Directed by: Bernard
Rose
Written by: Clive
Barker & Bernard Rose
Starring: Virginia
Madsen, Tony Todd, Kasi Lemmons & Vanessa Williams
A few friends and I thought a horror film night was on the
cards given that Halloween is just around the corner, we pooled together a few
films and started picking our favourites. I hadn’t heard of Candyman before, it was borrowed from a
friend of a friend and came recommended, and quickly inspired interest from the
group. Not being a horror connoisseur I knew I would enjoy the film watching
experience, as for the film itself, I imagined a typical early 90’s slasher
with some minor plotholes sprinkled with some shaky casting, none of this
mattered however because it was a film fright night and I’m a coward.
So, in the words of Alfie, 'what's it all about?' Well, the Candyman (Tony Todd) is
a seemingly tragic mythological legend which is brought to reality when his name
is uttered five times in a mirror. He has a bloody hook for a hand and reaps
murderous revenge whenever he appears.
Sceptical grad students Helen (Virginia Madsen) and Bernadette (Kasi
Lemmons) accidently beckon Candyman as they research the theory behind the
legend.
Candyman is almost
everything you would want in a horror film, you have the spooky yet intriguing backstory,
the unprepared college students and enough nasty death scenes you can shake a
hook at. If you are looking for a jump this Halloween then this is definitely
the film to do it, at least for the first half hour or so. I was toying with
the idea not to include the name of the actor who portrayed the Candyman in the
above paragraph in order to maintain a level of anonymity, I will explain why
Tony Todd has been named in my review of Candyman.
What makes an effective horror flick to me is not all the blood and gore
(although it helps), it’s often what you don’t see as opposed to what you do see
which is most scary, so it’s disappointing that Candyman’s face (Tony Todd) is
revealed earlier than I would expect from a horror film. Once revealed, the
Candyman’s strange and spooky mystique is somewhat diluted, I guess that’s what
makes Halloween’s character Michael
Myers so terrifying, the mask, the unknown, the unknown forces the audience to
fill in the gaps with their imagination. The same applies to Heath Ledger’s
brilliant portrayal of The Joker in The
Dark Knight, we think ‘what’s underneath it all?’ – ‘I bet it’s scary’. Unfortunately,
Candyman loses that important element,
which if included would have made this a truly excellent horror film.
You’ll be forgiven for thinking that a film called Candyman will have some sort of
relevance to candy, unless I missed something fundamental, I didn’t see much
significance in the name, perhaps it was eluded to when I left the room to grab
some more popcorn for everyone. It is fortunate therefore that there are plenty
of reasons to watch this film, the setting for instance, much of the film is
set in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project, the urban location adds a
unique component to the movie, horror films tend to heavily rely on that
secluded rundown house in the woods, so it’s refreshing to see a film take all
the essential pieces of an effective location and place it in a more populated
urban environment, making a neglected city estate that new shack in the woods.
It’s also worth noting that Virginia Madsen turns my anticipation of
questionable acting over on its head by giving an immersive performance, while
Tony Todd commands the screen with his strong physique and booming voice. Candyman isn’t
afraid to consider important issues such as racism and poverty that certainly
highlight real-life subjects of the early 1990’s which also remains relevant
and poignant today.
This movie comprises of just about the right stuff to make
you afraid of your bathroom mirror for a few weeks, who cares that it breaks
the ‘be afraid of the unknown’ code sooner than expected, with enough blood to
make Freddy Krueger wince Candyman should
top your Halloween fright night list.
