I’ve always been curious about this old 1973 sleazer. Or supposed sleazer rather. The promotional materials, including a poster featuring three thugs looking down at a blindfolded girl lying in a ditch, scream “Last House on the Left.” But what you get instead is something along the lines of a potboiling TV movie thriller. A good TV movie thriller, however.
“The Candy Snatchers” finds our three aforementioned thugs kidnapping a young teen heiress for the purpose of nabbing a ransom from her rich stepfather. But unfortunately for our anti-heroes, they haven’t done their homework and they find that stepdaddy would actually rather have them kill his stepdaughter as he would be next in line to inherit the fortune heading her way.
Oops!
So we get to know what makes these kidnappers tick as they try and figure out how to dig themselves out of the s**t a*s mess they’ve gotten themselves into. It doesn’t necessarily provide the hardest core of exploitation fare, but it does make way for character depth and room for the actors to do their thing that isn’t normally seen in flicks like these. The result? TV movie with just a bit of a rougher edge. However, if you do find yourself watching “The Candy Snatchers”, stick around till the end. The finale kicks you right in the groin just when you’re no expecting it.
