It could be slightly
unclear whether Hayley is the antagonist or
protagonist of the film. This is because, on the
one hand, Hayley is a vigilante and wants justice for all the young girls like herself that Jeff has taken
advantage of which could lead the audience to take her side. However, the film raises moral issues
that link to Barthes’ narrative theory which states that ‘The Cultural Code’ is a feature found in the
narratives of films and is when the audience has a wider knowledge of the cultural morality shown in
the film. This is definitely the case for the character of Hayley as even though we believe Jeff to have
done wrong, it becomes unclear whether Hayley should be considered to be the hero as the violent
extremities she goes to for justice (including getting Jeff to hang himself) suggest that she is the
antagonist of the film. Her twisted and disturbed mind is conventional of characters in thriller films.

4. Hayley is 14 and does not follow the stereotypical conventions of 14
year old girls in media representations. Instead of being vulnerable and
submissive, which would be expected of a stereotypical young teenage
girl in the presence of a sexual predator, she expresses her dominance
and power over Jeff throughout the film which breaks the stereotypes
of both women and young teenagers.

5. Jeff could be considered to be the
protagonist of the film since we root for
him to escape Hayley’s disturbed and
sadistic torture. However his past
actions do not go unnoticed and the
audience is always aware that he has
taken nude photographs of young
underage girls. As a result, it could be
difficult to view Jeff as the protagonist
and is instead labeled as the anti-hero
meaning he is the central character in
the film but lacks the conventional
attributes a typical protagonist hero
would have. This shows how the
characters in Hard Candy, go against
Propp’s theory of characters as the idea
of an anti-hero is not something that
usually exists. A lot of the time there is
a clear opposition between good and
bad which is also something Strauss
stated in his narrative theory. He talks
about how the media use binary
oppositions to highlight certain
symbolic aspects of a narrative.
Having characters such as Jeff that don’t fit
into one category, is something found in
thriller films as the purpose of the is to excite
the audience often in disturbing and thrilling
ways. A psychological thriller will want to
manipulate the audience’s mind and an easy
way to do that is by creating complex
characters whose true personalities and
secrets are unraveled throughout the play.

6. The Demographic
In the UK, the BBFC rated the film 18 meaning that
the target age demographic would be those over
the age of 18. This is mainly due to the disturbing
and aggressive scenes of violence that wouldn’t be
suitable for a younger audience.
The marketing campaign was effective in drawing
attention to the film and used extensive amounts
of symbolism and connotations throughout to hint
to the audience what the film is about.
Here is the film poster that would have been
displayed in cinemas around the country and
world. You can see that the girl is stood in the
center of a bear trap with the connotations being
danger and violence. It could also suggest a
vulnerability within Hayley which is ironically
disregarded in the film.

7. The Location
The entirety of the film is centered around one location which is Jeff's house.
As a result the intensity of the film is heightened as there is a sense of
confinements as Jeff isn’t able to leave his own home or feel safe in it as it has
been invaded by Hayley. Having one main location seems to be a trend in
psychological thrillers and it is likely to be because it gives the audience the
feeling of never being able to escape. It also creates a sense of isolation from
the external world which would typically heighten someone’s emotions and
paranoia which is conventional in a psychological thriller.
Costumes
The costume choices are naturalistic to reflect the modern day setting
of the film. It also reflects to the audience how the events happening,
could be real even if they are slightly heightened. However, middle
ages men taking photos of young girls is something that does happen in
the real world so the naturalism of the film reflects how this could and
does happen in real life.

8. From analysing this film, I now have a better understanding of
the plots, characters and locations found in psychological
thrillers and how they differ form other genres of film.
I think it is important that the characters in my film have a
complex background that could lead the audience to question
who is the villain and who is the hero. There shouldn’t be a
clear line between the two in order to keep the audience
thinking and questioning the morality of the characters.
I also think it is important to have a key location where the
film is set that could be quite small and confined to reflect the
isolation and feeling of no escape often shown in the
characters in psychological thrillers.