The Candy Shop

Alone the trailer for The Candy Shop left me sitting with my mouth open and shivers down my spine. A very touchy subject and a very brave and aware director with the name of Brandon McCormick just bursting to expose to a wide audience what is going on in HIS doorstep - I hoped it would pay off.

Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, Legion) takes the role of the Candy Shop owner and makes the character so deliciously believably evil. Something is telling you STOP! But you just can't not enter the shop with him.

Only when the inquisitive Jimmy, played by Mattie Liptak, who watches the day to day goings on from his vantage point across the street gets involved does help seem to be at hand. Adults don't have time to get involved - it's not their business anyway.

A dark ending, yes, but so true to life.

This film needs the highest exposure, a masterpiece

Very well written and produced. Great dialect and metaphors.

I've been following WSMP since the great story of the Tin Man from Wizard of OZ "Heartless" (you will have to google that one); and they never fall short from their niche - which is to tell a great story!

My expectations were set really high on this film due to the trend that has been set with their previous films. I must say, although The Candy Shop is a bit controversial, the message is clear and the quality of the film is again, outstanding.

I give it another "bag of kudos" for WhiteStone. I look forward to more from this Georgia Based film company.

J. Philip - HIFI Communications

Whitestone Motion Pictures does it again. As with everything Whitestone does the production value is excellent. This is a great film about an important topic. Glad to see there is a motion picture company that's willing to develop a compelling story around important and often ignored issue. We went to the premier of the film with a 16 year old kid from our neighborhood who's 18 year old sister has been prostituting herself since she was 13. He left the film with a sense of responsibility that he like the boy in the film needed to rescue his sister from the evil that is in her life. I can only hope there are more films like this that help people look at issues we don't like to talk about.

Whitestone Motion Pictures does it again, creating a 30 minute film packed with as much emotion and power as a feature-length film. The Candy Shop is an allegorical tale about child sex trafficking, and director Brandon McCormick handles the difficult subject matter with grace. The film is not preachy or overbearing, but rather makes its point candidly and simply.

Doug Jones is incredibly creepy as the shop owner, especially in the film's climax scene. Mattie Liptak does well as Jimmy, the protagonist. His friend Nancy is played by Abigail Monet, who does an incredible job portraying a street urchin.

The film is bolstered by Nick Kirk's score, and the beautiful darkness of the cinematography lends itself to presenting the subject matter somberly.

This film, The Candy Shop, is without a doubt a 10/10 film. It talks about child exploitation without diving into disturbing details. The story is touching, and impacting.

The film has a brilliant cinematic look to it. The CG is top-notch and the acting was equally good. This film has no flaws. It has the look of a Hollywood film.

It's great to see people raising awareness to slavery. It needs to be done, and these good people have done an incredible job. This film deserves a LOT more attention. Slavery is happening under our very noses and we don't even see it; films like this help raise awareness.

God bless the filmmakers!