Candyman is a 1992 American-British slasher film that was directed by Bernard Rose and it was based on the short story that was called "The Forbidden" by Clive Baker. Candyman was the first film in a franchise which included Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh, Candyman 3: Day of the Dead and Candyman which was a direct sequel of the same name that was released in 2021 and it was produced by Jordan Peele. "The Candyman" was also the name of the main villain in the movie.
The film also contained the elements of psychological and paranormal horror where the audience was able to see the main character and her perspectives as she transformed under stress. Candyman played the role of a literal ghost, an illusion for people's actions and a manifestation of fear.
The Candyman who was a murderous soul with a hook for a hand was accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic graduate student who was researching the monster's myth.
Plot[]
Helen Lyle was a student who was doing research on the local legends and myths for her thesis project. In her research, she learned about the Candyman who was a one-armed man and a slave's son who was murdered because of a love affair. The legend had it that he would appear if you stand in front of a mirror and repeat his name five times. Proving to herself that she thought that the story was foolish, she jokingly called his name in the mirror.
Over time, Helen became mildly obsessed with the legend and she continued doing research on it. She decided to pay a visit to a gang territory that was known as the Cabrini-Green housing projects. A recent unsolved murder took place there of a woman who claimed that someone was coming out of the walls. On her second visit to the projects, Helen met a young boy who brought her to a bathroom where an attack on another boy took place. She found a toilet full of bees and the words "Sweets to the Sweet" written on the walls. She was able to leave, but not before being stopped by a gang, where she was attacked by a man with a hook for a hand.
Helen walked through a parking garage on her way to school on the next day. She heard a voice calling her by name and she was taken by it. The voice revealed himself to be the Candyman of the urban legend. The Candyman told Helen because of her disbelief, he was forced to prove to her that he was real. Helen woke up in an unfamiliar apartment with a lady screaming for her baby who was gone. The apartment was covered with blood which was from her recently decapitated Rottweiler. The police arrived at the apartment and they arrested Helen who was holding a bloody meat cleaver. Helen used her one phone call to call her husband named Trevor. He bailed her out of jail and he took her home immediately. Helen relaxed in the bathtub while Trevor went out. He left the apartment and Helen heard the Candyman's voice again. He cut the back of her neck, causing blood to go everywhere. Bernadette who was Helen's friend showed up to give her the flowers (She had a couple of rough days). Helen warned Bernadette not to come in for fear of her life, but Bernadette entered anyway and she was immediately killed by the Candyman. The police showed up because of the noise, and took Helen to a psychiatric hospital where she was locked up and sedated.
A month later, Helen was still in the hospital and she was awaiting her trial. She talked to a doctor about what happened to Bernadette, explaining the incident with the Candyman. The doctor thought she might be mentally ill, so she went to a mirror and summoned the Candyman to prove her point. The Candyman killed the doctor and Helen escaped.
The townspeople still believed Helen was the murderer. She decided to go to the Candyman's hideout to save the missing baby and clear her name. The townspeople burned the Candyman's hideout down to defeat her and Helen was forced to sacrifice her own life to save the child. The Candyman disappeared after this. At her funeral, all of the people who accused her of being the murderer paid their respects and they laid the hook on her casket as an apology or in honor of the death of a Candyman. Trevor attempted to summon the spirit of his late wife back, but he was killed by Helen's spirit. She left his new lover’s corpse with his, signifying the start of Helen becoming an urban legend: the new Candyman.
Cast[]
- Virginia Madsen - Helen Lyle
- Tony Todd - The Candyman/Daniel Robitaille
- Xander Berkeley - Trevor Lyle
- Stanley DeSantis - Dr. Burke
- Kasi Lemmons - Bernadette Walsh
- Vanessa Williams - Anne-Marie McCoy
- DeJuan Guy - Jake
- Marianna Elliott - Clara
- Ted Raimi - Billy
- Ria Pavia - Monica
- Mark Daniels - Student
- Lisa Ann Poggi - Diane
- Adam Philipson - Danny
- Eric Edwards - Harold
- Carolyn Lowery - Stacey
- Barbara Alston - Henrietta Mosely
- Sarina C. Grant - Kitty Culver
- Latesha and Lanesha Martin - Anthony McCoy
Release[]
Candyman had its world premiere at the 1992 Toronto Film Festival, playing as part of its Midnight Madness line-up. It was released on October 16, 1992 in the United States where it made $25.7 million. It was released on home video in February 1993 by Columbia TriStar Home Video. A special edition DVD was released in August 2004.
Reception[]
Rotten Tomatoes which was a review aggregator reports that 71% of 41 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review. The average rating was 6.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Though it ultimately sacrifices some mystery in the name of gory thrills, Candyman is a nuanced, effectively chilling tale that benefits from an interesting premise and some fine performances." Allmovie praised the film, calling it "Haunting, intelligent and poetic" and "The finest Barker adaptation ever committed to film". Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, "The elements of the plot may not hold up in the clear light of day, but that didn't bother me much. What I liked was a horror movie that was scaring me with ideas and gore instead of simply with gore." Janet Maslin of The New York Times compared it to "An elaborate campfire story" with an "Unusually high interest in social issues". Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called the film Clive Barker's "Worst to date"—an ambitious, but pretentious film that "Quickly becomes as repellent as it is preposterous." Variety called it "An upper-register horror item that delivers the requisite shocks and gore, but doesn't cheat or cop out."
Legacy[]
The film also came in at number 75 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
The character Candyman came in at number 8 on Bloody Disgusting's "The Top 13 Slashers in Horror Movie History" and ranked the same on Ugo's "Top Eleven Slashers". The actor who played Candyman named Tony Todd made #53 on Retrocrush's "The 100 Greatest Horror Movie Performances" for his role.
The film appears in two sections of Filmsite.org's "Greatest Scariest Movie Moments and Scenes" and "Greatest Movie Twists, Spoilers and Surprise Endings". The film was nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills.
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