A word of warning to creepy middle-aged men: Internet chat rooms can be dangerous – for you.
The people there may not be who they say they are. Your own personal safety may be at risk – especially if you arrange a meeting.
That’s the curveball moral of the new film “Hard Candy,” a brutal tale of vigilante justice with a Taser-brandishing Little Red Riding Hood.
Canadian actress Ellen Page stars as Hayley, a fresh-faced 14-year-old who meets thirtysomething photographer Jeff (Patrick Wilson) online. When they decide to rendezvous at a café and then proceed back to Jeff’s place, it’s easy to imagine the worst.
But boy, do things not go how Jeff expects them to go.
“I think it was a ’20/20′ piece, although we’ve never been able to find it again,” says producer David Higgins of the real-life news story that inspired the “Hard Candy” script. “These underage Japanese girls were going online and luring older men out – and then there would be five or six of them, and they would beat the crap out of the guy.”
In the tradition of “The Legend of Billie Jean” and “Thelma & Louise,” the film turns the tables on female victimization – but goes way further. When it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year, the movie stirred up controversy for the extreme measures Hayley exacts on the man she suspects of being a pedophile and murderer.
“One movie executive told us he had to go out at one point and throw up,” says Higgins. “It’s interesting. There’s no blood and gore. We knew we would never be able to show [certain things] on-screen, because you’d get an NC-17. The best thing is to let people’s imaginations do all the work!”
We’re not going to spoil the surprise, but it’s safe to say Hayley goes to places that make male audience members extremely uncomfortable. And that, says Higgins, is part of the film’s delicious complexity.
“The idea of a little girl hurting a grown man is something that is so damaging to men, it throws off their inner balance to such an extent, that they get mad at her, and at the film,” he says. “And then you have an audience rooting for someone who may be a pedophile.”
Page, 19, says it’s a shame many teenage girls – potentially Hayley’s biggest cheerleaders – won’t legally be able to see the movie for themselves.
“They can’t get into the movie, because it’s fricking rated R,” says the actress, who goes on to condemn society’s chronic underestimation of the average 14-year-old. “I think the media isn’t really reliable in its reflection of teenagers. There’s plenty of extremely intelligent, passionate girls out there.”
Next seen in the upcoming “X-Men: The Last Stand,” Page says she admired the philosophy behind Hayley’s actions – even if they are over-the-top.
“This is a girl who sees something wrong with society and decides to do something about it,” she says. “In the end, I developed a lot of respect for her.”
sara.stewart@nypost.com
