Chicago anthropology graduate Helen Lyle is investigating a local urban legend about the “Candyman” at the Cabrini–Green Homes, and this legend starts to become real… Deadly real.
The biggest compliment I can give this movie is Tony Todd’s performance. It is very reminiscent of Dracula, the way he hypnotizes Helen; he’s both very refined and intimidating at the same time, and for nothing else, he literally had himself covered in dozens and dozens of bees… Don’t feel too bad because he got paid $1000 for every time he got stung, and he made $12,000 lol. Todd brought a lot of gravitas and elegance to the role that is iconic for a reason.
I also enjoyed how Candyman’s big coat is like a cape, or he has this layer in an abandoned project that feels like an old castle; it’s a great way of taking an old concept and modernizing it, and the way they even work the idea of urban legends and how they change from person to person in the story was an extra layer I thought was really cool.
Virginia Madsen is also terrific; she brings very strong emotions to her performance that make her very sympathetic and likable, plus she really can sell a crying scene, like it almost reaches “Viola Davis snoop bubble” levels of intense, lol.
I liked Bernard Rose’s direction, which was very interesting, because it’s shot like an art house film with unique camera angles and set with the look of a Madonna video, but then when you get to the spooky stuff, it goes really gritty and dark. So the juxtaposition of the two tones and the brutality of the scary parts can really get to you sometimes and lead to some very effective scares.
The entire supporting cast does a great job; Xander Berkeley plays Helen’s husband, and he’s a character actor I always enjoy seeing popping up. He plays what could be a two-dimensional character on paper with a lot more dimension and layers.
Vanessa Estelle Williams as one of the Cabrini–Green residents gives a very strong and emotional performance. While Kasi Lemmons as Helen’s friend is very fun and brings a nice sense of humor to the character.
As I already mentioned, the special effects in this film are very impressive, particularly the sound editing because Candyman has a hook arm, and the way it sounds when it goes into you… That is some of the grossest squishing I’ve ever heard, lol.
This movie has a lot of interesting twists and turns that will keep you guessing and not sure where it’s going to end up, so I enjoyed the surprises.
The cinematography isn’t anything flashy, but I like how bright everything looks, and the use of ambient lighting as a unique look compared to other horror films.
Candyman’s origin was very unique among slashers because it’s very sympathetic and brutal, but I do feel that this movie and the Candyman franchise in general have an issue inthat they have a lot of good, interesting ideas, but they don’t always all gel together great, so I can feel like you have three different ideas on top of each other, and I can feel a bit much but never to the point that it, like, crumbles, but I do think it could’ve been streamlined more.
I may have one or two nitpicks with the movie's ending, but the very end is very strong and a nice little bow on the story.
Ted Raimi is in this movie; it's always nice to see him pop up.
Overall, Candyman is an underrated slasher film. It has distinctive characters, interesting ideas, effective scares, and top-notch style and craftsmanship that really put the quality of this film above some other horror films at the time. I give Candyman four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. The movie is… Wicked sweet 🍭🍬😂
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