Some candy talking

Cert 15 ★★★ In cinemas now

When Jordan Peele joined a new wave of so-called “elevated horror” with 2017’s Get Out, it felt like he was channelling the socially aware spirit of 1992’s Candyman.

So it feels horribly right that the new master of the scary movie has produced and co-written a direct sequel to that cult classic.

Directed by Nia DaCosta, this film elaborates the themes of gentrification and Black history that the original film brought to the Clive Barker short story.

We are back in the poor Chicago area of Cabrini-Green, though lots has changed since Virginia Madsen’s researcher Helen Lyle bumped into Tony Todd’s apparition.

In one of the now swishy neighbourhood’s fancy new apartments, artists’ agent Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris) and her painter partner Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen) are listening to a dinner guest relate the local urban legend of The Candyman, a hook-handed spook who kills anyone who says his name five times in front of a mirror.

Anthony, like Helen before him, becomes obsessed with the yarn as he pours through Lyle’s old research and meets a local laundrette owner (Colman Domingo) who claims to have had a horribly close encounter with the boogeyman.

The urge to repeat the mantra becomes irresistible.

There are some big scares as Todd makes his blood-splattered return in the reflective surfaces of the 21st century. Sadly, Peele and DaCosta’s attempts to shine a light on the origins of the killer come at a price.

Horror films work best when they let our imagination fill in the gaps. The script touches on some clever ideas but the tension plummets during some very wordy discussions. Todd’s Candyman was sweeter when he was lurking in the shadows.

‘‘ Like Helen before him, the urge to repeat the mantra is irresistible

DANGER Painter Anthony becomes obsessed with the folk tale