Did you know that arguably the biggest name in modern horror, Jordan Peele, had written the screenplay for a new movie based on this 1992 classic? Did you know that future director of The Marvels, Nia DaCosta, directed it? It’s safe to say that there’s a lot of buzz around this new iteration, so if you think I watched this movie to prepare for the upcoming Candyman movie… you’d be dead right. (FYI: it’s coming to UK cinemas this month, on the 27th of August. Exciting times.)
Candyman is based on that urban legend we all know: if you say ‘Candyman’ five times in the mirror, he’ll appear and start the killing. In this instance, our protagonist is Helen (Virginia Madsen), a grad student living in Chicago. She begins to investigate this so-called ‘myth’, only to find that there’s a lot more truth to it than she first thought. After a while, her scepticism dissipates entirely and she becomes a pawn in the Candyman’s murderous rampage.
The aesthetics of this film are so early nineties, and honestly, that’s what makes it so great. What stands out above all though is the camerawork. I’m really not usually one to notice these sorts of things, because I’m just a Layman in reality, but the aerial shots and one-shot sequences worked so well here to build tension and create an eerie atmosphere. Let’s hope for more of that in the upcoming release, shall we?
A story about an urban legend was always going to be a little hokey, but it’s definitely less so than I was expecting. Candyman is certainly less cringeworthy than other movies of a similar nature; taking the genre down more of a psychological thriller route is tantamount to its success in harnessing what could have been really embarrassing.
Although the film does drag a little in places despite only being 100 minutes long, it’s Philip Glass’ haunting, masterful score that will draw you back in. Virginia Madsen also flaunts the best performance of her career here, so that didn’t hurt either. (Side note: Madsen has one of those faces that you’ll have seen somewhere before, but can’t pinpoint exactly where. So my advice? Check her IMDb before watching this; it’ll only distract you constantly throughout if you don’t.)
The ending was both satisfying and really unsatisfying to be honest, leaving me feeling like I don’t really know how much I enjoyed the film as a whole. To explain, I was really happy with the final scene, but I do wish we got to learn more about what happened to the Candyman afterwards because it sort of just fizzled out in the end. I wish I could say more but the ending is obviously the biggest plot twist and the biggest spoiler out there in this instance.
Despite that, there’s a lot to like here and I’m definitely interested in how this new ‘spiritual sequel’ is going to play out!
Candyman is available to stream on Netflix in the UK.
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Overall Rating: ½
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