Revenge motion pictures have been a preferred characteristic in mainstream Hollywood for many years, and it’s a style that has typically by no means shied away from controversy. There have been numerous horror motion pictures the place a seemingly regular man, or a full blown creep, lures an unsuspecting feminine sufferer again to his place (which is usually a creepy lair, or a dungeon, naturally). The style has seen motion pictures emerge from each the small underground scene to massive finances Hollywood photos. Nonetheless, a number of the most intriguing and memorable revenge movies have been the entries that subvert the standard man-tortures-woman traditions of the slasher style. Over the many years we’ve seen motion pictures akin to 1995’s Boy Meets Lady, Girl Vengeance from 2005, 1999’s excellent Audition, with its wince inducing torture scenes splendidly subverting what at first begins as a mild romance, in a means. In fact, we even have the likes of Kill Invoice 1 & 2 and even cult classics like Russ Meyer’s 1965 exploitation flick Sooner Pussycat Kill Kill has parts of revenge in its story of three dancers occurring a killing spree in California. Nonetheless, it’s a film from 2005 that we’re specializing in on this episode, which options themes of on-line security for younger folks which are an rising concern these days; the properly obtained and thought scary Onerous Sweet, directed by David Slade. The movie follows a 32-year-old photographer, Jeff, who welcomes 14-year-old Hayley, with whom he has been seductively chatting on-line, into his home. Nonetheless, she believes that he’s a pedophile and intends to punish him. On-line security was one thing the media regularly mentioned within the early noughties, so it was solely a matter of time earlier than a film was made that dived into the topic. It’s not a straightforward material to tackle, so had director Slade managed to create a horror film that managed to entertain, shock and provoke thought amongst audiences when it was launched? Let’s discover out right here on WTF occurred to Onerous Sweet.
Producer David Higgins first had the thought for the film when he noticed a information story on the American tv newsmagazine 20/20, about Japanese women who lured older businessmen to a particular location, with the promise of significant dialog, solely to then assault and mug them with a gang of different women. This led Higgins to ponder the query, “What if the person you expect to be the predator is not who you expect it to be? What if it’s the other person?”. Audiences love motion pictures which are in a position to subvert their expectations, and with the thought regularly changing into one thing that would work in a mainstream market, Higgins approached author Brian Nelson to fast-track a therapy, adopted by the completed script.
The pair then approached David Slade to tackle the directing hot-seat, and he made his debut with the film. Like a variety of profitable administrators, Slade cast a profession in filmmaking by directing some cool music movies for the likes of Fatboy Slim, Stone Temple Pilots, Tori Amos, Muse, Stereophonics and System of a Down. The one different official venture he’d labored on earlier than Onerous Sweet, that wasn’t a music video, was a brief movie referred to as Do Geese See God. I’d think about…they in all probability don’t. So, it was possibly a barely dangerous transfer to belief a film with such a controversial narrative, to a director with little to no expertise of constructing mainstream theatrical motion pictures. Nonetheless, Slade was onboard, and he had the chance to indicate that he might efficiently make the troublesome transition from music video director, to a extra mainstream filmmaker.
With the script not requiring too many elaborate set-ups, the film was shot in simply eighteen days, principally in sequence and largely through the use of a soundstage. There was additionally extra of an emphasis on telling the story via artistic sound and manufacturing design. The soundtrack solely options 9 minutes of music in its 104 minute runtime, with heavy respiration and different, extra atmospheric ambient sounds, making up the majority of the diegetic audio within the film. There was additionally little or no dubbing required, with solely a handful of traces modified in post-production.
Probably the most hanging photographs that’s used within the film’s advertising marketing campaign is the pink, hooded sweatshirt that Elliot Web page’s character, Hayley, wears whereas standing in an enormous bear lure. Surprisingly, this wasn’t a deliberate artistic alternative by the manufacturing workforce, regardless of it being good imagery to promote the film. It was really a serendipitous wardrobe alternative by the artistic workforce, who solely realized how becoming it was afterward within the course of of promoting the film. Naturally the worldwide advertising made the many of the fortuitous wardrobe alternative, and an incredible instance is the tagline on the Japanese web site for the movie which reads: “Red Hood traps the Wolf in his own game.” The title of the film additionally went via a number of completely different incarnations earlier than Onerous Sweet was in the end chosen. Author Nelson’s early working title concepts through the scriptwriting course of have been Vendetta and one other, which might have had guys the world over wincing; Snip Snip. Producer Higgins requested for a title with a “sugar and spice combination and a mixture of harsh roughness, innocence, and vulnerability”. So, Onerous Sweet it was!
Casting in any film is all the time completely key, and due to the character of Onerous Sweet’s narrative, discovering protagonists who might efficiently be convincing as a attainable paedophile, and the younger lady seeking to punish him, was doubtlessly very tough. For the function of Hayley, the manufacturing workforce turned to Ellen Web page, who’s now Elliot Web page in fact, and, as I’ll focus on within the overview, it’s an incredible piece of casting. Equally troublesome to forged was the character of Jeff which went to the superb Patrick Wilson. The actor had already featured in a handful of TV exhibits and films, together with the likes of Angels in America, The Alamo and The Phantom of the Opera, however he was nonetheless a relative newcomer to mainstream audiences. It was maybe a danger then, to tackle the function of a man who had been accused of some actually horrible crimes. Rounding out the forged is the excellent character actor, Sandra Oh as Judy Tokuda, plus Jennifer Holmes as Janelle Rogers.
Is it attainable for any film to create sympathy for a man in his 30s who spends his spare time trolling across the web searching for underage women? Plus, extra importantly and extra to the purpose – ought to it actually be making an attempt to? Nicely, they’re the questions being requested of the viewers by Onerous Sweet, a tightly crafted and efficient horror film that makes an attempt to evoke sympathy for each predator and prey. The film opens with a picture of a pc display screen exhibiting an instant-message dialog between Patrick Wilson’s Jeff and Elliot Web page’s Hayley, who’ve been flirting on-line. We subsequent see them assembly face-to-face for the primary time in a espresso store the place their dialog continues to be as flirtatious as it’s secretly coded, with hidden which means behind each fastidiously written sentence in Brian Nelson’s script. They ultimately find yourself again at Jeff’s place the place it’s revealed he’s a photographer with an unnerving curiosity in younger women, as confirmed by the images of what appear to be underrage, semi-clothed women hanging on his partitions. Nonetheless, earlier than Jeff can take their relationship any additional, Hayley turns the tables on him that units each Jeff, and the viewer up for a really uncomfortable expertise.
I gained’t spoil precisely what the remainder of the film delivers when it comes to Hayley’s retribution, her motives and likewise the precise nature of what she plans to do to Jeff, as a result of if you happen to’ve managed to remain spoiler free from the film it’s value stepping into chilly and letting all of it unfold. Suffice it to say that the blokes watching the film would be the ones squirming of their seats when the third act kicks in. Director Slade ratchets up the strain expertly, with only a trace of the torture Jeff is enduring and by the tip of the sequence it virtually makes the viewer wonder if his actions deserve the punishment he’s enduring. Onerous Sweet isn’t a nice or a straightforward film to observe nevertheless it’s a really completed horror / thriller in its personal proper. Web page is superb because the vengeful Hayley; going from flirty, harmless and curious in the direction of the start of the film, to chilly and calculating in the direction of the tip. There are some character choices that don’t fully make sense, plus a number of the dialogue might have been clunky within the mistaken arms, however these are minor complaints. Additionally, the film loses a few of its pressure and turns into rather less scary as soon as Hayley’s true motivations develop into clear, however for probably the most half, revisiting Onerous Sweet has been extremely rewarding, albeit in a very uncomfortable means.
The film premiered on the 2005 Sundance Movie Pageant with a midnight screening, nevertheless audiences needed to wait till the location’s failing Dolby Encompass system was repaired earlier than it started. It was given a restricted launch in two theaters in Los Angeles and New York on April 14th, 2006 and achieved the very best per-screen common within the prime 50 with virtually $30 million per theater. The film additionally had a world launch and by the tip of its run it had grossed a reported complete of $8.3 million. The film additionally managed to snag some awards recognition, with Web page, who was presenting as feminine on the time, selecting up Finest Actress on the Austin Movie Critics Affiliation Awards, whereas it additionally gained greatest movie, director, actress and cinematography on the Malaga Movie Pageant in 2006.
Critically, the film was met with a largely optimistic response. On overview aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 147 critic opinions are optimistic, and the typical ranking is 6.4/10. The critics consensus reads: “Disturbing, controversial, but entirely engrossing, Hard Candy is well written with strong lead performances, especially that of newcomer Elliot Page. A movie that stays with the viewer long after leaving the theater.” Roger Ebert rated the movie 3.5/4 stars, writing “There is undeniable fascination in the situation as it unfolds…Seen as a film, seen as acting and direction, seen as just exactly how it unfolds on the screen, Hard Candy is impressive and effective.” The UK’s Empire Journal referred to as it a “cracking little thriller” and Selection praised Web page’s efficiency. Nonetheless, The Chicago Reader’s Jonathan Rosenbaum wasn’t too eager on the themes of torture and mutilation, saying that, “I’d rather have this movie obliterated from my memory”.
On the finish of the day, Onerous Sweet isn’t a film to be loved essentially, no less than not within the conventional sense. It’s actually a troublesome watch in locations, nevertheless it does an incredible job of highlighting a difficulty that was extra than simply an rising concern on the time, and is actually a outstanding subject in immediately’s extra fashionable digital world. Nonetheless, crucial opinion we all the time love to listen to is from YOU guys, so what’s your tackle Onerous Sweet? Did the filmmakers create a horror / slash thriller that raises necessary questions on on-line security? Or was it only a contact too uncomfortable to take a seat via for probably the most half? Let me know within the feedback and I’ll see you fantastic gore-hounds subsequent time. Thanks for watching!
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