Candyman (1992)

Helen (Virginia Madsen) and Bernadette (Kasi Lemmons) are grad students working on a thesis about urban legends. Helen hears stories about Candyman, a murderous ghost who appears when one says his name five times into a mirror. The legend of the Candyman arises out of a story about the son of a slave who fell in love with a white woman and was lynched in a particularly gruesome way as a result. Helen becomes fascinated by the legend’s history, especially when it’s connected to recent murder at a local housing project called Cabrini-Green in Chicago.

The women enter the projects to investigate and possibly interview people about the murder. As Helen takes pictures of the apartment where the killing took place, she becomes transfixed by the graffiti imagery that adorns the walls of the building. A strange feeling comes over her. Candyman might not be a legend after all.

Candyman, the film, is frequently referred to as a slasher movie but it is something much deeper. At the surface, Candyman, the character, shares many traits with Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. They’re all somewhat supernatural in nature and feature a unique murder weapon. Where Freddy has his razor glove and Jason has his machete, Candyman has a hook-hand that he uses to disembowel his victims. Where Candyman veers away from those other iconic slasher films — aside from touching on racial disparity — is its patience in getting to the gore.

Based on the Clive Barker story, “The Forbidden,” the script by Bernard Rose, who also directed, takes a methodical approach to putting all the pieces in place before Tony Todd arrives as Candyman. Once he appears onscreen, the movie ramps up the terror and the atmospherics considerably. Philip Glass’ musical score and the cinematography by Anthony B. Richmond throw a foreboding mood over things from the opening credits.

Tony Todd’s onscreen time may be limited but his presence makes Candyman work. He commands any scenes in which he is present. Virginia Madsen, who gets the majority of the work here, is very good as the driven Helen. When her character faces Todd’s Candyman, her demeanor visibly changes. Madsen’s performance is a big part of why this movie works so well.

What I enjoyed most about Candyman is that everything clicks. It’s creepy — which appealed to my old-school horror sensibilities — but it also has real shocks that should scare the most jaded horror fan. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Candyman is a charismatic character who doesn’t throw out comedic one-liners. His pleas to Helen to “be my victim” are downright chilling.

4.5 out of 5.0 stars4.5
Buy on Amazon!