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Candyman

A review by Brooks Rich

Some people might look at this film and go.....Oh please....a slasher film from the '90s. No thanks!

Candyman is not a slasher film. It is a haunting and very dark film about legends and the power of people's beliefs. It asks about the cost of immortality, what it means to be immortal. Candyman is similar to Freddy Krueger.... he gains power from people's belief in him, but there is no humor in this character. He is tragic and his backstory is heartbreaking and horrific. 

Grad student Helen Lyle, played by Virginia Madsen, is doing a thesis on urban legends, specifically the legend of Candyman. Her investigation takes her to the infamous Cabrini-Green housing project in Chicago's inner city, where a criminal calling himself Candyman uses the urban legend to spread terror among the residents. When Helen causes this criminal to fall and in some way debunks the myth, the real Candyman appears to her, asking her to join him in immortality. 

Horror was at an odd place in the 1990s, especially in the early '90s. The slasher boom was dying.....those films were becoming parodies of themselves. It wouldn't be until Scream where the tropes were turning against the genre of the slasher, but were also managing to tell a pretty frightening slasher tale. Candyman might have a hook that he dispatches his victims with, but this is not a slasher film. This is a modern day gothic story. Instead of being set in an old castle in Europe, it's set in a housing project in Chicago. 

Director Bernard Rose has an amazing eye. The film is gorgeous. Elevating Candyman beyond just another generic horror film, it is the cinematography which lured me in. There are some truly evocative and stunning shots in this film, such as the painting with it's mouth open in Cabrini-Green and the bees on Candyman's exposed chest. 

Tony Todd's performance as Candyman is fantastic. His voice is perfect for the role and he never really plays him as malicious. Candyman doesn't seem to delight in dispatching his victims. It's just how it is. For the scene between Helen and Candyman, Bernard Rose would hypnotize Virginia Madsen before every take, so it seems that Candyman really does have a sort of power over her. 

This film is playing on Netflix right now. Be warned. This is a very dark and brutal film. It is not a happy watch.... but if you have a taste for horror, perhaps check this one out. I feel it doesn't get the credit it's due. 


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