Candyman (2021) Universal/Horror RT: 91 minutes Rated R (bloody horror violence, language including some sexual references) Director: Nia DaCosta Screenplay: Jordan Peele, Win Rosenfeld and Nia DaCosta Music: Robert A. A. Lowe Cinematography: John Guleserian Release date: August 27, 2021 (US) Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Colman Domingo, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Kyle Kaminsky, Vanessa Williams, Brian King, Rebecca Spence, Miriam Moss, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Christiana Clark, Michael Hargrove, Rodney L. Jones III. Box Office: $61.2M (US)/$77.4M (World)
Rating: *** ½
The original 1992 Candyman is one of the scariest scary movies I’ve ever seen. It had me jumping out of my seat screaming at least three times in the first 40 minutes. I still regard it as one of the best horror movies EVER! The downside to this distinction is that no sequel could possibly measure up to such a high standard. The two sequels, Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) and Candyman: Day of the Dead (1999), proved this theory to be true.
Well, you can forget all about both of them. The all-new Candyman is one of those retrofit deals that chuck all existing sequels and start fresh with a new continuation. The good news is it works. It’s right up there with the original. Directed by Nia DaCosta (Little Woods), it’s not just a mere rehash. It builds on the original story in a brilliant way. Also, it’s very much a horror tale for our times in how it touches upon serious issues currently affecting the country, namely urban gentrification and the treatment of blacks by law enforcement. It’s also a damn good scary story.
Remember the Cabrini-Green projects in Chicago? They’re gone. The once dangerous neighborhood has undergone gentrification. It’s hardly recognizable anymore. It’s populated by young black professionals like Anthony McCoy (Mateen, The Trial of the Chicago 7), a visual artist living his girlfriend, art gallery director Brianna Cartwright (Parris, WandaVision). He’s experiencing a creative slump at the moment. He needs a fresh idea or he’ll be bumped from an upcoming exhibition. It’s Brianna’s brother Troy (Jarrett, Misfits) who provides inspiration when he relates the urban legend of Helen Lyle, the white grad student who supposedly went on a killing spree in the early 90s after becoming obsessed with local legend Candyman. That’s how it always starts, with a story.
Anthony starts poking around and eventually meets William Burke (Domingo, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), a laundromat owner who encountered Candyman as a child. Now here’s the thing; it’s NOT the Candyman we know and fear. This one has a different backstory. In life, he was Sherman Fields (Hargrove, The Express), a local man with a hook for a hand who handed out candy to the neighborhood children. When a white girl gets a piece with a razor blade, the police go after him with a vengeance. They catch up to him and beat him to death after Burke unintentionally alerts them to his presence. A little while later, he’s proven innocent when more children receive candy with razor blades. Now his spirit terrorizes all those who summon him by repeating his name five times in front of a mirror.
Inspired by Anthony’s exhibit piece (“Say My Name”), some people do precisely what they shouldn’t and call Candyman forth with fatal results. Meanwhile, Anthony starts undergoing a hideous physical transformation stemming from a bee sting he got while walking around the new Cabrini-Green. His mental state deteriorates as well.
People go to the movies as a means of escape from reality. Let’s face it, life hasn’t been great this past year or so with all the protests stemming from police brutality directed at blacks. In fact, it’s been downright scary. Leave it to co-writer Jordan Peele to find a way to incorporate it into a horror movie. He proved he was adept at balancing hard truths and legit scares with his debut feature Get Out. He further hones this skill with Candyman which can be seen as an allegory for the movement against lethal law enforcement. Each generation has its own Candyman and all of them are victims of injustice. They’re symbolic of the fallen black men who died at the hands of overzealous, racist cops. Okay, I’m done discussing the film’s political undertones.
Candyman is a stylish, unnerving piece with some great gory set pieces and grisly makeup effects. Anthony’s physical deterioration is like something out of a David Cronenberg film, the most obvious comparison being The Fly. I also like how the backstories are depicted with shadow puppetry. I have to admit I’ve never seen that done before. The cinematography by John Guleserian is first rate. Da Costa’s visual style beautifully augments it. One particularly effective moment is a long shot of a murder being committed through the window of a high-rise. At the same time, it has a dark, devilish sense of humor. The movie opens with backwards versions of the studio logos while a certain song by Sammy Davis Jr. plays over the soundtrack. The score by Robert A. A. Lowe is quite good, but I miss Philip Glass.
The whole cast does a fine job with Mateen standing out as Candyman’s latest target of torment. I’m about to drop a couple of spoilers, so read on at your own risk. First, it turns out Anthony is connected to the Candyman legend in a way he never expected. Second, original Candyman actor Tony Todd shows up briefly in character. Strong acting makes the relationships convincing and not just the one between Anthony and Breanna. The one between Troy and his husband Grady (Kaminsky, DriverX) also comes off as believable. Domingo does solid work as the guy who knows it all about Candyman.
I believe I’ve said enough about Candyman other than it’s a great sequel and a great horror movie. It’s not often a sequel works this well. It’s the second one this summer, the other being A Quiet Place Part II. As long as Peele is involved, I wouldn’t mind another Candyman movie in the near future.
