A ghost story has haunted Chicago’s Cabrini Green for
many years. Daniel Robitaille, a brief cameo by Tony Todd, is the real name of
the urban legend that scares the residents. Say his name five times in a mirror
and he will appear, but it will be the last thing his prey sees. The renovation
of Cabrini Green has made for an updated Cabrini Green.
Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is an artist who
lives with his girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris). When he is told about the
legend of Candyman, he becomes inspired to include it into his art. However,
Anthony soon finds out that the scary stories of the supernatural are very
true. He tries to balance his art career, a relationship, and the fear brought
on by the Candyman.
Jeff Nelson said in his review, “Candyman directly
links to the first installment and doubles down on the social commentary.
Gentrification is a major theme that runs throughout the film. As a result,
Cabrini Green looks very different from how it did in the first film. The urban
legend of Candyman sticks in the minds of the longtime residents, but his story
is only one of many horrors of injustice that have taken place in these
streets.”
Nelson continued, “In turn, DaCosta’s story takes
Candyman’s mythos to the next level.” The racist attacks on members of the
community are the real fear. Candyman is still a very scary slasher, but there’s
also focus on those who made him who he became. He’s to be feared, but the hatred
and violence targeted towards people of color is the actual constant threat.
However, DaCosta is still making a slasher movie. There’s
a body count with different levels of violence throughout the movie. Nelson
noted, “Candyman hooks, rips, and disembowels his victims, but most of it isn’t
shown directly. There are plenty of goopy gore effects, although DaCosta
approaches the carnage through other human senses. The audio depicts most of
the violence, as she crafts a variety of ways to deliver violence that isn’t
gratuitous.” “Candyman” isn’t about the violence, but rather a look at who it’s
being done to and why.
DaCosta has proven herself to be one to watch. She visually
captures the story in a way that is completely unique and consistently worth it
for the eyes. There are few nice mirror tricks that make for memorable moments.
Robert A.A. Lowe’s score is amazing, as it perfectly captures the essence of
both the character and the movie of “Candyman.”
Nelson said, “However, the movie lacks many scares,
but rather holds a mirror up to society. It references an abundance of horror
tropes, which are generally for comedic effect. The body horror element feels
like an abandoned piece of the plot that isn’t entirely addressed. The third
act takes a strange turn that doesn’t fit tonally fit with the rest of the
movie, although it does manage to drive its point home.”
Aside from some flaws, “Candyman” is a good sequel to
the 1992 original. It’s well-paced and it builds on the franchise’s mythology
in a great way. Nelson said, “Some of the social commentary is a bit
heavy-handed, although it’s further proof that the horror genre is a wonderful
vehicle for dissecting complex social issues.” DaCosta worked on “The Marvels,”
but we’ll see if she returns to horror in the future.
This is the only good sequel in the franchise. If you
saw the first one, skip the other two and go straight to this one. You will be
satisfied when seeing this. It will make you remember what made the first movie
so scary and worth seeing. This is currently streaming on Prime so you can
check it out on there. I was scared when I saw this, especially with the murders
and with the bees. Aside from the bees possibly being CGI, it was a scary
moment. Check it out and be scared.
Thank you for joining in on “Candyman Month.” I hope
all of you enjoyed it, but we’re not done with “Halloween Month.” There will be
a few more reviews coming up, so stay tuned. Sorry for the late posting. I
ended up falling asleep because I was so tired after coming home from work.
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