- 9
The whole affair feels as much like a stunt as it does an exploration of crime and punishment, but is no less thrilling a ride.
— E!
- 8
...impressive and effective.
—Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times
- 8
...a wretched, well-executed, difficult, artful, and appalling creation...
—Anne Gilbert filmcritic.com
- 8
...extreme -- a battle of the sexes that glides from tricky to angry to shockingly ugly.
—Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly
- 7
...a queasy blend of exploitation-movie nastiness and blunt moral lesson...
—Maitland McDonagh TV Guide
- 7
What we have here is simply a spectacularly unpleasant horror show...
—Kyle Smith New York Post
- 6
...the taut thriller quickly goes slack.
—Leah Rozen People
- 6
As Hard Candy moves further and further away from its opening scenes' gripping ambiguity, the frightening conviction Page brings to her role becomes the only thing keeping the film from lurching into sleazy, pulpy camp.
—Nathan Rabin Onion AV Club
- 5
...the more things drag on, the more monotonous they become and, by the end, Hard Candy has devolved into a rather transparent game of one-upmanship in which Hayley and Jeff come across in almost equally repellent measure, their behaviors driven less by organic impulses than by their need to satisfy the script?s elaborate series of reversals and counter-reversals.
—Scott Foundas LA Weekly
- 5
...starts out strong but spirals into a reversal of roles that becomes tedious.
—Kevin Crust Los Angeles Times
- 5
More sour than hard...
—Manohla Dargis New York Times
- 5
...for those in need of a nearly two-hour, two-character revenge flick about a 14-year-old girl who proceeds to extract a thirtysomething dude's balls, it's solid fun for the whole family.
—Pete Hammond Maxim
- 4
...however it's wrapped, is a tough one to swallow.
—Rob Nelson Village Voice
- 4
...a relentlessly unpleasant and often unwatchable piece of highbrow schlock...
—Gary Goldstein Reel
- 4
Chat-room stalkers deserve everything the law can throw at them, including enforced viewings of Hard Candy.
—Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune
- 4
...a wannabe exploitation flick bereft of brains and balls.
—Nick Schager Slant Magazine