Fear his name
‘Candyman’ back to scare a new generation
This new “Candyman” from producer Jordan Peele (“Get Out”) may give the urban legend more racial and BLM relevance and score points for that. But it isn’t much better than the conceptually great, not very good 1992 Bernard Rose original, which had a noteworthy Philip Glass score, developed a cult following and spawned two sequels. Based on the Liverpool-set 1985 short story “The Forbidden” from Clive Barker’s “Books of Blood” collection, “Candyman” is indeed resonant today. The new film sends us back to Chicago’s Cabrini-Green projects setting from Rose’s 1992 screenplay. The sprawling apartments and high rises have been shuttered, and the surrounding area has been gentrified.
The new main characters are artist Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, “Aquaman”), who has a superhero physique, and his art gallery manager girlfriend Brianna Cartwright (Teyonah Parris, TV’s “WandaVision”). Brianna has a lavish condo in an area near Cabrini-Green. Anthony has been blocked as a painter after a promising start. But after hearing the story of Candyman from Brianna’s brother Troy (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett), Anthony becomes obsessed with the boogeyman and begins a series of paintings based on his story. He also goes to Cabrini-Green to take photos of locations and graffiti. While there, Anthony is stung on his hand by a bee.
Screenwriters Peele, Win Rosenfeld (TV’s “The Twilight Zone”) and Nia DaCosta (TV’s “Ghost Tape”), who also directed, have written a more overtly political film. But “Candyman” was political from the start. It was a horror film about Black urban folklore, featuring several Black characters in major roles, including, of course, 6-foot-5 Tony Todd, who returns as Candyman in the new film, in the title role. Candyman is the AfricanAmerican Freddy Krueger, a figure children have used to frighten younger siblings. In this rather mixed up, disconnected new film, Candyman returns at Brianna’s art gallery, where Anthony’s work has been shown. Anthony has created a new work resembling a mirror, instructing viewers to recite Candyman’s name five times while looking into it. That’s just plain dumb.
A local white woman art critic (Rebecca Spence), who is a miserable jerk (naturally), more or less begs to be Candyman’s victim. But she’ll have to wait. This new Candyman is more clearly a manifestation of uncontrolled rage against slavery and lynching. Anthony develops a tie with a CabriniGreen-area laundromat owner (Coleman Domingo, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”), who had a childhood encounter with Candyman. We learn the story of the original film and of Candyman’s origin in the late 19th century and hear the voice of Helen Lyle (Virginia Madsen).
Like a lot of Bernard Rose films (“Paperhouse,” “Immortal Beloved”), the original “Candyman” was not as good as its ingredients.
Still, the horror fan base, including Peele, kept Candyman alive. This new film falls short, although it works well enough as a slick, slasher movie, and the score by Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (“Arrival”) rivals Glass’s original. The animated sequence by Manual Cinema over the new film’s final credits is worth waiting for as well.
Say his name, Candyman. He’ll be back.
(“Candyman” contains profanity and extreme graphic violence.)